Sunday, August 12, 2007
Aug. 12, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
DAVIE Three surveillance cameras are no longer seeing all at Town Hall.
All three cameras have been turned off at the Town Council's request.
Mayor Tom Truex wants a ban on 'spy cams' unless they are being used in specific police investigations or to record public meetings and community events.
'We shouldn't spy on people at Town Hall or anywhere else,' Truex said during an Aug. 1 meeting. The council is expected to vote on the resolution in September.
Truex first learned of the cameras when Councilwoman Susan Starkey complained about them during a May 16 council meeting.
The cameras were installed in March for $5,870 at the request of Town Clerk Russell Muniz and Human Resources Director Mark Alan in case of an altercation, town spokesman Braulio Rosa said. No specific incident prompted their installation, he said.
The cameras at the Town Clerk and Human Resources offices had video and audio equipment to record conversations. A third camera in the Community Room had only video capabilities. Small signs alerted visitors they were being recorded.
'We're making a big mistake if we start down this road,' Truex said, comparing the practice of government-sanctioned cameras to the all-seeing Big Brother in George Orwell's classic novel 1984.
'Government is getting to the point where you can record what everyone does every minute of the day' thanks to advancing technology, Truex said. 'If I want to know where [Councilman Bryan] Caletka went on Aug. 3, 2015, we'll have a list of where he went.'
Caletka said he was disturbed to see a video camera on during a recent meeting he held in the Community Room.
'I thought, 'Oh wow, I'm under surveillance right now,'' Caletka said, adding that he too disapproves of the cameras.
'It's like an 'I Spy' thing,' Starkey said. 'Someone could request the audio and video of all the comings and goings at Town Hall.'
The town plans to prepare a resolution that would not only ban video surveillance but define it and list exceptions, Truex said.
Susannah Bryan can be reached at
sbryan@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7929. Newstex ID: KRTB-0067-18837801
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