Mulch Video Missing

The Town of Vienna is the only locality in Fairfax County that we are aware of that does not videotape or broadcast meetings. Vienna is also the only Virginia locality that we know of to propose the banning of videotaping by citizens. However, a sign is at the entrance to the infamous Vienna mulch pile that states:

"ATTENTION: These premises are under constant TV Surveillance. Continuous recording in progress!"

We wanted to see this video so we made a Freedom of Information request and the Town responded:

"Concerning your request for copies of recordings from the surveillance cameras at the Town mulch site on Beulah Road, there are no recordings to date."

We then asked if there were actually cameras at the site and the Town responded:

"Further response beyond that required under FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) would not be appropriate since the issue involves the security of Town facilities."

It did not stop there. The Town Attorney Steve Briglia took a combative and arrogant position last night when questioned at the Town Council meeting about this issue. He once again asserted the security issue of the mulch pile (think about saying that with a straight face).

Mulch Pile Reenactment

What's the overall point here? If the Town is willing to post a sign that is an outright lie, what else will they lie about? Think about it. Someone in Vienna Town government sat down and proposed placing a fake sign up about non-existent videotaping. Who thinks this is appropriate? Who thinks this smells right? If people lie about the small things, they lie about the big things.