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Politics & Government

Township Considers Televising Council Meetings

Mayor David Mayer created a new committee with Ray Polidoro at the helm to explore the option of airing council meetings on local TV.

Gloucester Township Republican Municipal Committee (GTRMC) Chairman Ray Polidoro has lobbied to get council meetings televised for years now.  As head of the brand new Exploratory Council Broadcast Committee, he is one step closer to reaching his goal.

“It’s a real mission of mine,” the staunch Republican said.  “This is a township where transparency is necessary.” 

Just a few months ago, Mayor David Mayer introduced a new initiative called , the foremost component of which is live streaming of council meetings on the Internet. 

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“I believe this makes Gloucester Township the most transparent government in New Jersey,” he said of the online broadcasts.

Still, Polidoro is among a contingent that believes Internet broadcasting limits the audience demographic.

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The Courier-Post reports that, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, only 42 percent of Americans over the age of 65 use the Internet. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that more than 10 percent of Gloucester Township’s residents fall into this category.

In late January, before GT Citizens Access was even launched, Mayer pulled Polidoro aside and asked him to be on a committee dedicated to finding a feasible, low-cost way to broadcast meetings.

“I told him I would be on this committee if I could head this committee,” Polidoro asserted. “I’m a leader, not a follower.”

This seemed like a daring partnership considering their polarized political views.

“That’s how you bring a community together and foster good ideas," Mayer said. "I’ve known Ray for years. We’ve always had a good relationship. We want to move this community forward in a very positive way.”

Polidoro remarked, “If I have been on a mission for three years, and the mayor wants to imply that he wants to look into this… it doesn’t matter what sharks are swimming around me. If I‘m not involved, I don’t know if they’re making any progress."

Many Republicans have said that they feel the council is dragging its feet on televising meetings, but according to Mayer, he’s trying to find a way to make this happen without charging citizens.

“Ray’s been speaking about this for quite some time. My position is that I don’t think you should use taxpayers’ money to do that, so we have a fundamental disagreement, especially in these very difficult economic times.”

The school board came back with a total figure of $12,900-$17,900 per year for the equipment to televise the meetings on local public-access Channel 19. Mayer thinks this is too expensive, and Polidoro is sure it could be done more cheaply using local volunteers.

Mayer said the issue is not cheap labor, but preserving authenticity.

“We have an obligation in government to provide the record of the meetings, which we do in written form," he said. "We cannot allow an outside entity to provide the official documentation for the township. We can’t guarantee volunteers will be there all the time. We need to provide continuity.”

The first meeting of the exploratory committee was held on Tuesday, May 3. Polidoro was not present—the meeting was originally scheduled for Wednesday, May 4, and Polidoro did not read the change of date letter.

“I assumed it was a confirmation letter like I usually receive,” he said. “I have to assume responsibility for not checking the letter, but I’m excited to see how me missing this first meeting and heading this committee will play out.”

The next meeting will take place in June.  

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