Starting this month, WSKG News will be posting audio recordings of the monthly Broome County Legislature meetings.
It’s part of the newsroom’s mission to help you understand what’s happening in local government.
Binghamton area reporter Celia Clarke spoke with News Director Phoebe Taylor-Vuolo about the idea.
You can find the first audio recording of a Broome County legislature meeting here and on the WSKG YouTube page.
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Phoebe Taylor-Vuolo: So Celia, this was your idea. So explain to me why, because the Broome County meetings are already open to the public and livestreamed, right?
Celia Clarke: Yes, they are. But they’re only livestreamed, so if you miss it, there’s no way for you to know what actually happened in the meetings. I feel like us sharing the recordings will help some people learn what the legislature does and what legislators think about issues they're voting on. And, it’s an election year. The whole legislature is up for reelection, and some have challengers, some don’t. I’d like to think that this will give some people more information to help make their decision.
And also honestly, the Zoom audio is crap, you can’t understand what’s said very well and sometimes not at all.
The minutes are put online but they are a summary of legislative actions, mainly the votes.
In fact New York’s Open Meetings Law does not require meeting minutes to be a verbatim accounting.
But let me describe a couple of recent examples:
In May, the legislators had lengthy discussion about a resolution to give the land bank a bunch of money. It lasted for quite a while. None of that is in the official minutes. But the votes on amendments and finally the resolution are. So, you don’t get a sense of how legislators were thinking about their decision.
And this month, if you weren’t able to watch or listen to the livestream, you would not know just based on the official minutes that the meeting was loudly interrupted right at the beginning by several members of the public talking about homelessness, and that continued for many, many minutes.
The public knows about it because there were some local reporters there. But that's not normally the case.
PTV: You mentioned the Open Meetings Law. What does it say about what a county is required to do when it comes to these meetings?
CC: The state’s Open Meetings Law isn’t just for county legislatures, first of all. It's for all “public bodies,” like the IDA, any town, village, city government, the local housing authority, even.
The law requires meetings to be open to the public. It requires they be held in a place that’s accessible and large enough to accommodate the public.
During COVID times, the state required meetings to be livestreamed if a place had adequate broadband. That special provision has expired, but many places, like Broome County, have continued to livestream meetings. The law does not require the meetings to be recorded or made available to the public after the fact.
And I already explained about meeting minutes.
So, as far as can tell, the Broome County legislature isn't violating the Open Meetings Law.
PTV: Okay, so how does Broome County compare to other counties in the way they handle these meetings?
I checked some other counties where we have reporters to see how they handle recordings and minutes. All I can say is, it varies. Lots of counties have a YouTube channel where they post recordings of the meetings, and also committees and various other activities or events.
Broome County is really good at putting the legislature's meeting minutes online within just a few days of their meetings.
PTV: There’s one last thing I want to have you explain. I’ve heard you talk about how surprised you are that the Broome legislature doesn’t have a public comment portion of their meetings. Talk to me about that, why is that such an issue?
CC: I love a public comment period. I’m a nut, I admit it. But it’s when anyone can talk directly to elected officials about things that are concerning them. To me, it’s one of the shining examples of our democracy.
And you also know that I’m kind of crazy about the Constitution, so let me say this. It’s literally an embodiment of part of the First Amendment which talks about “the right of the people…to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” And petition, in this context, means a variety of things. For example, in Broome County, it means you can email but not speak to them directly, face to face, on the record, at a meeting.
So, you know, I love a public comment period. I love that for us, the people. It's beautiful.
Anyway, also, this whole thing shocked me because I’ve never lived or reported anywhere that didn’t have a public comment section of meetings. So that’s why it kind of rattles me. And that a very personal bias of mine. I will say though, I'm talking about the legislature, Binghamton City Council does have a public comment period, and I find them endlessly fascinating.
PTV: So you are biased in favor of a public comment section, thank you for sharing that with us, Celia.
CC: All right Phoebe, was that TMI?