The Morning Call Archives
Copyright © 2009 The Morning Call
ID:4290103
Publication Date:January 18, 2009
Day: Sunday
Page:B1
Edition:SECOND
Section:Local
Type:Local
Dateline:
Column:
Length:medium
Correction:
Series:
Memo:
Instructions:
Illustration:
Caption: No Art
Byline:By Paul Muschick Of The Morning Call
Headline:The tale of the tape in Chalfont
For now, Chalfont Borough Council will continue recording its meetings.
I told you last Sunday some borough officials are uneasy about taping. They fear having to release the recordings publicly under the state's new and improved public records law.
Lawyers disagree whether the tapes are protected. But no recordings means no records to hand over, and no debate.
I, and at least a few Chalfont taxpayers, consider that a blatant attempt to circumvent the state's Right to Know Law.
As you'd suspect, some council members disagree. They boasted of their support for government openness during their meeting Tuesday.
I continue to question their motive, though, because concerns about taping meetings arose only after a taxpayer asked for a copy of the tape of a meeting where a controversial development was discussed.
Several council members, including Eileen McDonald and John Engel, said Tuesday they take exception to accusations council is trying to avoid complying with the public records law.
"I truly find that offensive," Engel said.
Yet Engel and Councilman Bill Kuder theorized council members would behave differently if they knew the public could hear recorded comments.
I find that offensive.
Officials shouldn't act differently. There's no need to be scared if they're honest and well-intentioned.
"I'm worried that creating a tape may cause reduced debate for fear of things being taken out of context, being used for purposes other than deliberation and discussion," Engel said.
Kuder reasoned meetings will grow longer and council members will jockey to clarify positions and facts.
"It does make a difference of how much we say," Kuder said. "I for one will not sit here and allow people just to talk about half-truths, and then bend them for their own purpose that may not be for the well-being of this community."
He said he doesn't challenge much now because he knows Chalfont tapes meetings only to help the clerk prepare minutes, with the tapes being erased after the minutes are approved.
Am I the only one scratching my head at this logic? If facts are wrong, incomplete or giving Chalfont a black eye, they should be corrected regardless of whether a meeting is being recorded for future reference.
Resident Meredith Buck, who ran against Kuder in 2007, also wonders why council would act different if the tapes weren't erased.
"That's a deep concern to me," she told council.
It's also a concern to Councilman Mitchell Meyerson, who accuses council of trying to skirt the public records law.
"There's no reason anyone should have to change their manner because it's on a videotape or on audiotape," Meyerson said. "If you want truth, transparency, just tell it like it is. Don't put on a stage act."
Council has decided to ask the state's new Office of Open Records whether such recordings now are public records, and whether Chalfont's practice of erasing the tapes after the minutes are approved is allowed.
Council will revisit the matter after it receives that opinion. So will I, because the opinion will be a public record.
Still, the opinion may not resolve the taping debate because the Right to Know Law doesn't govern how meetings are conducted. That's legislated by the open meetings law (the Sunshine Act), which doesn't require meetings to be recorded.
The best outcome would be for state legislators to change the open meetings law to require recordings.
If you follow the borough's logic on erasing tapes, it may surprise you that Chalfont is considering videotaping meetings and broadcasting them on a cable access channel.
Does that confuse you as much as it does me? Audio recordings bad, video recordings good?
I don't get it, but choosing to broadcast would be a big step toward open government. Of course, those recordings should be made available upon request.
The Watchdog is published Thursdays and Sundays. Contact me by e-mail at , by phone at 610-841-2364 (ADOG), by fax at 610-820-6693, or by mail at The Morning Call, 101 N. Sixth St., Allentown, Pa., 18101.