Live streaming of City Council meetings begins April 21
Murphy residents who may not have the opportunity to attend City Council meetings but who have an interest in seeing their local government in action may now tune in to the meetings over the internet, says IT Manager Wendle Medford.
“Starting with the April 21 meeting, we will be streaming the City Council meetings live,” he said. “Each of these meetings will also be archived in a searchable fashion to allow anyone with access to a computer the ability to view the meetings at their convenience.”
The City Council meets every first and third Tuesday of the month, unless otherwise stated. The meetings begin at 6 p.m. and continue until that evening’s business is concluded. The Council’s Executive Sessions and work sessions are not broadcast.
“Our goal is to increase the engagement of citizens in their local government,” he said. “People often begin and end their engagement with the local government at the ballot box. With the implementation of this program, people can attend each meeting virtually, thereby increasing their knowledge of the City Council and its decisions.”
The program, through a national company based in Dallas, utilizes remote control cameras mounted on the ceiling of Municipal Chambers, capable of capturing images of Council members, presenters, citizens addressing Council and the audience.
Individuals who tune in can see and hear the conduct of City business without the need to download any additional software or purchasing additional hardware.
The video and audio files of the meetings are available on the World Wide Web from anywhere an internet signal is available and can be played at any time. While the system is capable of sending out other content material, the only content to be placed on the system will be City Council meetings, for the time being.
“Citizens need only log on to the City of Murphy web site and click on the live feed link,” said Medford. “The link will also serve as a portal to a library of archived meetings. And, if an individual is only interested in one item within a meeting, there will be an ability to jump to a specific marker within the meeting file.”
To access the feed, viewers should go to www.murphytx.org and click on the “Watch Meetings” icon on the right side of the home page.
“We’re very hopeful that the streaming becomes a popular feature,” he said. “This service meshes with the other outreach activities we’re working on, all with an eye toward greater citizen engagement.”