Hayden City Council to address demand for video recorded meetings

HAYDEN — Councilors are considering ways to meet demand for video recordings beyond regular City Council and Planning and Zoning meetings at the start of the new year.

City staff have “emphasized the difficulty of accommodating last minute requests, especially when they involve special or unpredictable meetings,” according to recent meeting records. “Staff members, particularly in the IT department, are reaching a breaking point, and there is no budget allocated for this increase in video recording tasks."

City Council meetings have been video recorded since 2010, while Planning and Zoning meetings began recordings in 2022, said Mayor Alan Davis.

“In addition to maintaining minutes, our city audio records most other public meetings and retains these recordings,” Davis told The Press.

While “some past meetings have required the support of a paid-contract video recording operator,” continuing this practice could have an impact on the city’s budget, Davis said.

Staff will seek guidance from the council that formalizes how each meeting should be chronicled as soon as January, Davis said.

“I have asked city staff to present options for our city council to consider that will include which meetings will continue to be audio recorded, which meetings should be video recorded, and the potential impacts of both on our approved budget,” Davis said.