As Montezuma County moves forward with plans to pay Mesa TV to broadcast and rebroadcast video of commission meetings, it confronts an important issue: By paying for that service, the county creates a record that should be available to the public. That’s not a bad thing.
Both elected officials and constituents benefit when more people have more convenient access to public proceedings and records.
The state’s open meetings law addresses minutes created electronically by a public body. The county’s position is that written minutes still will be created as the official record. The video, however, will create a more complete record that includes facial expressions and tone of voice, audience questions, and other information to which written minutes only allude.
A recording of a public meeting, made by someone acting on behalf of the body that is meeting, should be available to the public. That’s common sense.
It’s also common sense that if the county is paying Mesa TV to make the recording, Mesa TV is acting on behalf of the county.
Fortunately, electronic media make sharing such videos relatively easy. All a potential viewer needs is a link.
There’s no reason to turn this into a debate that turns on the letter of the law, when the spirit of the law is to make public meetings as open as possible. The county should use this contract to broaden access.
