AMHERST — Town Hall employees are in the spotlight after an activist who considers himself a First Amendment auditor recently videotaped interactions with municipal staff and posted edited footage to his YouTube channel.
The 26-minute video on the Press NH Now channel, titled “Town Hall employees melt like snowflakes over a camera” and uploaded Tuesday, depicts what occurred on Aug. 16 when New Hampshire resident Marc Manchon showed up in Amherst.
In its first two days online, the video garnered more than 60,000 views and close to 900 comments from YouTube users.
The recording is one of countless videos that have been made across the country in recent years that use technology, such as cellphone cameras and GoPro devices, to capture conversations with public officials in public buildings and public places, done with the idea of raising awareness of the public’s right to know, but also pushing the boundaries by using confrontational tactics.
Since the video went live, Town Manager Paul Bockelman said the town has received what he characterized as “more than a few dozen phone calls and phone messages.”
“While most of the calls and messages were civil, some were downright rude and vile,” Bockelman said. “Very few of the callers, if any, left their names or callback numbers.”
In October 2019, as such audits were growing before the pandemic, Bockelman sent a memo to department heads that outlines the procedures that should be used to avoid negative responses, as had been seen elsewhere, and promote the idea of “quality customer service first.”
“In many cases, personnel confronted by these groups do appear to have overreacted, either by making such First Amendment auditors leave, being aggressive or dismissive, or taking other action inconsistent with First Amendment rights,” Bockelman wrote. “In addition to escalating into a confrontation, such actions also expose the municipality to significant liability.”
The steps, in line with information supplied by town attorney KP Law, include being polite and helpful and not being sarcastic or defensive. Some of the measures to take are outlined to make sure public service is not interrupted during the audit, such as having a clear demarcation of the private areas of an office, responding to records requests and making sure not to escalate the situation, with one suggestion being not to call the police.
Even with these procedures in place, though, the recent audit at Town Hall did lead to a police response when an employee called emergency dispatchers for help.
But Bockelman said the call to police was understandable due to the pressures from the pandemic and rising national concerns about workplace violence.
“Given the circumstances, our employees maintained their composure and acted responsibly throughout the entire length of the visit, which lasted longer than the published video,” Bockelman said. “Our police officers, in particular, responded with great professionalism and understanding of the law.”
The video starts with Manchon explaining the purpose of his being in Amherst.
“We’re going to be conducting a First Amendment audit to see if they respect our rights to film here in public,” Manchon says while standing outside the Main Street building.
The bulk of the recording then shows Manchon inside Town Hall, where he approaches the planning and inspections office and the Town Room, both on the second floor of Town Hall, leading to encounters with Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek and other employees.
“Excuse me, if I could ask you to leave,” Ziomek says initially, noting shortly after that Manchon has the right to film from the public areas of the building, while also informing him that all inquiries into salaries and other employee information can be answered by using the town’s website.
The video also captures audio of a staff member’s call to police, with her description of Manchon as being “aggressive and nasty.”
“Cop callers, huh?” he says. “All because of a camera and you don’t want to answer some basic questions.”
Police do respond, with Officer Scott Soverino first on scene, followed by Sgt. Todd Lang, with both indicating to Manchon that he doesn’t need any permission to be in the building or to record. “You’ve got every right to come in here and videotape,” Soverino said.
“We’re going back to work for the residents of Amherst,” Ziomek says a few minutes later.
While Ziomek appears perturbed by the continued videotaping as he walks through hallways and up and down a staircase, the nearest there is to a confrontation comes when Manchon asks building inspector David Waskiewicz his name, title and salary, and he responds by telling the auditor that he would prefer not to be recorded.
“You work for me, you’ve got to get that right, bud,” Manchon says.
“Transparency at its finest,” he states as the opening to the planning and inspections office is then shuttered. “This is how they treat the general public in Amherst, apparently. Real professional.”
Though Manchon thanked the police officers who responded, he also threatens to have his viewers send questions to Bockelman and Ziomek and other employees and the police officers, posting screen shots of their business cards that contain phone numbers and email addresses
“My viewers are not going to be happy with your performance here today,” he tells Ziomek.
The only other encounter Manchon has recorded in western Massachusetts came at the Granby Post Office, where he speaks to an employee and a police officer. The video indicates that the police response came after someone from the neighboring Florence Bank branch on Route 202 called police about the possibly suspicious recording taking place.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
