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I am seeking some guidance regarding an ongoing issue I am having with the Town of Theresa. Last year, I began to notice that the Town was not posting its board meeting minutes in a timely manner and required by the Open Meetings Law (OML). For example, by November of 2023, the minutes from May 2023 onward had not been posted. I have screenshots to support my claims. I brought this to the attention of the Town Board in October 2023 and was met with hostility and contempt for the OML by the Town Clerk. The following month, I requested to address the Town Board and read/submitted a formal complaint regarding the lack of compliance with the OML. I also provided citations of where the law could be found and the posting requirements for the Town of Theresa (Note: The Town has a regularly maintained website and access to high-speed internet).
It wasn’t until approximately December 11th, 2023 that the remaining outstanding minutes (May-Nov) were posted on the website. On December 13th, 2023, I brought my video camera to the Town Board meeting to film the public meeting. As I was setting up my camera, the Town Supervisor, Steve Marcinkowski, asked me if I was allowed to do that. I said that I was (Public Officers Law, Art 7, Sec 103 (d)(1)). He didn’t believe me and demanded that I look up the law and prove to him that I was allowed to record the meeting. I informed the Town Supervisor that the burden was on him to prove that I was violating the law, and that I was not obligated to prove my rights. He threatened to cancel the public meeting and disappeared into his office for about 10 minutes to attempt to call the Town’s attorney. I can elaborate on how things transpired afterward if needed, but the public meeting did move forward.
The Town held another public quorum on December 28th, 2023, but due to my recovering from COVID, I was unable to attend. To date, those minutes have not been posted on the Town website.
The Town held its next board meeting on January 17th, 2024. As I was setting up my camera for this meeting, our county legislator was in attendance and asked why I recorded the meetings. I simply stated that my intentions were to record the meetings and post on Youtube so that people who could not attend would have the opportunity to observe what was discussed. The Town Supervisor overheard this and asked if I was live-streaming and if I was allowed to post the videos on Youtube. He also stated that he discussed this “extensively” with the town’s attorney and said that they will be watching what I am doing with the videos very closely and that if it can be construed as harassment, then the town will pursue civil and criminal charges against me. I told him that I had no intention of breaking the law, at which point, he repeated himself in saying that they will be watching what I do with the video very closely. I perceived this as a legal threat.
During the January 17th meeting, I again asked to address the board. As we now have a new Town Clerk and a new member to the town board, I briefly discussed the issues over the past several months and the requirements of the law. A board member stated that the minutes do not get approved until the following meeting, but I explained to them that they still have to be posted, but in draft status until formal approval. The Town Supervisor, on camera, stated that at this time it is not a priority for the Town to post the minutes within the legal requirements and that the Town is too busy.
I am asking for guidance from the New York Coalition for Open Government regarding this issue. I would like to post the videos I have made of the Town of Theresa Board Meetings on Youtube so that members of the public who are unable to attend may keep themselves informed and that our elected officials are held accountable for the statements and decisions they make. The Town Supervisor has made it clear that the Town of Theresa does not intend to abide by the OML. As of the writing of this email, the Town of Theresa Board meeting minutes have still not been posted for December 28th, 2023, and January 17th, 2024. The next Town Board meeting is on February 14th, 2024.
Ideally, I would like to livestream the Town Board meetings so that I may webcast and upload to Youtube all at once. This would ensure the highest degree of transparency and accessibility to fellow town residents. I can almost guarantee that this will be met with hostility and that Town Supervisor Steve Marcinkowski will make good on his threat of legal action against me. I would welcome any guidance and/or support your organization could offer in this matter.
Thanks for contacting the NY Coalition For Open Government. You sure have been putting up with a lot. I continue to be amazed at how uninformed and hostile some town officials are regarding the Open Meetings Law.
You are correct that the Open Meetings Law requires meeting documents to be posted online at least 24 hours prior to a meeting. The Open Meetings Law also requires that meeting minutes or a meeting recording be posted online within two weeks of a meeting occurring. There is no requirement that meeting minutes be approved and if the town board does approve minutes a draft version must be posted online within two weeks.
Any member of the public has the right to livestream or record a town board meeting as long as it is not an executive session, where the public is being excluded for proper reasons. You can post the recordings on Youtube or anywhere else that you want.
I encourage you to sign up for our email list and to consider becoming a member of our organization, which you can do through our website. Is there a local newspaper or reporter that you can interest in what is happening in your town? We have a member in Henderson, NY not far from you that has been dealing with transparency issues there.