Right-to-Know: July 2008 Archives
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By WILLIAM L. CHAPMAN
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July 19, 2008 - 12:00 am |
Earlier this week, the Concord Monitor carried an article by the Associated Press reporting on a 50-state survey it had conducted on the retention of government e-mail. The survey found that "most of the states with e-mail laws allow officials to choose which ones to turn over in Freedom of Information requests and to decide on their own when e-mail records are deleted."
Public officials in
Note from the MCA: At the selectmen's meeting on July 10th, 2008 a presentation was made by the Moultonboro Police Department regarding a qualifying firing range at the transfer station. It generated a lot of debate. Despite this, the selectmen posted minutes that were incomplete and did not cover vital aspects of that debate. The MCA wrote to the selectmen to correct the minutes. They declined to do this and approved the minutes as written. We reviewed the video and provided to the selectmen the following:
1. MPD firing range- Cpl. Canfield clearly states that the range would only be used by MPD and no other departments. This is not in the minutes. This is a critical point for resdents to consider before the public hearing continues.
2. MPD firing range- Cpl. Canfield explained that they will try and use the facility on Wednesdays mostly and Chief Kinmond mentioned that this may not always be possible due to trying to avoid overtime. This is not mentioned in the minutes and again is an important point for the public to be aware of before a decision is made.
As per Chief Kinmond at part 2 of the public hearing on this issue on July 24th a lot of misinformation was out there. This could have been avoided by the selectmen by firstly providing accurate, substantive and complete minutes and secondly, by allowing broadcast of the video of the meeting on public access TV.
MCA
The Citizen July 12th. 2008
The Moultonboro Citizens Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to public involvement in town government, is pleased to announce that beginning on July 15th, 2008 at 7pm, the Moultonboro Selectmen’s meetings as well as other public meetings, will be broadcast in their entirety on Time Warner Cable’s public access channel. The first meeting to be broadcast will be the most recent Selectmen’s meeting, July 10, 2008. In addition and soon after broadcast, the meetings will also be available on the Moultonboro Citizens Alliance website: (Http://www.MoultonboroCitizensAlliance.org). This service is provided at no cost to the taxpayers of Moultonboro. It is completely a volunteer effort. We wish to thank all those who made this possible by contributing their valuable time and resources to this effort. The Moultonboro Citizens Alliance believes that providing this service to the public will greatly enhance citizen involvement and participation in local government. We are confident that our selectmen ,school board members and other public bodies will welcome this increased access to local government for the citizens they serve. If you or someone you know is interested in supporting our organization, please contact us via email at : MoultonboroCitizensAlliance@Yahoo.com or via regular mail : Moultonboro Citizens Alliance,
6 HOLLAND STREET
PO BOX 139
MOULTONBOROUGH, NH 03254
Selectmen’s Meeting July 10, 2008
DRAFT
MINUTES
Present: Selectmen: Karel A. Crawford, Edward J. Charest, Joel R. Mudgett; Carter Terenzini, Town Administrator; Hope K. Kokas, Secretary.
I. CALL TO ORDER: Karel called the meeting to Order at 7:00 P.M.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
III. REVIEW/APPROVE MINUTES: Ed Made the Motion to approve the Minutes of June 26, 2008 as written. Joel Seconded. The Motion carried unanimously.
IV. NEW RESIDENTS: Margo E. Reasner, Emily M. Litcof, Curtis P. LeBlanc, Christopher F. Swenson, Randall G. & Candice L. Washburn, Jennifer K. Stanford, Valerie A. & William J. Hynes, Erin A. Dibenedetto, Eric S. Perl, Jay C. Hurd.
V. PUBLIC MEETING:
1. Jim Hambrook, PAD Realty Corp., Request Additional Parking on Town Property: Mr. Hambrook stated that he is representing Peter DiSalvo owner of PAD Realty Corp. and of the building located on 4 Whittier Highway, Town owned property. They have requested from the Planning Board a change of use for the building (from accounting office to real estate). ......
House Bill 1408, passed this year, defines as a public meeting any electronic communication among a quorum of public board members. By forwarding city e-mails to their home accounts, councilors are opening their private e-mail records to possible subpoena
The Union Leader Sunday July 13, 2008
Public meetings and right to know have been in the news lately with the Belknap County Convention and the successful lawsuit brought to the NH Supreme Court by two Gilford Citizens. The New Hampshire Local Government Center has published a very concise article called "Meeting Minutes 101" intended as a guide for local government to properly capture public meeting minutes. Click on the link above for the full publication. Remember, you have a right to know!
MCA
