POLL: Should Council Meetings Be Videotaped?

The impetus to once again discuss the notion of videotaping City Council meetings for those who aren't free at 7 p.m. Tuesdays came from an unlikely source: cookies.

Councilman Peter Herzog, who back in January, used a as a platform to bring back the previously rejected video proposal.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Herzog said that if supplying cookies and coffee to the tune of $780 yearly is within the city's budget, it should be able to manage a one-time purchase of a videocamera for $500 or less.

His colleague, Councilwoman Marcia Rudolph, reversed her opposition to the proposal without explanation, agreeing to reopen talks about videotaping meetings later this month.

Lake Forest is a little late to the party when it comes to recording meetings for citizens who can't attend: other Orange County cities have been doing so for years.

San Clemente City Council broadcasts its meetings live online; Mission Viejo does the same; the San Juan Capistrano council recently decided to follow suit.

(Lake Forest councilmembers have said that the council is unlikely to discuss broadcasting meetings live until the city administration moves into a permanent building, which it expects to do in 2014.)

Do you think Lake Forest council meetings should be videotaped and posted online? Why or why not? TELL US IN THE COMMENTS