[MassHistPres] What should go in minutes

[Tucker, Jonathan]

I respectfully disagree, unless you have problems getting anyone to do
minutes, in which case the more spare, the better, until your clerical
fortunes improve.

But minutes provide more than a record of your commission's formal
actions on specific issues for public consumption.  They also serve--if
well done--as a record of the evolution of your commission's thinking on
matters of long-term, enduring community policy, regarding issues that
will come up again and again over the years.  For new members, for
reference at town meetings, or whatever, a good record of why a
commission decided to do what it did can be invaluable.

We should not refrain from openly recording the why of our activities
just because some segments of the populace will always be foolishly
suspicious, or will always see nefariousness where it does not exist.
There are people for whom finding some hidden evil at which to wave
their collection of torches and pitchforks is necessary to sustaining
their worldview and personal identity.  We can't cure dumb, but neither
should we contort our public process to try to avoid experiencing it.
It's simply a fact that some people have less of a grasp on reality than
others, so public stupidity will always be an unavoidable--though
hopefully minor--part of public process.  Its public expression provides
an opportunity to hone our ability to describe reality and genuine
intentions calmly, patiently, and rationally, which can only enhance the
commission's credibility.  Snarling, off-the-rails public accusations
about conspiracies reveal to the community exactly how much credence
they should give these folks.  It's unpleasant, but they're actually
doing you a favor--making your commission look calm, fair, and
trustworthy by contrast. 


Jonathan Tucker
Planning Director
Amherst Planning Department
4 Boltwood Avenue, Town Hall
Amherst, MA  01002
(413) 259-3040
tuckerj at amherstma.gov    



-----Original Message-----
From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Jonathan Feist
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 9:07 AM
To: MHC MHC listserve
Subject: [MassHistPres] What should go in minutes

Hi all,

Here's an follow-up to my previous thread about minutes being public  
documents.

Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised to be greeted at last nights   
HC meeting by a furious group of citizens. One of them had decided to  
scour all of our minutes from the past three years, in hopes of  
finding whether we had discussed an issue of concern to her (out of  
our real jurisdiction). She picked up on some mentions regarding an  
unrelated issue that we did talk about, took various quotations from  
the minutes  out of context, and decided that a conspiracy was afoot.

As an example, there was a mention in the minutes that Chris Skelly,  
on a visit a few months ago, suggested that we try to see whether we  
can get the schools to include more curriculum related to Harvard's  
history. This was seen by her as an attempt to brainwash the town's  
children so that we could turn them against their parents, as part of  
out master scheme to implement some nefarious agenda.

Staggering!

So, she got a mob together. There was a newspaper reporter and even a  
few nuns. The topic she told the crowd we were going to discuss wasn't  
actually on the agenda. In an attempt to diffuse the mob, I gave them  
15 minutes to voice their concerns, and then most of them left, though  
the ringleader stuck around, and I eventually let her bring up the  
issue that concerned her, after all our planned business was done.  
Surprisingly, none of my fellow commissioners seemed to want to join  
her in her crusade....

Despite the pitchforks and torches, I found it to be a terrific  
learning experience. Perhaps, I should have simply bored them with the  
two hours of real business we needed to get through, and then invited  
anyone still standing to talk at 10:00 PM, but I felt the need to  
release the tension in the room.

Anyhow, I've arrived at the following list of what I believe should go  
into minutes, rather than the detailed, helpful, and pleasantly  
readable documents that they had been previously. I would welcome your  
feedback.

1. Record the results of votes taken, including any language arrived  
at by the group for decisions, letters, etc.
2. Record what people agree to do for the next meeting.
3. That's it.

Assume that anything else in there is designed to be taken out of  
context and turned against you.

Cynical? Paranoid? No, realistic.

Thoughts?

--Jonathan

================================
Jonathan Feist, Chair
Harvard Historical Commission
jfeist at charter.net * 978-772-4864
Blog: Delights and Processes
http://blogs.townonline.com/delight/

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