Should More Meetings Be Aired on TV?

More town boards may want to get ready for their close-ups.

Selectmen discussed last night whether more town municipal meetings should be televised on local access cable.

Technical upgrades are in the works for conference room A in the , where selectmen regularly meet. These changes would make this a good time to increase the number of meetings that are televised, either live or for later viewing, some board members said.

“I think it’s a good idea,’’ newly elected board chairman David Ross said. “A lot more [boards] should be on television.’’

Selectman Brook Padgett said televising more meetings might lessen any perception that issues have suddenly developed. Residents could follow long-running issues this way, he said.

“It’s about education,’’ he said. When boards’ activities are not televised, sometimes “people think you’re pulling things out of your back pocket’’ when the issue, in fact, has likely been discussed for some time, he said.

Selectman John Carlson said that the issue should be addressed cautiously.

“If you tell the committees they have to be on TV, there’s going to be a lot more resignations,’’ he said.

When the Planning Board began televising its meetings, “there was some objection to it’’ at first, he said. “It took some time’’ to adjust, he said.

He also said that having cameras in people’s faces may make their comments less clear because they are nervous or uneasy.

Selectman Peter Adams said he likes the idea of having more boards on television, but doesn’t think people should be forced to be on TV.

Currently, the selectmen, School Committee and Planning Board meetings are televised.

Some selectmen suggested that regulatory boards should be aired, as should the Board of Library Trustees, because, like the other boards already televised, theirs is an elected board.

Rick Schultze, a producer with local cable access who regularly films the selectmen’s meetings, noted that there are only so many hours a day to air board meetings.

He noted that some meetings can run for several hours, which could make scheduling a challenge. But he agreed that the town should make better use of the upcoming upgrades.

Town Administrator Timothy P. McInerney was asked to draft a letter to send to boards getting their opinions on possible airing of meetings.