Winthrop Council Backs Meeting Video Rule, Rejects Agenda-Amendment Change

WINTHROP -- May 19, 2026, Winthrop Town Council unanimously mandated video recording and online posting of all multi-member body and subcommittee meetings while rejecting a separate agenda rule change that the town's attorney said violated state open meeting law. The video-posting motion, submitted by Councilor Romano and seconded by Councilor Costigan, requires recordings to be uploaded within 72 weekday hours of any meeting held with Zoom or virtual capability, whenever reasonably possible, at no cost to the town through WCAT. A proposal to change Rule 2C, lowering the threshold to add unnoticed agenda items from unanimous to a majority vote, failed 4 to 5 after Town Counsel James Sipaletta advised the council that both the current rule and the proposed amendment violate the Open Meeting Law's public notice requirements, citing the Attorney General's Open Government Division. "The notice in that open meeting law is for the public's benefit, not for the council's benefit," Sipaletta told the council. The council also unanimously proclaimed June 19, 2026 as Juneteenth National Independence Day, voted to send a proposed use-variance zoning amendment to the Planning Board for a public hearing, and passed a letter opposing MBTA cuts to bus service at the Point, with Town Manager Tony Marino reporting the state may reconsider the route changes ahead of a June public forum.