If you missed it, the Houston Chronicle had an update in the paper yesterday on the issue they raised of the lack of public notice of Metro committee workshops. The Chronicle had pointed out that it's tough for the public to attend since the dates and times of those meetings are posted to bulletin boards, not online.

CEO Frank Wilson explained that except for the morning before the monthly board meeting, the ad hoc committees do not meet at regular times. He said committee members often change or cancel the agreed-upon time, sometimes at the last minute, if a conflict comes up with their work lives.

“It has been a huge challenge for us to get those things scheduled,” he added.

Wilson said that posting the times of all the committee meetings could cause a member of the public to show up at Metro headquarters, only to find out a meeting had been moved or canceled.

As the writer points out, a Web site can be updated in a matter of seconds. That should be easy for an agency with its own in-house blogger, who as of 2007 was making more than $76,000 per year.

Metro's board chairman didn't exactly come out swinging for openness.

Board Chairman David Wolff has made it clear that he wants a few weeks to discuss the matter with board members and staffers before issuing a new policy, if any.

As Metro's policy stands now, Joe Public would have to go down to the Harris County courthouse or Metro's headquarters on a daily basis to figure out when these committee meetings are taking place. Might as well have a town crier standing at Preston and Main: "Transit committee to meet today! 2 o'clock!"

According to Metro officials, deliberation takes place not at full board meetings, but at the committee meetings beforehand. Board members said as much in our recent story about the board's lockstep voting patterns.

Texas Watchdog urges the transit agency to figure out a way to make these committee meetings more transparent and open to the public.