Citizen participation in government explained

Harry W. Pozycki, chairman and founder of the Center for Civic Responsibility and its Citizens' Campaign, was interviewed on WHYY's Radio Times, March 8, 2010. Having started in New Jersey, he is expanding his offerings to Pennsylvania. The general principles can be applied nationwide, however. His site offers an inspiring how-to for concerned citizens.

"Whistleblower protection in place"

By Jenna Portnoy, Intelligencer, December 3, 2009: "A new policy will protect Bucks employees who report fraud and abuse to appointed county officers. . . ."

"'Star' employees will be made public"

By Jenna Portnoy, PhillyBurbs.com, November 5, 2009:

A procedure will indicate when an employee separates from Bucks with a payment or perk beyond what is typical.

What a difference an asterisk can make.

Or, in this case three. That's the number of stars that will appear on publicly released personnel lists next to the names of departing county employees to denote a "separation agreement."

The procedural change is significant because commissioners recently gave two top mental health department administrators retirement perks via agreements about which the public - and the controller - knew nothing.

The matter became public when this newspaper reported that Phil Fenster retired from the county on Sept. 15, but was back to work for Bucks the following week with a $75,000-a-year consulting gig with a county-affiliated agency. The private, nonprofit Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission didn't have to make the hire public because of how the job is funded.

The commission will reimburse the county for the cost of extending the same health benefits Fenster received as mental health/mental retardation administrator through Oct. 1, 2010, the retirement agreement states.

The county will cover health care benefits through the end of this year only for the other mental health employee, Mary Richter, her retirement agreement says.

Even though the county pays health care costs in advance, Controller Ray McHugh opposed paying Richter and Fenster's health care bills in principle - until commissioners voted on the deals in public.

"My concern is that there will be notice of any expenditure pursuant to county money," McHugh told commissioners at a meeting in Middletown on Wednesday. The controller is the county's chief auditor; the office pays the bills and issues paychecks.

From now on, he said, the stars will "denote anything that involves an expenditure of county money other than through the standard personnel practices for hiring or separation."

Commissioners Jim Cawley and Charley Martin obliged by re-adopting the agreements Wednesday; Democrat Diane Marseglia voted 'no.'

"Commissioner downplays recording of meeting"

By Jenna Portnoy, PhillyBurbs.com, November 5, 2009:

. . . A more than two-hour-long meeting of the Bucks County commissioners was recorded Wednesday thanks to in-house video equipment at the Middletown Township building. But it's not clear if the video will ever be viewed by a wide audience.

"I'll take it under advisement," Republican Commissioner Charley Martin said after the meeting. "I don't see any advantage to it."

Martin said he worried about grandstanding by officials or members of the audience. Already, he said the lengthy meetings are a far cry from the days when he said commissioners were in and out in 25 minutes.

Commissioners generally meet at 10 a.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of the month at various locations throughout the county. In the winter months, meetings take place at the courthouse in Doylestown. Anyone who can't be there can listen to audio files posted to the county Web site, www.buckscounty.org, after the meeting.

But Democratic Commissioner Diane Marseglia has pushed for televised meetings since before she took office in 2008. She maintains that the meeting times are inconvenient for people who work during the day.

She volunteered to pay the cost of recording the meeting in Middletown, where she used to be a supervisor, so commissioners could test out the concept without expending taxpayer dollars.

Commissioner Jim Cawley said he had no problem with the video appearing on television or streaming online. Two commissioners' support for a measure is typically enough to make it happen in Bucks, but Cawley said he would defer to Martin to make the final decision.

Unlike in municipalities, counties do not have cable franchise agreements to use as leverage for air time and video equipment from cable companies like Comcast. Showing the videos online could be a cost-saving alternative.

Back in April, then-Chief Operating Officer Dave Sanko said video of the meetings could begin streaming online as early as July.

At the time, Sanko said the technology would give anyone with Internet access the chance to view the meetings whenever it's convenient for them. The service would have been worth the costs of recording, he said at the time.

Low-cost alternative/addition to TV

[Note: If the screen is black, go directly to the video at this link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5073306645940258316&hl=en]

Televising Bucks County Commissioners' meetings is a laudable goal in that it would allow citizens to see their elected officials conducting the people's business without coming out on a weekday morning. However, this blogger, who does not have cable TV, would like to suggest an alternative that would be cheaper and in some ways more accessible.

The video shown here was taken with a low-end camcorder and is hosted by Google Video for free. I don't know of any reason Google Video would object to hosting the county's videos, again for free. Of course, the county could host its own videos if it chooses. Either way, the videos can be embedded in the county website, just as this is embedded here. They can also be viewed on a larger screen, as at Google Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5073306645940258316&hl=en
More savvy photographers may know how to get better resolution and a sharper image at this size.

Other examples of Bucks County Commissioners' meetings online can be viewed at Google Video here, here and here, showing their discussion with representatives of the CoalitionforVotingIntegrity.org on March 4, 2008. The videos are available to anyone with a computer at any time. Would the same be true if meeting coverage was provided by cable TV? Would any taped meeting from the past be available on demand? Just asking. I have no clue. If not, online versions of the televised meetings could be posted and all your bases would be covered.

PlumsteadWatch.org is an example of how this could work for townships.