January 25, 2006
By CAROL FLETCHER
Suburban Trends
Whether or not new council workshop meetings will be video-taped rests on the schedules of volunteers.
New Mayor Joanne Atlas said on Monday she plans to ask the volunteer members of the Cable TV Committee if they could come an hour earlier to videotape her recently proposed workshop meetings for a two-month trial.
"I think it is important to have them (workshop meetings) aired," said Atlas. The volunteers and one paid person currently tape and televise regular council meetings every other Tuesday.
When she proposed the workshop idea, Atlas said the meetings wouldn't be videotaped to go along with her intentions to generate "looser" and "more relaxed" council discussion.
Both issues triggered opposition from Atlas's fellow Democrats, who have distanced themselves from Atlas following her Republican support to become mayor.
They said not taping the sessions would be a "step backwards" from their campaign pledge of open and honest government by taping and broadcasting all council meetings.
Resident and Board of Adjustment member Grace Hazeldine agreed.
"I do not want a one-hour cutoff, " said Hazeldine. "I want to see everything"
Regardless of their on-camera status, workshop meetings would be audiotaped and available for a small fee. This is standard practice so municipal clerks can write the minutes.
If no one was able to stay for the early meetings, Atlas said they might be able to set up a camera before leaving.
Either way, she feels the two issues of videotaping and holding the meetings should be separated.
"That shouldn't be a detennining factor of whether those meetings should be held," she said.
New to the whole business, Republican Councilwomen Donna Anderson and Linda Schaefer supported Atlas. Schaefer said the meeting would help get her up to speed on issues before voting and being on carnera.
While disagreeing on the idea of the meetings, the three men on the council agreed their jobs would make it tough for them to get there by the 7 p.m. start time.
Nevertheless, Republican Deputy Mayor Bill Marsala sided with Atlas, Anderson and Schaefer and voted to trial the meetings during February and March.
The new workshop meetings will also have a time for the public to speak, said Atlas, bringing the total of public portions during the night to three.
Borough Attorney Joe Maraziti said there is no legal requirement that workshop meetings be either broadcast or videotaped. Most of Ringwood's neighboring towns do not videotape workshop meetings.
Carol Fletcher's e-mail address is
fietcher@northjersey.com