THE WATCHDOG: Public has right to hear tapes of meetings
February 22, 2009
THE WATCHDOG BLOG
By Paul Muschick | Of The [Allentown] Morning Call
The ruling is in. You're entitled to listen to tapes of your elected officials' public meetings.
But ask quickly, because those tapes don't have to be kept for long.
The state's open records office ruled last week the recordings are public records under Pennsylvania's new Right to Know Law. It issued the opinion after several governments, including Chalfont Borough in central Bucks County, asked for advice.
If you can't make your school board, township or borough council meeting, you can listen to the verbatim discussion, if it was taped.
The pressure's now on Chalfont officials to prove their commitment to open government and continue to record council meetings, knowing what they say can be heard by more than the handful of people who attend.
That thought has scared some Chalfont politicians. They've considered not recording meetings anymore, so there would be no tape to make public. Devious, but legal, because there is no law requiring meetings to be recorded. The law should be changed to require it.
Chalfont officials didn't pull the plug on their recorder immediately, opting to wait for the state's opinion, which is on my blog.
Borough Manager Melissa Shafer said officials will discuss how to proceed at council's March 10 meeting.
If they want to back up their boast about having nothing to hide, they won't change a thing. They'll keep taping.
What's the harm?
In January, a few council members said they'd behave differently knowing the public could hear tapes. That's disconcerting. It suggests that with a tape rolling, council is more likely to script its comments.
If council chickens out and stops taping, that won't stop the audience from recording. The law allows it, whether council likes it or not.
That's because what council says isn't meant to be secret. Meetings are public so residents can observe the people they've trusted with their tax money.
Chalfont isn't the only local government concerned about meeting tapes being public records.
Franklin Park, a borough near Pittsburgh, also requested a formal advisory opinion from the state. Others have informally asked about it, said open records office Executive Director Terry Mutchler.
Mutchler said the law should not scare governments from recording.
"I think that the better open government approach is to continue taping if you're taping, but just to recognize this is a public record," she said. "I want local officials and citizens not to be afraid of public records, and I think that's what's happening here."
I've listened to meeting tapes of Allentown and Northampton County councils without encountering resistance. Other reporters have listened to East Penn and Bethlehem Area school board and Lehigh County commissioners tapes.
The resistance in Chalfont started in November after a property owner who is suing the borough over a proposed development asked for a tape of the meeting in which the development was discussed.
The borough rejected the request, which was placed under the state's insanely restrictive old Right-to-Know Law that kept many records secret.
Chalfont said it didn't have to turn over the tape then because the written meeting minutes, not the tape, were the public record of the meeting.
Chalfont would have to provide the tape under the new law. But the property owners, Harry and Anne Hassan and the Oxford Lane Homeowner's Association, don't intend to pursue it for reasons their lawyer wouldn't tell me.
If they change their minds, the tape might not be around.
The state open records office didn't address how long governments must retain tapes, deferring to the state's record retention law.
Susan Hartman of the state archives and history bureau said recordings are considered a "draft" document and may be destroyed after they have "fulfilled their purpose."
In Chalfont, a secretary uses the tapes to compile the written minutes. The tapes are destroyed after the minutes are approved, usually a month later.
Some other local governments operate the same way, so don't hesitate if you want to hear a tape.
By Paul Muschick | Of The [Allentown] Morning Call
The ruling is in. You're entitled to listen to tapes of your elected officials' public meetings.
But ask quickly, because those tapes don't have to be kept for long.
The state's open records office ruled last week the recordings are public records under Pennsylvania's new Right to Know Law. It issued the opinion after several governments, including Chalfont Borough in central Bucks County, asked for advice.
If you can't make your school board, township or borough council meeting, you can listen to the verbatim discussion, if it was taped.
The pressure's now on Chalfont officials to prove their commitment to open government and continue to record council meetings, knowing what they say can be heard by more than the handful of people who attend.
That thought has scared some Chalfont politicians. They've considered not recording meetings anymore, so there would be no tape to make public. Devious, but legal, because there is no law requiring meetings to be recorded. The law should be changed to require it.
Chalfont officials didn't pull the plug on their recorder immediately, opting to wait for the state's opinion, which is on my blog.
Borough Manager Melissa Shafer said officials will discuss how to proceed at council's March 10 meeting.
If they want to back up their boast about having nothing to hide, they won't change a thing. They'll keep taping.
What's the harm?
In January, a few council members said they'd behave differently knowing the public could hear tapes. That's disconcerting. It suggests that with a tape rolling, council is more likely to script its comments.
If council chickens out and stops taping, that won't stop the audience from recording. The law allows it, whether council likes it or not.
That's because what council says isn't meant to be secret. Meetings are public so residents can observe the people they've trusted with their tax money.
Chalfont isn't the only local government concerned about meeting tapes being public records.
Franklin Park, a borough near Pittsburgh, also requested a formal advisory opinion from the state. Others have informally asked about it, said open records office Executive Director Terry Mutchler.
Mutchler said the law should not scare governments from recording.
"I think that the better open government approach is to continue taping if you're taping, but just to recognize this is a public record," she said. "I want local officials and citizens not to be afraid of public records, and I think that's what's happening here."
I've listened to meeting tapes of Allentown and Northampton County councils without encountering resistance. Other reporters have listened to East Penn and Bethlehem Area school board and Lehigh County commissioners tapes.
The resistance in Chalfont started in November after a property owner who is suing the borough over a proposed development asked for a tape of the meeting in which the development was discussed.
The borough rejected the request, which was placed under the state's insanely restrictive old Right-to-Know Law that kept many records secret.
Chalfont said it didn't have to turn over the tape then because the written meeting minutes, not the tape, were the public record of the meeting.
Chalfont would have to provide the tape under the new law. But the property owners, Harry and Anne Hassan and the Oxford Lane Homeowner's Association, don't intend to pursue it for reasons their lawyer wouldn't tell me.
If they change their minds, the tape might not be around.
The state open records office didn't address how long governments must retain tapes, deferring to the state's record retention law.
Susan Hartman of the state archives and history bureau said recordings are considered a "draft" document and may be destroyed after they have "fulfilled their purpose."
In Chalfont, a secretary uses the tapes to compile the written minutes. The tapes are destroyed after the minutes are approved, usually a month later.
Some other local governments operate the same way, so don't hesitate if you want to hear a tape.
