Union City Council is taking a bold, yet vital step toward informing the public of its activities by recording its next meeting.

Last week, council was asked to allow its meetings to be videotaped by Channel 14, the city’s government access channel. David Fant reminded council that recording public meetings was one of the main reasons the city’s media information department was established.

Doing so would help build public confidence in local government, he said.

Indeed. The City of Union is struggling to get out from beneath the shadow of public corruption as federal investigators continue their probe into possible wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, our elected officials should do everything in their power to make government activities open to their constituents.

Mayor Harold Thompson recognizes the importance of local government access channels, having worked for WSPA-TV for 32 years. He said Channel 14 will shoot a “pilot” of council’s next meeting for members to review. Council will then adopt guidelines for the operation of Channel 14, including coverage of council meetings. The next step would be to videotape future meetings for broadcast later.

Somewhere down the road, council meetings may be broadcast live, but that would require purchasing new equipment and hiring more personnel, which Thompson said is probably beyond the city’s means this year.

Open government is good government. Good for you, good for me, good for everyone.