Washington Twp. Council Passes 'Unenforceable' Public TV Ordinance

The Washington Township Council approved an ordinance Monday which sets guidelines for broadcasts of meetings and other programming on local public channel WCTV, but the law may be impossible to enforce, according to township attorney Ken Poller.

The ordinance, passed by a 3-0 vote, requires neutrality in programs covering political or other controversial issues. It also requires a digital camera and recording system to be installed in the council chambers by February 1 — no year specified — and for WCTV to broadcast every council, planning board and zoning board meeting at least four times.

The problem is that WCTV isn't really a part of the town government, according to Poller.

"They're volunteers," he said. "They're not here to listen to dictations."

WCTV is an independent nonprofit organization, according to volunteers. They were founded in 1982 and are funded through a small portion of the cable franchise fees paid by Cablevision to the town, not with tax dollars.

The ordinance, which was mostly copied from a Jersey City law, will need revision before it's enforceable, according to Poller. Discussions with WCTV volunteers made it seem that the requirements set in the ordinance may not be possible without hiring an employee, he said.

Councilmen Joe D'Urso, Fred Goetz and Council President Steve Cascio, who voted to approve the ordinance, have said they wanted to make town meetings available to a larger number of residents who can't or don't want to attend them in person.

"I don't think this is rocket science," D'Urso previously said. Other towns are doing it."