By: Diane Benjamin
I want to compliment Alderman Buragus for her remarks regarding Public Comment. She wants consistency meeting to meeting, not sometimes the 15 minutes is extended and sometimes it’s not. Nice point.
Just when you think the Council might be listening to citizens, somebody at the City EDITS the video from last night.
Kirk Allen from Edgar County Watchdogs is edited out of the video.
This video was NOT edited for time – a meeting posted from May is half and hour longer.
At 2:25 Karen Schmidt announces that Kirk Allen is to speak. The edit is at 4:40. Maybe the City can’t handle truth. I’m not buying that one whole speaker got cut because of a malfunction, so I suggest you not claim it.
Kirk promised big legal fees if the Council kept their 15 minute public comment policy in place. Maybe the City doesn’t want citizens to know that. A Freedom of Information request for the unedited video has been filed. If you don’t want FOIA requests Bloomington, quit giving us reasons to file them!
Live streaming and videos of Council meetings were enacted to inform citizens. Edits by somebody at the City further erodes trust. Obviously there is a war against citizens wanting information. Minutes of the meetings are no longer kept, just procedures. Sensing a pattern?
Do citizens have to create their own video? Maybe citizens should have a clerk taking minutes. Maybe we need a citizens website for the truth!
Editing happens more often than you think. I know because one of my interactions with the Council pryer to the Mayors censure did not portray the Mayor in a good light.
If anybody sees editing – let me know! I usually watch live, so I wouldn’t know.
I was watching online and there was a “technical difficulty” message that came up on the screen when Kirk Allen came went to the podium to speak. Funny, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen that happen and how “odd” that should only happen to Kirk Allen.
Did you see him on-line?