Deltona bans texts in meetings

By Al Everson
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Apr 11, 2009 - 1:15:25pm

At the urging of one of its members, the Deltona City Commission has banned the use of cell phones and text messages while the governing body is in session.

Commissioner Zenaida Denizac pressed for the rule barring electronic communication during meetings.

Denizac said text messages sent during City Commission meetings skirt Florida's laws about open government, and also distract commissioners.

"Technology should not hinder public access," she said at the April 6 City Commission meeting. "Everything should be transparent and out in the open."

Commissioner Janet Deyette noted text messages and cell-phone calls sent or received during City Commission meeting "are subject to open-records law."

Denizac's call for a ban was challenged by Commissioner Herb Zischkau, who admits to texting during meetings.

"I don't think the commission has the power to do what Commission Denizac is suggesting," said District 2 representative Zischkau, who is also a lawyer. "The people of District 2 have not told me to stop text messaging."

The outspoken commissioner conceded cell phones could be used to violate the state's Government in the Sunshine law.

"What happens if Commissioner A text messages Commissioner B? That is illegal," Zischkau said.

Whether to prohibit state and local elected officials from texting while they are in session is something for the Florida Legislature to decide, Zischkau said. So far, he added, state lawmakers have not dealt with the matter.

"What they have left us free to do, I think we should be left free to do," he said.

Zischkau also said he frequently takes notes during the meetings for his own private use, and he claimed those notes are not covered by open-records laws, because he does not distribute them to other commissioners.

"I'm taking all sorts of notes, and I'm not going to share them without a court order," Zischkau said.

In the end, he was the only dissenting vote on Denizac's proposal. The City Commission voted 6-1 to ban text messaging or cell-phone use by commissioners while meetings are in session.

Deltona is not the only locality where texting has become an issue.

"I get calls all over the state about this. This is one the hot-button issues," said Adria Harper, director of the Tallahassee-based First Amendment Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes public access to government processes and records.

Harper agreed texting may be a way for elected officials to communicate without public scrutiny.

"It really evades discussion. It really creates mistrust. It really ticks off the citizens," she said.

She also noted there is no paper record of the messages. "There's no way to retrieve them and make them available," Harper added.

— al@beacononlinenews.com

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