HOLMDEL – Members of the Holmdel Township Committee have unanimously voted to video record and live stream meetings of the governing body.
On Jan. 28, no one from the public commented on the matter before an ordinance which permits the video recording and live streaming of municipal meetings was adopted.
On a roll call vote, Mayor Greg Buontempo, Deputy Mayor Cathy Weber, Committeeman Prakash Santhana, Committeeman Rocco Pascucci, and Committeeman Tom Critelli voted “yes” on a motion to adopt the ordinance.
In the ordinance, the committee members stated that “while not required by the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act, in an effort to foster transparency and to engage the residents of Holmdel in the township’s governance through the use of modern technology, the Township Committee seeks to direct the video recording and live streaming of its public meetings.”
The ordinance directs the the township administrator and the township clerk “to facilitate the video recording and live streaming of the portions of meetings of the Township Committee that are open to the public … to the extent technologically feasible at each public meeting.”
The administrator and the clerk will also be responsible for creating and maintaining an electronic repository of video recordings of Township Committee meetings that is available to the public over the internet, according to the ordinance.