Managing Attorney Lauren Goldberg participated as a panelist at the Wednesday, January 26, 2020 Massachusetts Municipal Association workshop entitled, “Municipal Strategies for On-line and In-person Engagement.” Attorney Goldberg discussed the way in which the Open Meeting and Public Records Laws continue to challenge municipalities as they begin participating more actively in the digital world and the implications of limited access to technology, whether due to the municipality’s financial condition or location, or to the socio-economic status of residents, or both, can create unintended barriers and engender inequities. Meeting moderator, Cyndi Roy Gonazlez, the Needham Public Information Officer, and esteemed panelists Bryanna Sunryd, Amherst Communications Manager and Community Participation Officer, and Methuen City Councillor Eunice Zeigler, discussed programs and platforms currently being used to disseminate and collect information from residents as well as new strategies to provide opportunities for online engagement and participation. The webinar and handouts can be reviewed on the MMA’s website here. (https://www.mma.org/annual-meeting/workshops/municipal-strategies-for-online-and-in-person-engagement-webinar/)
