Title
Discussion: Televising of Boards and Commissions
Body
Issue/Request:
In 2021, the City Council approved Resolution 21-09 providing that certain public meetings were to be broadcast utilizing television and the City website. Those were: City Council, Council Committees, "Task Forces" as determined by Council, Planning Commission, TIF Commission, Diversity and Inclusion Commission, and Parks and Recreation Board. Since that time the City has established certain new boards and commissions and deleted others. At a recent City Council meeting, Councilmember DeMoro requested that the Mayor Pro Tem assign this topic to the City Council Rules Committee for discussion. Staff will be present and able to discuss staffing and technical capabilities for recording and broadcasting. Resolution 21-09 is attached for your information.
Update for 10-17-24: At the previous Committee meeting the Committee requested additional information. Specifically requested were descriptions / duties of the various Boards and Commissions and the audio/vido capabilities of the different rooms. Please find that information attached.
Additionally, the Committee requested information related to 1. options for streaming v. recording and 2. the capacity for Strother conference room to be used for certain meetings. Please see information from Creative Services below:
Options for streaming vs. recording
Live Streaming:
• We can live stream meetings to the City’s YouTube channel just as we have done with the State of the City and Town Halls.
• To do this requires cameras and two AV team employees to run the cameras and the switcher. Any presentations would need to be taken into consideration as well.
Recording and capacity of Strother Conference Room:
• To record a meeting held in Strother, someone would need to host a Zoom or Teams meeting and record it. (Parks does this today)
• The host would connect to video conferencing in the room. The cameras in Strother would then be used to record the participants in Strother.
• The video would be uploaded the next day to Legistar and/or the City’s YouTube channel.
• Does not require someone from the AV team.
Update for 11-21-24: During the last Committee meeting staff was asked to discuss the issue at Management Team and determine if there were any concerns related to recording and either publishing or broadcasting additional meetings. Issues identified by Management Team were a concern that it would become for difficult to find good quality candidates since being recorded and broadcast is uncomfortable for many otherwise very qualified candidates. Concerns about having meeting times dictated by room or staff availability instead of member availability was also expressed.
We have attached an additional handout that shows all of the various types of boards and commissions and whether or not they are recorded and if they are by what method and where the recording is made available.
Presenter
Brian W. Head, City Attorney