The City of Watertown has stopped allowing public attendance on Zoom meetings. The decision stems from several instances of “Zoom bombings” filled with graphic sexual images, or profane and hateful language that immediately halt meetings.
A piece in the March 11, 2026 issue of the Watertown Daily Times covered the decision. According to the story: A Zoom bombing recently occurred during a Common Council meeting on Feb. 16, chaired by Alderperson and Council President Fred Smith while Watertown Mayor Robert Stocks was on a trip.
“We’ve had young families or kids in that room, and I’ve had Boy Scout troops in there, I can’t run the risk of having somebody exposed to that,” Stocks said. “I’ve only had one person ask for a public comment since I took over. And generally there aren’t many people online, it’s usually staff.
“We’re still live streaming through YouTube, and then the meetings will be posted.”
“It usually takes a day or two, and then they’re put on YouTube…As for safety and cyberattacks, the level of access someone can gain is very concerning.”
Those wishing to view a recording of the Zoom meeting may reach out to City of Watertown Media and Communications Director Lisa Famularo. The City of Watertown’s YouTube page posted its latest three videos seven days ago. These standing committee videos include the Public Works Commission, (Feb. 24), Finance Committee (Feb. 23) and Plan Commission (Feb. 23).
“They will be posted on YouTube later,” Stocks said. “We’re going to look at to add some of those as well. I think that’s four committees now (Plan Commission, Public Works Commission, Finance Committee and Redevelopment Authority). We’ll look at if there are other ways to offer better viewage. I think they’re always available if somebody needs.”
Potential alternatives could include switching platforms from Zoom or live-streaming committee meetings directly on YouTube without added delay.
This decision was made by Stocks and Watertown city staff.
“Me, IT and Lisa were trying to lock down and look for other options too,” Stocks said. “We were thinking about having multiple Zoom accounts with one being private . . . but it wouldn’t give us security. (It’s) until security catches up with the problem with the hackers.”
