Luzerne County Government

April 27, 2010

County minutes’ focus: Accuracy

Petrilla: Verbatim words the way to capture message of public, officials.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
Jennifer Learn-Andes on Facebook   |   @TLJenLearnAndes on Twitter

Luzerne County Commissioners can’t be accused of leaving unflattering public comments or opposing viewpoints out of their official meeting minutes.

The county recently started preparing blow-by-blow, verbatim minutes documenting every citizen comment and response from commissioners and managers.

Statements and inquiries expressed by commissioners during the voting portion of meetings are also included – something that was hit or miss in past minutes.

Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla said the change was instituted so administrative assistants wouldn’t have to paraphrase and summarize comments, which might lead to complaints that they did not accurately capture the speaker’s message.

Petrilla said questions had been raised about comments made at past meetings, particularly surrounding votes.

“This takes more time, but the minutes are more accurate. Now everyone knows exactly what was said,” Petrilla said. “It’s a long and tedious process, but it is important.”

The minutes are more accessible to the public because commissioners started posting them on the county website, www.luzernecounty.org, in June, including minutes dating back to 2004.

More citizens have been attending commissioners meetings in recent months, compared to some periods in the past when months went by with little or no public comment.

The public comment portion took up 13 pages of the most recent minutes posted online from the March 17 meeting. The April meetings won’t be posted until May because commissioners must vote to accept them.

Jennifer Thomas, Petrilla’s administrative assistant, said she and the other two assistants in the commissioner’s office prepare the minutes in between calls and other work.

“It’s a team effort,” Thomas said.

The minutes may get longer because commissioners recently split public comment into two sections. Comment at the start of meetings is limited to items up for a vote on the agenda, while people may bring up any topic after the meeting. A few citizens spoke during both periods at the last meeting.

Petrilla said this was done so people who attend meetings for agenda items have the option to leave before the second round of public comment.

Word-for-word minutes are also being prepared for meetings of the Salary Board, which votes to set salaries and create or eliminate positions.

County Controller Walter Griffith said his office will start preparing verbatim minutes of Retirement Board meetings so there will be “no discrepancies” on what was said.

Officials have said the online posting allows the public to research county business without traveling to the courthouse.

Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7333.

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