If you look at the committee pages on the county website you won't find much. They don't post their meeting minutes, agendas, resolutions considered, any action taken, or any information that would be useful for someone wanting to know what's happening in county government.
Even information for full county board meetings is sparse. The agendas don't list the names of people proposed for appointments, don't provide helpful descriptions of bills to be voted on beyond a short title, don't provide copies of ordinances considered, and no information is given about how to address the full county board on an issue.
The county has audio files of full board meetings, which lets people know what happened after the fact, but it isn't useful for those who want to have a voice before decisions are made.
In another recent article one county board member said that the full county board meetings amount to a rubber stamp, while real work happens in the committees. In other words, if someone wants to know what's really happening in the county they have to take time off work during the day on a weekly basis to request copies of committee meeting minutes and agendas.
This is indicative of government run by invitation only. Yes, all relevant information is available to the public, as required by law, but why shouldn't it be equally available to all citizens with the same ease of access? Why shouldn't I know that the information I'm getting is the same information that someone else is getting because its available to everyone online?
In this system, you'll know about something happening if county leaders decide to inform you. You'll know that it's important to show up early for the caucus meetings only if someone tells you about them. You can go to the county offices in person to ask for information and they'll remember what meddling person asked for it. Press outlets that don't have the resources to attend every committee meeting will cover something when they're invited to do so.
Its not to hard to figure out why they want settlements to be voted on in committee only. The Sangmaon county board has perfected running government out of the spotlight and "under the radar." It should be the goal of any public body to inform and engage the public as much as possible and not merely when it suits their needs. County board leaders have an outdated and fundamentally dysfunctional mindset about how elected bodies should operate.