Johnstown council narrows recording ban; keeps executive-session restriction after public objections

Johnstown City Council on Feb. 11 amended and approved a resolution setting rules for recording at public meetings, removing language that would have barred recording before and after sessions while keeping a prohibition during executive sessions.

The council considered Resolution No. 10754, prompted in part by concerns about people using cameras and blocking views in the gallery. Solicitor Aimee Willett told the council she had been asked to prepare the measure to address a taped-off videotaping area and said the law treats recording during an open public meeting differently from recording before or after the meeting. "When a person enters a public meeting, there is an expectation that they may be recorded," Willett said, adding her view that the parts of the resolution addressing before-and-after recordings involved the Crimes Code rather than the Sunshine Act.

Public commenters had urged changes. John DeBartola and Dustin Greene argued the resolution as written would restrict long-standing public recording practices and raised constitutional concerns. Charlene Stanton said she could not find a Sunshine Act provision allowing officials to ban recording before or after a meeting and asked how enforcement would be handled.

Council member Nicolas Spinelli proposed language removing the lines that read, in part, "no recording devices shall be permitted prior to commencement of the public meeting, following adjournment of a public meeting, during a recess of a public meeting," and replacing them with a narrower prohibition limited to executive sessions. Council members approved the amendment and later approved the resolution as amended. The amendment vote was recorded as unanimous; the final approval was recorded as Yeas: Mayor King, Mr. Arnone, Mr. Barber, Mr. Clark, Mr. Hamacek, Mr. Spinelli, Ms. Brandon-Taylor (7); Nays: None (0).

Mayor Sylvia King said one purpose of adopting rules was to address behavior that blocked the view of others in the gallery during events such as proclamations where picture-taking is allowed. "One of the purposes of the resolution was due to people recording while standing up and blocking the view of other people in the gallery who were then unable to see or hear the Council," she said.

The adopted language preserves the council's authority to prohibit recording during executive sessions held pursuant to Section 708 of the Sunshine Act, but the council removed provisions that would have broadly banned recording immediately before or after a meeting. Solicitor Willett recommended signage in public areas to notify attendees that recording could occur.

Next steps: the resolution as amended is now in effect per the council vote; enforcement, per the solicitor's explanation, will be through the mayor's authority to maintain order during meetings (for example, asking a disruptive person to leave).