VIDEO RECORD BOW NH SELECT BOARD MEETINGS

“Openness in the conduct of public business is essential to a democratic society.” --the preamble to NH’s Right to Know Law

NH’s Right to Know Law ensures “both the greatest possible public access to the actions, discussions and records of all public bodies, and their accountability to the people.” In support of these rights, the law allows anyone to record meetings of government bodies that are open to the public. In Bow, some government bodies such as the Planning Board routinely video record their meetings and publish the recordings online. Now is the time for Bow's Select Board to do the same.
There are many situations in which video recordings of the Select Board’s meetings can be helpful. They include occasions when there are differing recollections of what was discussed or decided at a meeting or when you need to understand either the complete context in which a decision was made or an important detail that supported it. Knowing that a meeting is being recorded can remind participants to maintain the level of decorum that’s warranted by the government’s seriousness of purpose. Video recordings are also helpful to the person preparing the minutes of the Board’s meetings, which by law remains the meetings’ official record.
Video recording the Select Board’s meetings will help increase residents’ engagement, which gives breadth to our decision making and enriches our community life. Most importantly, making these recordings easily available to the public will promote transparency, which is key to building trust.