Last night's North Codorus Township meeting included some discussion about whether the public has access to the township's tape recordings of meetings. (They do; tapes of meetings are public records). At the meeting, some residents complained about the township's policy of destroying the tapes, saying that in the past, minutes have been inaccurate and that residents ought to be able to hear the tapes.
This morning, township solicitor William H. Poole Jr. clarified the municpality's procedure, saying recordings should be destroyed within 24 hours of the approval of the official minutes; once the minutes are approved, he told Daily Record/Sunday News correspondent Teresa McMinn, there is no point in keeping the tapes.
It's likely the residents would say there is a point -- that they could use the tape to compare with the official minutes and see if there were any differences.
This discussion raises a couple of questions, which McMinn is pursuing:
This morning, township solicitor William H. Poole Jr. clarified the municpality's procedure, saying recordings should be destroyed within 24 hours of the approval of the official minutes; once the minutes are approved, he told Daily Record/Sunday News correspondent Teresa McMinn, there is no point in keeping the tapes.
It's likely the residents would say there is a point -- that they could use the tape to compare with the official minutes and see if there were any differences.
This discussion raises a couple of questions, which McMinn is pursuing:
-Can residents make copies of the tapes? If they can, then the schedule
by which the township destroys the tapes doesn't affect whether
residents can use the tapes to compare with the officially approved
minutes.The township's fee schedule for public records seems to leave
open the possibility of making a copy of a tape (see No. 6), but
doesn't address it explicitly. Poole did note that residents can make
their own recordings of the meetings.
-If residents can't make copies of the tapes, is 24 hours enough time to allow someone to check the tape against the officially approved minutes?
Has anyone else -- resident, or municipality employee, or lawyer -- had anything to do with listening to tapes of public meetings? Share your story if you will. Meanwhile, we'll let you know how the North Codorus issue turns out.
-If residents can't make copies of the tapes, is 24 hours enough time to allow someone to check the tape against the officially approved minutes?
Has anyone else -- resident, or municipality employee, or lawyer -- had anything to do with listening to tapes of public meetings? Share your story if you will. Meanwhile, we'll let you know how the North Codorus issue turns out.
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