Town council here has decided to move forward with video recording its meetings.
Clerk Dina Lundy presented a report on Oct. 17 outlining four options for council: not to proceed, defer until the next council in 2018, proceed through eSCRIBE or proceed through YouTube.
The motion was deferred from the Oct. 3 council meeting to get more information about the ability to track data.
“Unfortunately analytical data is currently not offered in that fashion by our web service provider,” said Lundy. “There are no-cost to purchase options, however staff would need some time to look into the capabilities of such services and the amount of staff time that would be needed for configuration.
“However, there is a grave concern with offering videotaping on a temporary basis.”
Lundy said the recordings would be considered an alternative format under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and there are risks involved if council decided to remove the service.
“Therefore, if it’s council’s direction, staff would be happy to look into methods to determine public interest and bring a report forward to either this council or the incoming council…” she said.
Some councillors wanted to move forward sooner rather than later.
Councillors John Brennan, Matt Sammut and Rob Smith voted in favour of proceeding with video recording through the hosted agenda management software eSCRIBE.
“I think (that’s) the only way to go about doing this … it’s a little bit more costly, but it sets us up for compliance later on down the road,” said Brennan.
Sammut agreed, but said the town would need to ensure the community is aware of the service.
“Something like this will only be successful if we market it well. If 90 per cent of our community doesn’t even know it’s [an] option … they’re not going to find it,” he said.
“In the spirit of transparency, for the minimal cost it is, I think … we have no option but to do it. It does give our community, who entrusted upon us the powers to make decisions for them, the right to watch us and to hear the decisions that are made and the reasons for those decisions.”
Councillor Jeff Duncan said he wants the next council to make the decision.
“I do think it is important that the incoming council will want to decide whether or not they want to proceed with this … when they come in,” he said.
“I fear that having it in place sort of tilts it towards people that are very good at public speaking …
“I worry that some of the best councillors I’ve ever sat with weren’t that personality and I’m a little bit worried about that.
“The meetings are open, the committee meetings are open to attend. I do see both sides of this, but in the end, I do think it should be up to the new council to decide.”
However, Brennan countered that if the decision is made by the current council, those going into the next election will know what is expected of them.
Smith asked if the town could seek public input on the matter through a questionnaire.
“If people aren’t soliciting the town … if they are not kicking the door saying, ‘Hey I want to watch this on TV, I got to PVR this’ – I’m just saying it’s a good thing to put out to the people,” Smith said.
Lundy said the town could seek public input.
However, Sammut said public input might not accurately predict how many people will use the service.
“You’re not going to get a metric that’s realistic, but what is realistic is this council – and the early part of the next council – are going to have major, major decisions to make for our community,” he said.
“And our community has the right to see how those [decisions] are being discussed and debated.”
Council approved proceeding with video recording through eSCRIBE at an approximate cost of $10,000 per year.
