Article
Public-comment access investigation. Albany's archive shows packets, summaries, minutes, and video — but no visible separate column for public comments.
City Council agenda archives carry packets, summaries, minutes, and video. They do not carry a separate, visible column for written public comments — even though those comments are part of the public record.
If the archive does not show them, the public cannot read them. If the public cannot read them, the comment did not function as comment. It functioned as paperwork.
This investigative report was funded entirely by residents in Albany, Oregon. To support further research and cover government record-search fees, consider contributing to the records desk.