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Board to rely on OWL+Teams recordings; asks IT to disable AI transcripts and enable USB exports
Summary
The Sagadahoc County Board of Assessment Review confirmed a move away from analog tape to a transportable OWL camera/microphone used with a recording platform (e.g., Microsoft Teams), asked county IT to ensure recordings can be exported to USB for public-records requests, and requested AI transcription be turned off for hearings likely to go to court.
The Sagadahoc County Board of Assessment Review discussed replacing historic tape recordings with a transportable OWL camera and digital-platform recordings and asked county IT to confirm that those files can be exported for public requests.
The board’s chair said the panel voted on Nov. 17 to discontinue tape recording and to ‘‘transition to the use of an OWL recording device,’’ and asked IT to confirm whether recordings made on Teams could be copied to a thumb drive if an appellant or member of the public requested them. ‘‘Will it transfer effectively and simply to a thumb drive?’’ the chair asked. ‘‘That’s a big question to you.’’
Devin, the county IT staff who attended, explained the OWL unit ‘‘is just a camera and a microphone’’ and ‘‘doesn’t actually record’’; instead, it plugs into a laptop and the meeting platform (for example, Microsoft Teams) performs the recording. He said recordings saved from Teams can be moved and exported and that settings that enable automated transcript or AI features can typically be toggled off.
Board members stressed avoiding reliance on automated transcripts for hearings that may move to court. The chair said prior AI-generated transcripts were ‘‘not accurate’’ and ‘‘could be potentially damaging’’ to litigants and board members because of errors with accents and tone. Devin replied he would ‘‘look into that’’ and connect with the county administrator to show how AI features can be disabled.
The board also agreed to add a clarifying statement to the county frequently asked questions page explaining that the board’s official digital recording is equivalent to the former tape recording and that appellants may obtain separate recordings or hire court transcriptionists if they want a verbatim transcript. A motion to add that FAQ language was made, seconded, and adopted by voice vote.
Next steps: IT will follow up by email with the chair and the county administrator on how to disable AI transcription features and on procedures for exporting platform recordings to USB drives before a Jan. 22 hearing the board said is likely to proceed to court.
Sources: Statements made by the chair and by Devin, the county IT staff, during the board’s organizational meeting.
