IT IS TO THE CREDIT of Rev. Edward Bellsmith of Trinity United Church in Shelburne that a public forum on local affairs turned out to be a worthwhile evening of information for many of the 60 or so in attendance.

The minister, acting as the moderator of the event, made certain that there was hardly anything of a speculative nature – and no political grandstanding amongst the speakers.

Among other things, we are impressed by the reports from several attendees that information on how and when to appear at council meetings came as a revelation to some.

Those of us who have lived with computers and the Internet for as long as the World Wide Web has existed too often take for granted that anyone with a computer and Internet access would have knowledge of such things.

It is easy for us to forget that great numbers of rural residents have only recently been introduced to broadband service. Before the advent of such as Connect Dufferin, dial-up service had been so cumbersome and slow that no one could be blamed for not researching their local councils.

This, then, is a reminder that you can Google your municipality and access the council agendas with ease – along with the dates and times of the meetings.

It is also easy for us to forget that not all members of the public are aware that all meetings of all municipal councils are open, with the exception of sessions that may be closed for a limited number of reasons outlined in the Municipal Act.

Members of the public are not, of course, entitled to speak out at council meeting except during

prescribed question period – unless they have been designated as delegations. But attendance at the meetings provides a clearer view of why certain decisions are taken.

We applaud Mr. Bellsmith for his conduct of the first in what is billed as a series of forums. It is hoped this would lead to a better understanding of why some things do, and some things cannot, happen at the local government level.