March 31,2018
by the staff of The Ridgewood Blog
Ridgewood NJ, In a letter to the editor published in The Ridgewood News’ March 30, 2018 edition, FORMER Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli provides a clear indication of one thing that is likely to happen if Pucciarelli, Paul Aronsohn, and Gwenn Hauck backed candidates (Alexandra Harwin and Janice Willett) are seated and gain majority control of the Village Council during this year’s municipal election.
Pucciarelli’s letter calls for the reinstatement of repealed Ordinance #3532, which prohibited the audio/video recording of PUBLIC meetings conducted by Boards & Committees, whose members are appointed by the Village Council. Ordinance #3532 was repealed in October of 2016 by Ordinance #3549.
The repeal was driven by public outcry over the restrictive (and possibly unlawful) ordinance (3532), which was drafted and approved by Pucciarelli, Aronsohn, and Hauck following an incident in which FORMER Mayor Paul Aronsohn was caught on videotape berating a citizen who was legally video taping a meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission.
Here are the meeting minutes associated with Village Council discussion leading to the repeal of Ordinance #3532. Discussion took place on September 7, 2016:
7.) Discussion of Ord. 3532 – Regulations of Audio/Visual Recordings at Public Meetings
Mayor Knudsen stated that this ordinance prohibiting the videotaping of meetings without authorization had been passed a short time ago. There is still confusion surrounding the ordinance, which has prompted a review of this ordinance. Councilman Sedon stated that the videotaping was done at a public meeting which means there is no expectation of privacy. Councilman Voigt characterized the ordinance as “overkill”, and he added that people should treat one another with respect. He concluded that the ordinance should be repealed.
Councilwoman Walsh said that decorum is the key, and in this instance the resident intended to videotape for future reference and not to embarrass anyone. Councilman Voigt agreed and said that this ordinance is treating people like children.
Mr. Rogers said that this ordinance could be defeated at the upcoming public meeting, where it is listed for consideration. Village Councilmembers indicated their agreement with Mr. Rogers’ suggestion.
