Televised Public Meetings

The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors, Municipal Authority, Planning, Zoning and Special Meetings should all be televised

Our local print media covers most of the Public meetings; they do this with a fair and objective representation of these municipal proceedings. However in an age where various types of electronic communications are the norm; I feel that Newtown Township has not taken advantage of its own Public Access Channel.

Newtown Township has had free cable access for many years but fails to utilize it. Many administrations have stated their interest in televising meetings; but none have taken the next step to actually implement it.

I believe that many residents who are not capable of attending the meetings in person, will benefit enormously from seeing the public administration of these various functions directly. Watching the various elected and appointed officials exercise their duties is a right of every resident, even though they may not be able to attend personally.

Other townships regularly televise their meetings for the education and convenience of their residents. Although Newtown Township does provide public notice of special meetings and proposed changes (i.e. ordinances and zoning changes); I don’t believe the residents find the notices easy to understand. By televising the meetings, residents would be able to see on a regular basis what is happening within the township.