It’s a step in the right direction. During a work session Monday night, the Austin City Council voted unanimously to recommend approval of up to $7,500 for installing a video camera and embedding microphones in the conference room at city hall.

The official vote on the project is expected to take place during the council’s next regular meeting April 6, and the funds would come from an existing cable access fee.

The move comes on the heels of a fire committee meeting held in that same conference room Feb. 12 where a local business owner claims she was involved in an alleged altercation with Fire Chief Dan Wilson.

The meeting was not video- or voice- recorded, and witness accounts vary from person to person.

This week, a report on the incident stated that no charges will be filed against Wilson after a review of the matter by Albert Lea attorney Robert D. Sturtz.

Austin Police Chief Paul Philipp said Monday he now considers the case closed.

If approved, installing recording devices in the conference room would enable city work sessions to be recorded, the same holds true with any other public meeting held in that conference room.

“I just think we need a record of all our public meetings,” Mayor Tom Stiehm said at the work session.

We agree.

Governments should be transparent, and the more steps that are taken to ensure what our local officials do or don’t do are properly documented, the better.