Susan Loyer

@SusanLoyerMyCJ

The borough council wants to ban people from taking photographs and videos inside public buildings, with certain exclusions

Under the proposed ordinance, a permit would have to be secured and approved by the borough before any photographs or videos could be taken on the interior of any public building.

The proposed ordinance does not apply to the taking of pictures and videoes at any meetings which are held in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act.

A second reading is scheduled for the Sept. 24 council meeting.

HELMETTA – The borough council wants to ban people from taking photographs and videos inside public buildings, with certain exclusions.

The ordinance comes at the heels of an incident earlier this month in which Richard Recine, working part time as a special police officer, was captured on video at the borough's Municipal Building telling Steve Wronko that "Obama has decimated the friggin' Constitution, so I don't give a damn," after Wronko insisted he has a constitutional right to take pictures inside the building.

The video, first reported by MyCentralJersey.com, went viral, and Recine later resigned. The Wronkos said they were at the Municipal Building to file public-record requests regarding the puppy they adopted from the Helmetta Regional Animal Shelter. The Wronkos said police had ordered them to stop video recording at the animal shelter during two previous incidents.

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Under the proposed ordinance, a permit would have to be secured and approved by the borough before any photographs or videos could be taken on the interior of any public building. The proposed ordinance does not apply to the taking of pictures and videos at any meetings which are held in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act.

The first reading of the proposed ordinance was unanimously approved at Wednesday's council meeting. A second reading is scheduled for the Sept. 24 meeting.

"Some pictures that have been taken are misleading," Councilwoman Yvette Bruno said. "Some pictures have been taken of underage children volunteering at the shelter. It needs to be addressed."

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey said the ordinance could be problematic.

"We think it's inappropriate to have such a broad based ban that would include public nonsensitive areas of public buildings," Edward Barocas, legal director at the ACLU-NJ, said.

The ordinance also states that the permit holder "shall not obstruct or impair any Borough employee from carrying out his or her duties, or interfere with the normal course of Borough business operations" and "shall not obstruct the investigation or prosecution of a crime by any member of the Helmetta Police Department."

The ordinance further states that "during the course of taking photographs or video, the permit holder shall not harass, intimidate or threaten any person, including borough employees borough officials or private citizens."

If convicted of a violation, a person is subject to a fine, fixed by Municipal Court Judge of no more than $2,000; or not more than 90 days of community service or imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed 90 days.

According to the ordinance, "the borough recognizes that the taking of photographs and video inside public buildings may raise certain concerns of public importance including, but not necessarily limited to, violation of privacy rights of employees, breach of government security or the interference with the normal course of business operations... ."

The ordinance further states that "the borough acknowledges that private individuals may, in certain circumstances, have rights to take photographs or video in public places; and "these public and private rights should be balanced in determining the course of conduct to be permitted with regards to the taking of photographs and video inside public buildings in the borough."

Staff Writer Susan Loyer: 732-565-7243; sloyer@mycentraljersey.com