Email and the Internet have become the latest generation’s darling, but the Village of Lake Orion is struggling to draw the line on exactly how councilmembers should navigate the Web’s avenues of communication.
Publishing members? email addresses on the village Web site has been a hot topic of discussion over recent months. Currently, councilmembers phone numbers are available upon request from the village offices, but some members want to go one step further to open communication by postings email contact information online.
‘The way I look at it is it allows additional ease of communication,? said Councilmember Ken Van Portfliet. ?[Constituents] don’t have to try to catch me within the limitations of my hours of availability.?
Of 10 surrounding communities, only three do not list council or boardmember email addresses.
Independence, Orion and Oakland Townships have Web sites publishing addresses, as well as Rochester, Rochester Hills, Pontiac and Auburn Hills.
Oxford Township and Oxford have Web sites but do not list emails. Clarkston does not have a site.
Van Portfliet and Councilmember Mike Toth have urged the council to publish email addresses on several occasions, but without success.
In a show-of-interest vote to conceptually approve village-sanction email addresses published on the Web site, the motion failed, 4-3.
Those in opposition worried about liabilities the village would incur if councilmembers gave out incorrect information or typed up unsavory comments to members of the community, especially because email creates electronic records and can be used in judicial hearings per the Freedom of Information Act.
If, for example, a disgruntled constituent wanted to take legal action against the village, emails and personal computers may be taken as evidence, according to Village Attorney Gary Dovre.
‘Worst case analysis, you’d end up having your personal computer examined or searched to see if there are records we were supposed to disclose,? he said, adding, ‘don’t put anything in an email that you don’t want to see on the front page of the paper.?
‘Many times a councilmember will speak thinking he’s speaking just for himself but he’s speaking for the whole council and I don’t think that’s appropriate,? said councilmember John. Ranville.
Village Council President Rob Reetz believes the same liability already exists, whether communication is through emails or in person.
‘It would be the same in my opinion. [Constituents] are still talking to a member of council whether they’re talking through the Web site or just through Yahoo, or along that line, on the phone or writing a letter to each other,? he said.
Councilmember Julie Drabik pointed out the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it? rule of thumb.
‘I’ve not heard anyone ask for our email addresses. We have mail, we have fax, we have phone, they can call the office, show up to a meeting ? there are several different options [for communication],? she said.
If the village did publish councilmembers? email addresses, what types of emails would they get from residents? Are there issues or information Lake Orion inquiring minds should get from the council?
‘I feel that they should be contacting the village to ask questions. They should not be going to councilmembers to ask questions,? said Village Manager Paul Zelenak. ‘Things need to be going through the village in order to get things done.?
Toth, Van Portfliet and Reetz were disappointed in the vote’s results as the motion made no formal action beyond researching the issue further.
‘I think we can all agree that, some day, email is going to be a part of government,? said Toth. ‘We can fight it, but I think we might as well take the time now to make it as safe and liability-free as we can.?
‘We came so far with that Web site and then to stop suddenly short,? said Reetz. ‘I think it’s inevitable. I think that we’ll get to that point somewhere down the road, but I was hoping it would be sooner rather than later.?
The issue might see a revival in later meetings but it’s uncertain how soon or with what success.
‘I do see the importance of communication, I do want to improve on that somehow, and maybe we still can come up with something that can satisfy the council,? said Zelenak