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Abatement Appeals Board designates SFgovTV video as official record, allows party-supplied reporters
Summary
The board voted to amend its rules so SFgovTV video recordings become the administrative record for hearings and parties may provide a certified court reporter whose transcript can be designated the official record if the party supplies the city with a certified copy at no cost.
The San Francisco Abatement Appeals Board on Nov. 19 voted to amend its rules to designate video recordings made and broadcast by SFgovTV as the administrative record for its hearings, while preserving the option for parties to supply a certified court reporter.
Deputy City Attorney Catherine Barnes told the board the proposed change would allow the board to rely on SFgovTV DVDs as the official record and to accept a party-provided certified court reporter’s transcript as the official record if the requester agrees to supply the city a certified copy at no cost. "Board proceedings video recorded and broadcast by SFgovTV . . . shall be the administrative record for each hearing," Barnes said when summarizing the proposed rule language.
Barnes said the rule responds to operational changes in other city boards, noting court reporters are not always available and that a certified transcription of the SFgovTV recording could be produced later by a neutral court reporter if a party sought a verbatim transcript for litigation.
Commissioners asked about technical failures. Barnes said a contemporaneous backup audio tape is created in the hearing room and could be designated as the record if SFgovTV experienced a problem; she also offered to add explicit wording allowing substitution of the tape in the event of technical difficulty.
After public comment was solicited and none was offered on the item, a commissioner moved to adopt the amendment as proposed by the City Attorney. The motion was seconded and carried on a roll-call vote.
The change takes effect for future meetings; parties who still prefer a stenographic transcript may bring their own certified court reporter and must provide a certified copy to the board at no charge if they request the transcription be the official record.
