Noah Zweifel is reporting for The Altamont Enterprise with the COVID-19 pandemic in a more manageable stage, many local governments continue to stream their meetings online, allowing residents to attend from the comfort and safety of their homes. But not all towns in Albany County have retained the remote option. Currently, the Voorheesville Board of Trustees and the Knox, Berne, and Westerlo town boards have stopped live streaming public meetings. However, Westerlo is investigating the possibility and Knox Supervisor Russell Pokorny said he would bring the issue up at the next town board meeting. Berne Supervisor Dennis Palow did not respond when asked about live streaming Berne meetings and Voorheesville Mayor Richard Straut could not be reached. Paul Wolf, the president of the New York State Coalition for Open Government, a non-profit that advocates for government transparency, says that remote access during the pandemic increased the number of people who would watch meetings. Wolf said, “The New York Coalition For Open Government supports hybrid meetings, where the public can attend in person or participate remotely through a live stream. In addition to the live stream, meeting videos should be posted afterward so that people who missed the meeting can watch it at any time." A bill introduced in 2020 that would mandate meeting live streams is currently in committee in the New York State Legislature. Read the full story in The Altamont Enterprise.