HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-10-03; City Meeting Livestreaming and AV Update (Districts - All); Callander, MariaCouncil Memo -City Meeting Livestreaming and AV Update (Dist ricts -All)
October 3, 2024
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of the city's control, such as when the cable company's system goes down or the meeting
archiving vendor is having technical difficulties. Other times, issues can be addressed through
basic onsite trouble shooting, such as rebooting a piece of equipment or simply tightening a
loose cable.
Regardless of the cause, when technical problems occur, it reflects poorly on the city's
professionalism and commitment to transparency. In the last two years (October 2022 through
September 2024), 11 AV incidents in the City Council chamber building were reported:
• One affected the city's cable channel's regular programming (informational videos and
bulletins)
• Two affected the quality of a meeting livestream but still allowed the viewer to see and
hear the proceedings
• Four either interrupted or prevented the livestreaming of a city meeting
• Two affected the experience of in person attendees (video monitor problems)
• Two incidents were fixed before affecting the system's public operations
Prevention and recovery plans
City staff have put the following resources in place to minimize AV incidents affecting the City
Council chamber:
• On site AV tech for meetings of the City Council and Planning Commission and on call for
all other meetings
• On site IT staff for meetings of the City Council and Planning Commission and on call for
all other meetings (moved IT tech to City Hall location to be available to support
daytime meetings as needed)
• A testing protocol performed an hour before every meeting starts
• Back up video recording of every meeting, which can be uploaded to the city's meeting
archive system if there are problems with the livest ream
• On demand equipment replacement provided by the city's AV contractor
Further improving reliability
Although system interruptions affected only 3% of all meetings over the past two years (and
just 1% of livestreams), city staff understand and share the desire to avoid any negative
perception that could be caused by an AV failure. To further enhance system reliability while
minimizing any additional costs, city staff are putting the following new measures in place:
Backup livestream capabilities
Because so many variables affect how to address a technical problem in the City Council
chamber, staff has developed a multi-pronged approach that will ensure city meeting
Council Memo -City Meeting Livestreaming and AV Update (Districts -All)
October 3, 2024
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livestreams can continue, regardless of the point of failure, even if a problem occurs mid-
meeting.
• If the technical problem is known in advance, staff will activate an on-call contractor
who has been trained and is prepared to livestream the meeting utilizing their own
equipment.
• If the technical problem occurs mid-meeting, the meeting chair will be asked to take a
10-minute break while the onsite meeting videographer sets up a mobile device that has
been configured to livestream to the city's YouTube channel. That link will then be
provided on the video streaming page of the city's website.
• NOTE: These options will enable livestreaming on the city's website, but not the cable
channel. However, a back-up video can be made available after the meeting on the
cable channel for those interested in watching it on TV.
Equipment redundancies
City staff already keep some system components on hand in case they are needed, such as
extra microphones. Staff is working with its AV contractor to identify any additional pieces that
it would be advisable to pre-order to keep on hand (the AV contractor keeps many common
components in stock automatically).
Staff liaison training
City staff will provide training for liaisons to city boards, commissions and committees so they
are familiar with back up plans and how to activate them if needed. Because these roles rotate
from time to time, staff will also prepare a written guide departments can provide to newly
assigned liaisons over time.
Additional option
Prior to 2023, the city's AV contractor was on site during all city meetings to trouble shoot any
technical problems. As a cost saving measure, these resources are now on site only for City
Council and Planning Commission meetings. They are on call for all other city meetings.
To further decrease the likelihood of an AV problem interrupting a city meeting, AV technical
support could once again be provided for all meetings. Not all problems can be solved with
onsite AV tech support, but having tech resources on site would increase the likelihood of
diagnosing and fixing a problem quickly. The approximate annual cost to restore this service is
estimated to be $60,000.
Next Steps
City staff understand the importance of making our public meetings as accessible as possible.
City Staff would be happy to provide additional information and answer any questions you may
have about this issue.
Council Memo -City Meeting Livestreaming and AV Update (Districts -All)
October 3, 2024
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cc: Cindie McMahon, City Attorney
Geoff Patnoe, Assistant City Manager
Laura Rocha, Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services