Audio plus video meetings

After TTJ’s criticism (October 23, 2022 POST) of the committee’s audio-only meetings, committee members voted to turn their video on. Committee members Nancy McGinnis and Robert Sunbury favored the idea but voted against it saying that the committee should return to live in-person meetings.

But Mayor Sammy Moore, Deputy Mayor Kim Brown and Committeeman Mark Hartman voted against live in-person meetings. Mayor Moore and Committeeman Hartman said it was more convenient to conduct the public meetings from home. Mr. Hartman also said that more people are attending because the meetings are remote.

The location of a public meeting shouldn’t depend on the convenience of committee members. They’re here to serve the public. The LDB is now meeting at the emergency services building. If the LDB can meet in person, so can the township committee.

Ms. Brown said it was unsafe for her to participate because of her personal situation. Maybe that’s a legitimate excuse for her. (But she’s an employee of the Tabernacle Board of Education and goes to work, no?) But neither Mayor Moore nor Committeeman Hartman voiced a legitimate reason for them to avoid in-person public meetings.

Committeeman Sunbury was embarrassed

Mr. Sunbury went on to say that the audio-only meetings have been “embarrassing.” That’s for sure! But If he was so embarrassed, why didn’t he speak up earlier? No other committee member was embarrassed by conducting audio-only meetings. I’ve been raising the issue at township meetings for months with no response. At least he and Ms. McGinnis finally get it.

Audio-only meetings aren’t just an embarrassment. They’re a chance for elected officials to do public business in secret. When Mayor Sammy Moore said at an audio-only meeting “I just got a message telling me ……….” (that actually happened!), you know that private messages are being circulated among committee members at public meetings. That’s illegal and anti-democratic.

What are hybrid meetings?

Mayor Moore and Deputy Mayor Brown like to describe Tabernacle’s audio-only meeting as a “hybrid”; as if Tabernacle’s virtual meetings combine some unspecified best parts of a public meeting. Audio-only meetings aren’t a hybrid of any parts. It’s what’s left over when you replace live in-person meetings with a telephone connection.

I suppose audio-only meetings could be considered a hybrid of embarrassment and secrecy. But I don’t think that’s what the mayor and deputy mayor mean.

Live in-person meetings dismissed

Mr. Hartman’s idea that live meetings are unnecessary because more people attend virtually is the wrong conclusion. Live meetings are the gold standard in a democracy. They should occur whenever possible.

Free Conference Call program fails

It didn’t take long into the November 21 meeting to see that the committee’s new audio and video virtual meeting still falls short. It’s maybe the tin standard.

Mayor Moore’s screen went completely out midway into public comment. You couldn’t tell if he was still at the meeting. I doubt he heard the public comments because he didn’t even acknowledge them. He just wasn’t there.

In the middle of the meeting, Deputy Mayor Kim Brown lost her audio connection. You could see her mouth moving, but you couldn’t hear her. She had to log in and log out multiple times.That problem continued for most of the remainder of the meeting. At first she missed the discussion to seat a new committee member that took place after executive session.

It’s likely these problems were caused by the township switching from ZOOM to a ‘free’ budget platform. Sometimes you get what you pay for. Committeeman Sunbury was concerned about the quality of the free program when Administrator-Clerk Mary Alice Brown pushed it. He was right.

The point is that these problems don’t happen at in-person meetings. They really are the gold standard. The committee should return to them.

Live stream and video record Tabernacle meetings

The committee should also live stream and video record their meetings and put them on YouTube. That would expand access, which, as Mr. Hartman also noted, is important. This is particularly important now that the committee changed the meeting time from 7:30pm to 6:30pm for Mayor Moore’s convenience. The earlier meeting time makes it very difficult for people who get home later or for families that are shuffling kids around.

Expand access to public meetings

The committee doesn’t need to choose between in-person and live-stream meetings. They can and should do both. This is now common place throughout New Jersey because it expands access.

Live-streamed meetings should also be video recorded. Both should be placed on YouTube. I used to do this. It wasn’t unusual for committee members to go on YouTube to watch my video recordings of meetings that they missed. But this ended with COVID.

The committee does not have any legitimate excuse for not holding in-person meetings. It also doesn’t have a legitimate excuse for not live streaming and video recording. It simply doesn’t want to.

Note: For seven years, I asked the committee to put the audio recordings of the meetings on the township website. The township finally started uploading them in 2022. These recordings can be found at the “Agenda/ Bill List /Minutes” page titled “2022-Recordings of Township Committee Meetings.”

Municipal Building Update

There was no mention at the November 21, 2022 township meeting of the town hall-style meeting for public input into the new municipal building. At public comment, my husband suggested that the committee put its reports and cost estimates, if the committee has any, on the township website. He also suggested that the building subcommittee issue a preliminary report so citizens can have something to think about and discuss. Committee members were silent.

Wishing everyone a tasty and safe Thanksgiving.