HOULTON – Town councilors could move one step closer Monday to deciding whether to televise nearly all of Houlton’s municipal board meetings on the town’s public access channel.

The issue was discussed at council meetings last month, but members have taken no action since the idea was introduced by Councilor Carl Lord.

Lord told the panel he felt that the additional broadcasts would easily promote a more open government. He added that televising extra meetings would give all residents, especially those who are elderly or infirm, a greater opportunity to see their town government at work.

At this point, the public access channel broadcasts only regular and special council meetings. Under Lord’s plan, the public could watch planning board, zoning board and Shiretown Development Corp. meetings.

The idea was to be discussed at a meeting last month, but deliberation was delayed when Town Manager Douglas Hazlett said he wanted to research the issue.

Councilors had asked him if the town would take on any additional liability by turning the cameras on at more meetings.

Earlier this week, Hazlett said he was confident that most of the questions the councilors had about the proposal could now be answered. So the issue is likely to come up again when the Town Council meets Monday evening.

“During one [council] meeting, we were told that some towns had stopped using the television to broadcast meetings because it could be a liability problem,” he said. “I wanted to see what the liability would be, and I don’t see it as a serious problem if proper etiquette is maintained.”

While some residents have said they support Lord’s overture, others have been more hesitant. Planning board member Sue Tortello spoke out against the move last month, maintaining that it would be harder for some panels to recruit and retain members if the meetings were broadcast.

“Some people do not like to be on television,” she told councilors.

Panelists also wanted Hazlett to find out if the additional broadcasts would cost the town more money.

“I don’t foresee any additional costs to this because no one has talked about buying more cameras,” Hazlett said. “So the decision is now in the hands of the council, and we’ll see what happens on Monday night.”