Crete trustees discussed the pros and cons of video recording and live streaming the village board meetings last week, but the issue found no support when it came time to vote on it. It could resurface later in the year, however.
During the January 13 meeting, some trustees voiced concern about the legal requirements if video recording were to be implemented.
After a lengthy discussion, Trustee John Phelan motioned to create a committee to explore the feasibility. The motion failed for lack of a second.
Trustee Mark Wiater, serving as Chairman Pro Tem during the meeting, later said his main concern was budgetary.
“I can only speak for myself and not the other trustees,” he noted. “As I stated in the meeting, I’m not necessarily opposed to videoing. John suggested live streaming also. The costs of the equipment, the videographer to film the meetings, and the servers to store the data were not budgeted for in this fiscal year.
“I have no information on what the state statutes are pertaining to retention periods and formats. Are any of these issues insurmountable? Absolutely not. But we’re five months away from a new fiscal year, and I just feel it more appropriate to budget before we spend.
“As for why I didn’t seconded it, I’ve got a full plate with the transition and just didn’t want the responsibility of tackling another project right now. I didn’t think it was fair to commit to the committee and then pawn it off on someone else to do the leg work,” he continued.
“As we create the FY 25/26 budget, we can take another look and try to appropriate dollars if that’s the desire of the board.”
During the Trustee Reports segment of the meeting, Trustee Katrina Seifert updated the board on the Crete Connections newsletter. The first newsletter was published in December, and they are planned to be published quarterly. Trustee Stephen Johnson praised the volunteers who participated in the Christmas toy and food drive, noting the event was a big success. Trustee Mark Wiater told the board that interviews will be taking place in the upcoming weeks to hire an office front desk clerk. He also praised Administrator Mike Smith on his 28th anniversary with the village.
Under Citizens Speak, Crete Area Chamber of Commerce Vice President Jamie Healy thanked the board and all the village departments for all their hard work last month at Crete Country Christmas.