by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
It has become one of the more popular forms of communicating and the City’s Ethics Commission is concerned about text messaging by public officials on the clock.
City Ethics Officer Carla Miller suggested at its June 27 meeting that the commission consider developing a policy on text messaging.
“It’s an effort to keep up with technology and maintain transparency for public records,” said Miller.
According to Florida Statute, technology should not hinder the access to public records.
According to Florida Statute, Chapter 119 Public Records: “The Legislature finds that providing access to public records is a duty of each agency and that automation of public records must not erode the right of access to those records. As each agency increases its use of and dependence on electronic recordkeeping, each agency must ensure reasonable access to records electronically maintained.”
Text messages can present a problem for public records requests, according to Miller.
“For example, City Council members all have
their own private providers, and if they don’t contact those providers to request to have those messages saved, then they are normally erased from the providers system in three to five days,” said Miller.
“After that, the only record would be on the cell phone itself, but that depends on whether or not the user deletes the message,” she said.
Another problem Miller pointed out was the image of texting at City Council meetings.
“The image of texting at a City Council meeting isn’t one of transparency,” she said.
While a Council member might be receiving a message about a business emergency or to pick up milk on the way home, Miller said the problem is that the public is in the dark about the communication.
“My impression on texting is that it should be banned at City Council meetings or the messages should be recorded and be available for view as public records,” said Miller.
While communication with Council members during meetings is not a new occurrence, members of the public can often draw a Council member’s attention during the meeting and ask to visit on the side.
Citizens can meet with the Council members in the green room, a room near chambers where members take breaks.
“Texting is beyond someone pulling a Council member aside in the green room to talk about an issue. It can be real-time participation in a proceeding. A visit to the green room is a periodic participation in a meeting, at best,” said Council member John Crescimbeni.
He also didn’t see a difference between text messages and letters or faxes, which have requirements for the length of time they need to be saved and available as public records.
“It’s the same information, so it should be subject to the same rules,” said Crescimbeni.
Other Council members were worried about a policy that could restrict the public’s access to members.
“I understand you don’t want people distracted (in Council chambers) and you want people focused on what we are discussing up there. At the same time, there are also positives that come out of it too,” said Council member Richard Clark.
“You have to be really careful when you start restricting access to public officials,” he said.
Though Clark had questions about how the policy would be enforced and how messages would be determined to be personal or City business, he was supportive of pursuing transparency.
“You don’t want to encourage people to do a bunch of City business that’s not transparent and maybe that’s where (the Ethics Commission) is going,” said Clark.
“If that is the intent, then that’s a sound argument. As technology changes, so should the way we govern ourselves,” he said.
Council member Bill Bishop also cautioned about developing a rule prohibiting or discouraging texting in Council chambers.
“If you follow that logic then maybe there ought to be a rule prohibiting conversations during Council meeting, of any sort,” said Bishop. “At some point it goes a little past the point of reason.”
Bishop said Council members have the duty to “do the right thing,” and he encouraged anyone with knowledge of inappropriate behavior being conducted in Council chambers to also do the right thing.
“If somebody has an allegation that criminal behavior is taking place or unethical behavior is taking place, then they have a duty to bring that to the attention of the appropriate people,” said Bishop.
“We will get ourselves to the point where an elected official can simply do nothing at all outside the venue of a publicly noticed meeting,” he said.
Council member Warren Jones recognized that texting at a meeting isn’t the best image for Council members, but the technology provides a valuable tool.
“(Members of the John Peyton) administration would text us information on issues during meetings when some of the information we were receiving was not correct, which was helpful,” said Jones.
“It’s a valuable tool, but it can be abused and we need to be cognizant of that,” he said.
The legislative subcommittee of the Ethics Commission agreed to research the issue.
356-2466