Keeping watch on local officials

BY KAREN SUDOL – The Record

There’s a new watchdog keeping an eye on municipal government: the video-camera wielding resident.

Whether it’s to expose the actions of officials, to educate the public or to have an immediate record on hand, more North Jersey residents seem to be picking up cameras at public meetings, hitting the record button and, in some cases, downloading the video onto the Internet.

“I’m flattered if they want to spend their time videotaping me,” said Demarest Mayor James Carroll of two former Republican councilmen who are critics of him and the Democratic-run council. “The only other person who spent that much time videotaping me was my mommy.”

Taping meetings promotes open government by providing “indisputable evidence of what occurred at a meeting,” said Bobby Conner, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

“It’s important for the public to be able to see what their government is doing,” said Conner. “The use of modern technology or video is something that our governing bodies should also embrace because it does help them get out what they’re doing in the community. By getting information out there, it does promote confidence in government as well as accountability and transparency with government officials.”

Dispute was catalyst

Former Demarest Councilmen Raymond Cywinski and Anthony Costanzo — who often feuded with Carroll when they were on the council — began shooting video of meetings in April after they questioned the council’s decision to buy a piece of property next to Borough Hall using open-space trust funds.

Cywinski filed a lawsuit, claiming the purchase was a misuse of municipal open-space trust funds, but has since had it dismissed, saying it would ultimately cost taxpayers too much money.

“That issue was the catalyst,” said Cywinski. “We wanted to have all the answers to our questions posed on the record and I think, at that point, because there was a lack of information and a lack of answers, we decided to videotape more of them.”

Recording the meetings also gives them an immediate and clear record because meeting minutes are not transcribed verbatim, and they’re not released on a timely basis, Costanzo said.

“This is a one-party government in Demarest now, and when you start witnessing some of the events taking place … this is not kosher,” said Costanzo, saying there is a lack of transparency in the way the local government is run.

Carroll, who is also a Bergen County freeholder, said minutes are intended as a synopsis of the council’s actions — and that meetings are also audiotaped and available to the public.

Tapes serve as backup

Like the Demarest pair, Dumont resident Kai Chen’s introduction to recording meetings followed a dispute with the borough over escrow fees to erect a fence on his property, he said. Chen appealed an attorney fee from the zoning board for processing his application, saying that according to law, the borough took too long to resolve the issue. While he didn’t receive his $250 in escrow fees back, he was spared additional professional fees.

“I wanted to see whether my dealing with the town is isolated — or was this how the town deals with everybody and everything in this way,” he said of his decision to videotape.

Since December 2008 he has recorded every meeting and posts them at abetterdumont.blip.tv. The average video draws about 100 viewers, he said.

When he announced on his blog in June that the videos were available through blip.tv, he wrote: “See whether promises made were kept, who really said what (if at all) or just for the record.”

“I just want people who have an interest in local government — but for some reason or another can’t fit it into their schedules — or registered voters who want to make an informed decision, to see what’s going on,” he said.

Chen also said when he blogs about an issue in Dumont, he offers the video as a backup to what he’s discussing.

“There are going to be people asking questions and disputing what I say,” he said. “This says, ‘All right, you can see for yourselves. Everything I say is backed up.’ ”

In Demarest, Costanzo does not post the videos online but said there have been no objections to his camera, other than the mayor making what he described as snide comments and asking him to move the camera’s tripod from the aisle.

Court gave go-ahead

In 2007, the state Supreme Court ruled that residents have a common-law right to use video cameras to record open public meetings, but said government agencies can establish reasonable guidelines — such as where the cameras can be placed — to ensure taping is not disruptive.

Carroll said he has consulted with a fire official who determined equipment should be placed in a corner of the meeting room to avoid any safety problems with blocking public aisles.

“As long as we have access to videotape meetings, we have no problem setting up wherever,” responded Cywinski. “We don’t want to disrupt the meeting.”

As for waving at the camera at times, the mayor said, “I want to be sure they get good shots.”

“If they’re taping me and finding something I’m doing wrong, I am more than willing to listen to corrective criticism. I’m always looking to improve … but so far I haven’t gotten any feedback,” the mayor said.

Dumont Mayor Matthew McHale said the council has been discussing videotaping the meetings and putting them on the borough’s Web site, which would ensure greater public access and cost less than putting them on the local cable channel.

A better way to educate the public and hold public officials accountable were also reasons that James Warden, a former West Milford Democratic councilman, began taping township meetings in 2007. Warden uses a company to post them on the Web site municipaltv.tv.

The average video receives up to about 900 hits, with Warden recording about 50 meetings per year. He added there is no editing.

Warden, a technical director for CBS television, said he wanted to provide a convenient way for residents to become more familiar with the issues in the township.

“When I was a councilman, I realized when some controversial issues had come up that most people aren’t aware of the decision-making process and the political process that happens in their town because they don’t have enough time to attend the meetings,” he said.

He’s also taping because “there’s so much politics in West Milford that I’m trying to hold people accountable for what they’re doing.”

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