As things begin to settle somewhat at City Hall, the City of Great Bend has made a few attempts to bring more transparency with their government.

The suspension, reinstatement, and then resignation of Great Bend Police Chief Cliff Couch over the last three months has caused community members to question how business is conducted with their local government.

One request to stream the Great Bend City Council meetings was checked off this past Monday night, with a live stream on Facebook set up by Community Coordinator Christina Hayes.

Christina Hayes Audio

Anyone can watch the council meetings live or the video afterwards by going to the recently created Facebook page for the Great Bend City Council. The page will allow more interaction with residents. The city also has a Request Tracker where citizens can report concerns or requests on 32 city topics. Some of the areas on the Request Tracker include: street lights, animal at large, unsafe structures, water leak, complaint reports at any city property, and general questions. The Request Tracker can be accessed at greatbendks.net.

A notice to suspend Couch July 24 stated the police chief made “false or reckless” accusations towards city administration and did not follow an order from former City Administrator Howard Partington. Without an investigation into Couch’s claims of misconduct with city administration, an uproar started with community members concerning how the city operates. Couch was later reinstated before submitting his resignation, mentioning “the target on his back” left him unable to adequately handle the police chief duties. The city’s turmoil resulted in an early retirement from Partington and resignation from council member Wayne Henneke.

Hayes also attempted to “Band-Aid” the last several months by having council members wear “I love (heart) GB” t-shirts at Monday’s meeting.

Christina Hayes Audio

Window decals with the “I (heart) GB” phrase will soon be available for businesses.