HomeMy WebLinkAboutPOL-008-22 Electronic Recording of County Meetings
COUNTY OF NEWELL - POLICY HANDBOOK
POLICY NO: POL-008-22
TITLE: ELECTRONIC RECORDING OF COUNTY MEETINGS
ADOPTED: December 22, 2022 (C-362/22)
SUPERCEDES NO: 2010-PLG-011 PAGE NO: 1 of 1
POLICY STATEMENT:
Electronic recording of some County meetings such as the Assessment Review Board and the
Subdivision & Development Appeal Board are necessary. At times, the local news media also
prefers to electronically record all or a portion of County meetings for recall purposes. Council of
the County of Newell believes that all individuals, whether members of Council, members of
Council Committees, staff or the public have the right to know that they are being electronically
recorded.
POLICY PURPOSE:
The purpose of this policy is to set out guidelines to be followed when meetings of the County of
Newell are being electronically recorded.
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POLICY GUIDELINES:
1. The County of Newell Council and Committee meetings are open for the public and media
to attend. The County of Newell video records official Council meetings and makes those
video recordings available for viewing online through the County’s website. Members of
the public or media representatives are also permitted to record meeting proceedings on
their own recording devices. The retention or use of those recordings cannot be directly
controlled by the County. For this reason, the following measures will be taken.
2. The County shall place signs on the doors entering the Council Chambers indicating that
any meetings or portions thereof may be electronically recorded. A tent sign shall also be
placed on the Council Chambers table indicating that meetings are being electronically
recorded and will be available for public viewing on the County’s website. For meetings
held in locations other than Council Chambers, the Chairman may announce at the
beginning of the meeting that the proceedings may be recorded, and all participants
should be aware of that possibility.
3. While few Committee meetings are formally recorded by the County, the media or other
attendees may do so. Except for portions of meetings held “in camera” due to Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy requirements, as rule, Council will not prohibit
recordings of meetings made by the media or other attendees. Further, the County will not
require that copies of recordings thus made, be shared with the County for retention with
the County’s formal archives for Council or Committee meetings.