All the world’s a stage: Broadcasting meetings a tough call for Waynesville
Waynesville’s Board of Aldermen (left to right) Chuck Dickson, Julia Freeman, Mayor Gary Caldwell, Jon Feichter and Anthony Sutton plan to in crease transparency with “baby steps.” Town of Waynesville photo
All the world’s a stage, Shakespeare wrote, and all the men and women merely players. But with the recent uptick in bad actors consistently providing misinformation to Waynesville’s Board of Aldermen, a proposal to increase transparency by broadcasting meetings got bogged down over concerns that the videos would simply end up as food for trolls.
“People engage digitally now,” said Alderman Chuck Dickson in presenting a proposal to televise the board’s regular Tuesday evening meetings. “I think we have an opportunity to meet people where they are.”
Dickson’s comment came during the Board’s annual budget retreat, held on Feb. 24.
A few years ago, the town purchased equipment that would facilitate the broadcast of audio and video, however supply chain issues slowed the delivery and installation of the equipment until only recently.
Now, the town has the capability to film the dais, as well as the speaker’s podium, and make the videos available online in real time or after the fact. Assistant Town Manager Jesse Fowler said the videos could be uploaded to a YouTube channel at little to no cost.
Dickson said he thought that such a move would help to clamp down on misinformation being peddled by some in the community who repeatedly show up to opine on everything from crime rates to COVID vaccines to homelessness.
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“We shouldn’t let other people control the narrative,” Dickson said. “I think it might be interesting for the public to see what some people are saying in public comment.”
Alderman Jon Feichter said he was aware of the potential consequences of the broadcasts, but supports the idea nonetheless.
The other three members of the Board, aldermen Julia Freeman and Anthony Sutton, along with Mayor Gary Caldwell, weren’t so sure.
Caldwell said that with this being an election year, he was concerned about burdening a future board with the provision, and that he didn’t feel good about it.
Freeman initially said she was on the fence.
“It’s a slippery slope when you put your face out there,” she said, mentioning derisive comments she’d seen about the appearance and wardrobe of some aldermen, which she called “pure nastiness.”
Currently, the Haywood County Board of Commissioners is the only municipal government in the county to broadcast meetings live. Those meetings are both archived on YouTube and hosted on the county’s website.
On the county’s website, viewers have the ability to simultaneously view the agenda, and skip directly to different agenda items.
Sutton, seeking a compromise, pushed for the audio to be broadcast.
“I have a little trepidation, but I think we should take some baby steps first,” he said, noting that the board could always make a move towards video in the future if it so desired.
Alderman Jon Feichter pushed back on Sutton’s suggestion, worried that some might take the audio out of context.
“Do you worry that audio-only misses the nuance?” Feichter asked. “If it’s just our disconnected voices in an audio recording, it’s a challenge for the listener to put a name to a face. I think we would be missing out if we didn’t include that video.”
Sutton made a motion to broadcast the audio of meetings after the fact — but without video. Freeman seconded and the motion passed 4 to 1 over the objections of Feichter.
“I voted against it not because I don’t support it, but because I don’t think it went far enough,” he said. “I want to livestream the meetings.”
Waynesville currently limits public comment to 30 minutes at each meeting, although that time limit may be extended at the pleasure of the mayor. The limit hasn’t been invoked in recent meetings, if ever.
One option that wasn’t discussed was to avoid broadcasting the public comment session, in order to cut down on grandstanding and the dissemination of misinformation.
While some may complain that such a move would stifle free speech and the ability of residents to communicate with their elected officials, speaking in person at public comment sessions of municipal government meetings isn’t the only way for people to get involved with decisionmakers on local issues.
Email addresses of aldermen and town staff are provided on the town website, and most public officials also publicize their telephone numbers as well.
Additionally, state statutes only require municipal governing boards to provide the opportunity for public comment once per month. All municipal governments in Haywood County that meet more than once a month — including the county and the towns of Canton, Maggie Valley and Waynesville — provide this opportunity at every meeting.
The Town of Clyde meets only once per month, and offers a public comment session at every meeting.
