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Residents and board debate how long town meeting videos should remain online
Summary
Selectboard members referenced a state recommendation to keep videos available for 30 days after minutes are approved; residents and the website committee suggested longer public access or using unlisted links for archival access, prompting plans to gather more information before a final policy decision.
The selectboard and residents spent an extended portion of the meeting debating a proposed website policy on meeting video retention and whether videos should remain publicly available after minutes are approved.
A selectboard member summarized the state guidance, saying the state "recommends only keeping the videos up for 30 days after the minutes are approved." Residents and website volunteers pushed back, noting that public archives and PEG TV channels often retain recordings and that keeping videos accessible helps with historical record and transparency. Nancy Birdsall, who manages upload practices on the town channel, described how recordings can be set to unlisted to preserve them without making them broadly searchable and offered to help manage access. The board agreed to gather more information — including what other towns do and the exact basis of the state recommendation — and to place the issue on the informational meeting agenda ahead of town meeting.
