THE WATCHDOG: Chalfont Council gets Right to Know law
March 12, 2009
OPINION
THE WATCHDOG BLOG
Paul Muschick | Of The [Allentown] Morning Call
If you would rather watch ''Seinfeld'' re-runs than your local government discuss recycling and stop signs, don't feel guilty.
''Seinfeld,'' a hit for nearly a decade as a show about nothing, can be 10 times as entertaining as city council talking about something.
What your government talks about is important, though, and at times you need to know what's up.
Now you can keep tabs on things at your leisure.
In a victory for open government, Chalfont Council decided Tuesday to continue recording its meetings. That means civic-minded citizens can stay involved by asking for copies of meeting tapes, which they can listen to at home instead of watching re-runs one night.
Let's be honest: only a handful will. But all are entitled to under the state's new Right to Know Law, which makes more government information public.
Chalfont officials finally get it. They work for the public, so the public is entitled to know what they do -- and say. Officials should take the next step and make it easier for citizens to monitor them by posting recordings online.
Back in January, some officials freaked out at the thought of voters and taxpayers listening to tapes. They debated whether to stop recording meetings.
A blast of common sense blew through Chalfont Borough Hall on Tuesday night, and council overwhelmingly agreed to keep the tape rolling.
''This is a positive direction, that people have access to these meetings,'' said Councilman Mitchell Meyerson, who led the fight to continue taping.
The Central Bucks borough hasn't been the only one talking about ditching tape recorders to avoid making tapes public.
Franklin Park, a borough near Pittsburgh, also did the right thing last week and continued recording meetings. Both governments acted after the state open records office ruled recordings are public records.
It's sad that local governments even are discussing this. The solution is simple.
State legislators should amend Pennsylvania's open meetings law, known as the Sunshine Act, to require meetings to be taped.
Then local officials wouldn't have a choice.
Some Chalfont officials put on a good show Tuesday before opting for public access.
''I believe that recent events have proven some people will take the words of others and twist and parse them and change the meaning of the speaker with or without a copy of any tape,'' Councilman John Engel said, without mentioning which events.
Councilman Bill Kuder said council is being ''forced'' and ''railroaded'' into recording meetings in some format.
''The issue here is open government,'' he said. ''It has been accused or suggested by people that we're not for that. We are for that.''
But audio tapes aren't accurate, Kuder said, because people talk over each other and not everyone identifies themselves before speaking. The solution, he said, is to videotape meetings, but that's too costly.
In the end, he said, the clerk needs tapes to compile accurate meeting minutes, which are required by law.
To its credit, Chalfont opted to do more than required.
While meeting tapes are public records, governments don't have to keep them forever. Chalfont previously disposed of them after minutes were approved, usually the next month.
Tuesday, it opted to archive recordings for seven years.
Congratulations to Chalfont for setting an example. Other governments still are acting like toddlers when the public asks for information.
Mine, mine, mine, they whine. You can't have it.
Governments were ordered to turn over records in 12 of the 21 appeals ruled on through Wednesday by the state open records office.
THE WATCHDOG BLOG
Paul Muschick | Of The [Allentown] Morning Call
If you would rather watch ''Seinfeld'' re-runs than your local government discuss recycling and stop signs, don't feel guilty.
''Seinfeld,'' a hit for nearly a decade as a show about nothing, can be 10 times as entertaining as city council talking about something.
What your government talks about is important, though, and at times you need to know what's up.
Now you can keep tabs on things at your leisure.
In a victory for open government, Chalfont Council decided Tuesday to continue recording its meetings. That means civic-minded citizens can stay involved by asking for copies of meeting tapes, which they can listen to at home instead of watching re-runs one night.
Let's be honest: only a handful will. But all are entitled to under the state's new Right to Know Law, which makes more government information public.
Chalfont officials finally get it. They work for the public, so the public is entitled to know what they do -- and say. Officials should take the next step and make it easier for citizens to monitor them by posting recordings online.
Back in January, some officials freaked out at the thought of voters and taxpayers listening to tapes. They debated whether to stop recording meetings.
A blast of common sense blew through Chalfont Borough Hall on Tuesday night, and council overwhelmingly agreed to keep the tape rolling.
''This is a positive direction, that people have access to these meetings,'' said Councilman Mitchell Meyerson, who led the fight to continue taping.
The Central Bucks borough hasn't been the only one talking about ditching tape recorders to avoid making tapes public.
Franklin Park, a borough near Pittsburgh, also did the right thing last week and continued recording meetings. Both governments acted after the state open records office ruled recordings are public records.
It's sad that local governments even are discussing this. The solution is simple.
State legislators should amend Pennsylvania's open meetings law, known as the Sunshine Act, to require meetings to be taped.
Then local officials wouldn't have a choice.
Some Chalfont officials put on a good show Tuesday before opting for public access.
''I believe that recent events have proven some people will take the words of others and twist and parse them and change the meaning of the speaker with or without a copy of any tape,'' Councilman John Engel said, without mentioning which events.
Councilman Bill Kuder said council is being ''forced'' and ''railroaded'' into recording meetings in some format.
''The issue here is open government,'' he said. ''It has been accused or suggested by people that we're not for that. We are for that.''
But audio tapes aren't accurate, Kuder said, because people talk over each other and not everyone identifies themselves before speaking. The solution, he said, is to videotape meetings, but that's too costly.
In the end, he said, the clerk needs tapes to compile accurate meeting minutes, which are required by law.
To its credit, Chalfont opted to do more than required.
While meeting tapes are public records, governments don't have to keep them forever. Chalfont previously disposed of them after minutes were approved, usually the next month.
Tuesday, it opted to archive recordings for seven years.
Congratulations to Chalfont for setting an example. Other governments still are acting like toddlers when the public asks for information.
Mine, mine, mine, they whine. You can't have it.
Governments were ordered to turn over records in 12 of the 21 appeals ruled on through Wednesday by the state open records office.
