Transparency is a word that is often sprinkled strategically throughout political speeches, along with "open government" and "public trust." These, after all, are the cornerstones of a healthy democracy.

But there's a difference between talking and doing — and often the responsibility falls on the public to hold their elected leaders accountable, and demand that their decisions are made with as much transparency as possible. Lately, that's a burden the public has had to bear more and more, on all levels of government.

So it's refreshing to see that the City Council and the Board of Education have taken steps toward making their activities more accessible.

Thanks to a partnership with 'Olelo Community Television, City Council meetings can now be viewed on an on-demand basis on the Internet for up to a year. In addition, the public can access past meetings by scrolling through the site's archives — currently, there are more than 60 meetings available for viewing.

The site also allows the user to click on parts of a meeting agenda to view documents relating to the topic.

Now the BOE is following suit, announcing its plans to provide live online video streams and audio podcasts of its meetings as early as October. This would be a valuable tool for those on O'ahu, since many of the meetings are held on Neighbor Islands.

The price tag for putting the City Council meetings online was $40,000 — a small price to pay for gaining public trust.

These tools are only effective if the the public makes use of them. Let's not forget, along with transparency and open government, another crucial element to a healthy democracy: civic engagement.