It may be midwinter, but the fishing season is alive and well in Lake County government.

So much so, in fact, that county commissioners have issued a memo limiting access to security video recordings of the government complex, which are being used by elected officials as weapons to attack political opponents.

The memo, issued Thursday by county Office Administrator Delvert Cole at the behest of all three commissioners, is brief and to the point. "Any need to review any close circuit television videotapes must be approved by the county commissioners. If a video request is needed, please present in writing the need and justification of said request to the commissioners."

What touched off the memo?

Commissioner Fran DuPey said, "What it is, is that any employee thinks they have the right to look at a tape." Asked if there was any specific request that broke the camel's back, she said County Clerk Tom Philpot wants to know whether County Councilman Tom O'Donnell was in the building during Tuesday's vote on a proposed 1 percent county income tax.

O'Donnell was a no-show for the vote, and DuPey said, "Philpot thinks O'Donnell was in the building but that he was hiding. This is getting to be unbelievable. You can't go around checking tapes because you want to check out a rumor."

O'Donnell has taken a lot of heat for not being present at the vote, but what many people do not know is that he called the council office and said he would be about 10 minutes late and asked them not to start without him.

Instead, the council began its 4 p.m. meeting two minutes late, and no member of the public was allowed to speak on the tax proposal. By the time O'Donnell arrived a few minutes later, the vote was over and the tax had passed 5-1, with only Councilman Larry Blanchard opposed.

"I thought it'd be a three-hour meeting," O'Donnell said. "I had no idea they were not going to have a public comment session. Instead, I go walking in there and it's all over. I asked (the council administrative assistant) if she had passed the note to Elsie and Will and she said she had."

Philpot did not get back with me Friday about the video

DuPey said she has no problem providing videos "if someone thinks someone stole something or something like that," but she won't sponsor political fishing expeditions.

Because you never know.

Like Jonah found out, there are days when you eat the fish, and there are days when the fish eats you.

The opinions are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at markk@nwitimes.com or (219) 933-4170.