Monday night’s unprecedented recording of a council meeting is a “small step in the right direction” according to a community campaigner.
Former SNP councillor Jimmy Black, who has long campaigned for a more “open” council said moves by the deputation of the Kirkton Community and Safety Partnership to record their section of a meeting with the council’s planning committee this week was a positive one.
A recording was made on a microphone device after the group applied to carry out the action at the beginning of March.
Controversially, elected members were only informed they would be recorded during the debate moments before it was due to take place.
The Dundee SNP had promised in their election manifesto last year to record council meetings, but with the exception of Monday evening’s audio documentation, no moves have been made to introduce it as a standard practice.
As part of a “commitment” to investing in democracy, the manifesto said: “Recording council meetings is important, so constituents know not only how their councillor voted, but what they said.We commit to delivering that record and making it publicly available online.”
A number of local, national and international councils and parliaments record or broadcast meetings and committees, including Glasgow City Council, Holyrood and the European parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg.
Mr Black, who represented the Coldside ward for the SNP before stepping down at last May’s election, said he was delighted the recording had been taken.
“This is a small step in the right direction, but I do feel councillors were caught somewhat by surprise before the meeting started,” he said.
“The deputation had asked weeks in advance and there was a small amount of doubt among some members to begin with.
“The SNP did include a promise to invest in broadcasting and recording meetings in last year’s manifesto and it makes absolute sense.
“In many instance, the only record members of the public who don’t attend meetings are able to access is the minutes, which in Monday’s case would only really have noted how many votes had been cast for a given motion and what action was then taken.”
He continued: “It would be incredibly useful if meetings were recorded, you would be able to hear what your councillor had said and how they had voted.
“Monday’s deputation arose because of something which was promised to the people of Kirkton by a previous administration and if a recording had been available from then, it would have been simpler to recall what had happened.
“The council should have its own recording of meetings, so it can be agreed what has been said.”
SNP council leader John Alexander said: “As part of our manifesto, we committed to recording and making committee meetings publically available – that commitment remains. We are looking at examples in other local authorities who already use technology to livestream their committee meetings.
“The traditional way of accessing meetings is no longer the preferred choice for many.
“Whether folk would want to watch the meetings is a point often raised but it is right we provide an opportunity for the public to view meetings by whatever means they choose. That’s democracy after all.
“These meetings are open to the public so from a purely pragmatic point of view, it makes sense to allow access to the meetings in a variety of ways.
“Arithmetic on the council means we, of course, would need support for any proposals and before that can happen the best, most appropriate and cost effective systems must be identified.”
