NIAGARA FALLS: Keeping council meetings on the record

By Denise Jewell/jewelld@gnnewspaper.com
Niagara Gazette

April 18, 2007 09:58 pm

— There was a time — in the ’50s and ’60s — when Niagara Falls residents could read, word-for-word, what their lawmakers were discussing at City Council meetings.
Each meeting was audiotaped, transcribed and published weekly for taxpayers to see.
Today, that’s not an option.
Since a City Hall construction project in 2003 disconnected the speaker system between the council chambers and the clerk’s office, the city hasn’t been keeping audio tapes of each council meeting.
Instead, the city relies on a group of dedicated high school students to videotape and produce a cable access broadcast of each council meeting.
Students from Niagara Falls High School’s cable access OSC-TV 21 have taken on the challenge of making video of the meetings accessible to taxpayers who can’t make the council’s public meetings.
“I think that’s the best thing that we do for the city of Niagara Falls,” said Rich Meranto, media education director. “It’s almost like freedom of information so that people will see everything that transpires.”
The students record and edit tapes during each Monday meeting and air the videos the following Tuesday.
It’s a service, Meranto said, that has gained popularity since the meetings first aired on the cable channel with a council meeting that included a verbal argument between two city leaders.
“The great part about it was they both said ‘air the tape,’ ” Meranto said. “We don’t do any post game. ... Our job is to broadcast the meetings and let people watch it and make their own decision.”
Copies of the OSC-TV videos are given to both the council and Mayor Vince Anello. The city and the school are working to provide additional copies to the Niagara Falls Public Library that the public can view.

OSC-TV provides only recording
While city leaders have never asked the station not to air a meeting, OSC-TV has not been able to record every meeting because of scheduling conflicts, like snow days or exams, but does continue during the summer months when students are on break.
“We maintain them as much as we possibly can,” Meranto said.
No other electronic recordings of the council meetings are made. Instead, City Clerk Carol Antonucci, as required by law, keeps written minutes of each meeting that summarize what’s discussed and provide details of each vote. Those are kept at City Hall and are available for the public to view.
Council Chairman Robert Anderson Jr. said he has never heard a complaint in his first term on the council from residents unhappy that the council does not keep audio tapes of its proceedings as the Planning Board and other committees do.
Anderson said addressing the disconnected audio system in the council chambers has not been on the council’s list of top priorities in a city struggling to maintain basic infrastructure like roads, roofs and bridges.
“We’ve been trying to emphasize and put out some of these small fires before we address any of these additional ones,” Anderson said. “We have the same seven or eight people that come to the council meetings. Nobody has mentioned it out of the seven or eight people.”

Technical quality has evolved
When OSC-TV 21 started taping the meetings, one camera was used and students struggled to make up for sound deficiencies in the City Hall rooms where the council meets. Meranto said the school has taken steps to improve the technical quality of the broadcasts. What started as a one-camera production now involves two cameras, on-site editing and sound equipment.
For the students, recording the meetings has given them an opportunity to boost college applications and gain real-world experience. The work during the last two years has fallen mainly to one student, senior Joe Swartz.
Meranto said Swartz has taken the lead on attending nearly every meeting and making sure they have gotten on the air. The City Council recognized Swartz’s work earlier this year with an official resolution.
“I think Joe’s really grown as a person because of his involvement in city government,” Meranto said. “What I think the kids are getting out of it is the opportunity to work with adults in a different capacity.”

On the Web
n OSC-TV: For more information about OSC-TV 21 or to view a schedule, visit the Niagara Falls School District’s Web site at http://www.nfschools.net/.

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