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Town tables proposal requiring board members to use town devices during meetings
Summary
Hillsdale trustees debated a proposed resolution that would require use of town‑sanctioned computers and retention of device records during meetings; members criticized the measure as overbroad and the board agreed to table and redraft it with emergency exceptions.
The board paused consideration of a proposed resolution to require town board members to use town‑sanctioned computers or devices during meetings and to preserve records from those devices. Proponents said requiring town devices would improve transparency and record retention; opponents called the language overly broad and raised civil‑liberties and practicality concerns for members who rely on personal phones in emergencies.
"I think the language here is a little confusing," one committee member said during the discussion, arguing the draft sweeps too widely and could prohibit reasonable emergency communications. After back‑and‑forth about executive sessions and emergency exceptions, the board agreed to table the resolution and to return with clarified language that specifically exempts emergencies and narrows preservation requirements.
No formal policy was adopted at the meeting; members asked staff to redraft the resolution and to propose narrower language that balances transparency with members' personal and emergency needs.
