Sioux Falls, SD (KELO AM) - City parks board meetings will now become permanent, public record after the Sioux Falls City Council voted 5-2 in favor of having the meetings recorded. Michelle Erpenbach and Rex Rolfing were the lone no votes.
The vote was preceded by nearly a half hour of debate, with both sides digging in their heals. Several citizens spoke in favor of the measure, including longtime open records champion Bruce Danielson. "I've been asked by members of this body to go to meetings and record them. Because they want to be able to see them and feel like they were part of the decision," he argued. Others said they'd like to know how the department is recommending that taxpayer dollars be spent, still others said it's about being open and honest in government.
City Parks Director Don Kearney argued against the measure, saying his department is already more transparent than required since meetings include public input sessions, have posted agendas, and have posted minutes on the city's web site. Kearney also expressed concern for unintended consequences of the ordinance, such as backlash against one or more board members for comments they make that may be taken out of context, specially considering the board consists of volunteers.
That fact was also not lost on some of the council members. Michelle Erpenbach said the board shouldn't be subject to the same scrutiny as the elected council. "[City Councilors] hear all kinds of nasty, and I don't appreciate it. If I were a volunteer on a board like the park board, and you required that I sit there and listen to that just because you want to have it video taped, I'm out." Adding that it's not in the job description of someone volunteering their time to take the tongue lashings that the elected council does, "I'll sit here and listen to it and be polite on Tuesday nights, but I don't want to put that on volunteers who are trying to make this a better community." Greg Neitzert echoed that reasoning. "What this comes down to, is there's some people up here, that don't want some of you at those meetings. That's it," he said, referencing the audience at town hall.
During the course of the discussion two amendments were proposed to the ordinance. One would have called for all meetings to be recorded exclusively in video and audio format, that failed. An amendment allowing for meetings to continue on in the event of a malfunction by the recording equipment passed. The council decided that in those cases, the meeting minutes would serve as official record, much like the procedures used for other recorded meetings.