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Goshen resident urges Elkhart County to require recordings of unelected board meetings
Summary
A public commenter asked commissioners to pass an ordinance requiring all county-level meetings to be recorded after a July change that she said reduced livestreaming and recording of unelected boards; she cited two incidents and urged a single countywide recording standard.
During the Dec. 8 meeting, public commenter Cindy Hajicek of Goshen urged the Elkhart County Board of Commissioners to adopt a single countywide standard requiring recording of all county-level meetings, including meetings of unelected boards.
Hajicek said that since a law change in July, some unelected boards are no longer required to livestream or record monthly meetings and that attending in person has become the only reliable way to stay informed. She described two incidents she said illustrated the problem: a planning board chair who required a speaker to provide name and address before allowing public comment despite the speaker expressing safety concerns; and statements at a Bristol town meeting by officials Jeff Picci and Mike Yoder about a housing project—s ownership mix that Hajicek said were contradicted by a private recording showing Jeff Beachy making a different claim. Hajicek asked the commissioners to pass an ordinance requiring recordings and said the county already has the equipment.
The transcript records Hajicek's request but does not show a response from the commissioners or any commitment to act during the meeting.
