DERBY — One day soon you just might be able to find email addresses for the city’s elected officials!
Resident Emory Thompson recently noted that he went to the city’s website and was surprised to find no way to email any members of the Derby Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen.
The same for the dozens of people serving on the city’s various boards and commissions.
So Alderman Rob Hyder brought it to the attention of the full Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen earlier this month during the board’s monthly meeting.
Andrew Baklik, the mayor’s chief of staff, has been researching the issue. He reported that it would cost about $92 per person for the city to get derby.gov email addresses.
The board thought that was too pricey, so Baklik is spearheading an effort to get everyone more transparent and accountable to the public by using individual Gmail addresses.
As it stands, some Derby officials could be using private emails to conduct city business. That’s not ideal because a Freedom of Information request could have a third party, such as a lawyer, look through their emails to comply with a valid information request.
Alderwoman Barbara DeGennaro noted she already has a dedicated Gmail account she uses for city business. She questioned whether putting that on a website would open her up to spam.
Alderman Charles Sampson also worried that someone would accidentally click a link with malware and infect his or her computer.
Sampson and Baklik will work on something together and the board will decide what they want to do.
Ansonia Aldermen list their emails on the city’s website.
Seymour Selectmen do not list individual email addresses.
Shelton Aldermen list individual emails.
