Our board of directors is proposing changes to Policy 1.07. These changes would kick me and my cameras out of the board room, and they would ban any member from recording meetings without "express written permission."
It's no secret that I disapprove of some decisions made by the board. As readers are aware, I am very vocal about this. But every governing body needs a watchdog such as myself. Otherwise, that governing body can easily run afoul of their obligation to serve the membership. And that's why I record meetings.
I've been accused by board directors of editing my recordings of meetings to make it look like a director has said something he or she didn't really say. This is not factual. What I frequently do is cut out a section of a meeting to emphasize a particular point I want to make. These clips may run from 30 seconds to several minutes. In any case, I always post the entire meeting on my Facebook page, uncut, so that any member may watch the meeting in its entirety.
I've also been accused by board directors of posting clips out of context. This, too, is not factual. For example, I recently posted a one-minute clip from the June 8 Recreation Committee of Chairman Gary Griffin stating that he saw 15 people at Tiree Park that he thought were nonmembers. Nonmembers are not allowed, yet he did nothing about it. I feel it's imperative that members see this so that corrective action can be taken. As always, I also posted the meeting in its entirety.
Another thing that I frequently do is highlight a video clip of a member speaking. I have found that my subscribers value this. It's a service I provide to my subscribers that requires a lot of extra time and effort. It's a service that Bella Vista Community Television and the POA cannot reasonably provide.
It goes without saying that my recordings serve as backups to the recordings of the POA and BVCTV. Directors frequently forget to un-mute their microphones, which makes their statements nearly inaudible. My recording gear isn't tied into the POA system, so my microphones will often pick up voices that would otherwise be inaudible. And it is well-known that technical difficulties happen to everyone.
Most disturbingly, it's apparent that the motivation for changes to Policy 1.07 are based on some directors' personal dislike of me. I'm aware that my work may embarrass some directors. I maintain that these same directors should be embarrassed when their words and actions go against the best interests of the membership. And I will argue that policies should not be based on personal feelings toward a member.
I'm urging the board to reconsider the proposed changes to Policy 1.07. It is my firm belief that every governing body needs an alternative voice, even if that voice goes against the dominant narrative.
Kevin Dooley
Bella Vista