"After I read the statutes, it appears we were in error to exclude him. We will permit him to do it (in the future)," Hesson said Wednesday.

"It would appear that the decision by the Hendricks County Council to (deny a request to) videotape a portion of the budget hearings did not conform to the statute," he said.

Derrick, who attends many public meetings, wanted to tape the budget presentation of John Parsons, administrator of the county computer center. A semiretired, self-employed computer consultant, Derrick has been critical of how Parsons has managed the county's computer system. Council members would not allow Derrick to set up his videotape equipment and voted 6-1 to bar Derrick from taping Parsons' presentation. Council member Phyllis Palmer cast the dissenting vote -- a vote that, she said, made her nervous.

"I was a little fearful when we did this. I see no harm in allowing it. When you don't allow videotaping, it looks like you are implying something wrong is going on," she said.

Council member Hursel Disney noted, "Larry (Hesson) said we didn't have to allow (the videotaping)."

Hesson, a practicing attorney, is a former Superior Court judge. Derrick said he tried to explain to council members that the Indiana Open Door law allows the public to attend and record public meetings. In a formal response to Derrick's complaint, Hesson wrote that the council now understands its meetings must be open to video and audio recording. O'Connor said she would file a formal response to Derrick's complaint by the end of the week. The council action was a technical violation of the open door law, but imposes no penalty, she said.

"Derrick could go to court and ask a judge to issue an injunction to keep the council from violating the law in the future," she said.

After Hesson admitted his error, Derrick said he would not file suit.