It鈥檚 not exactly Downton Abbey, but the broadcast of Nanaimo鈥檚 recent municipal budget meeting is attracting attention. And so it should. In an effort to increase public interest and participation in its budget process, the City of Nanaimo broadcast its 2013 budget meeting live on cable TV and the Internet, and provided the means for citizen input as the meeting was taking place.
Nanaimo has been broadcasting its meetings for several years, says Philip Cooper, the city鈥檚 communications manager. The process is facilitated by the council鈥檚 choice for a meeting place 鈥� it gathers in the 200-seat Shaw Auditorium of the Vancouver Island Conference Centre. The auditorium comes equipped with cameras and lighting not normally found in municipal council chambers.
Live broadcast of council meetings is nothing new 鈥� municipal councils have been doing it for years, and the number is growing. But Nanaimo took it up a notch, creating a special application that allows residents to use a variety of social media to ask questions and submit comments during the meeting. Questions by phone and in person were also allowed.
Cooper said Nanaimo is the second city in sa国际传媒 to use digital connectivity for that purpose. Maple Ridge was the first, he said, but Nanaimo added a wider range of options for connecting to the meeting.
It was successful 鈥� officials answered 24 questions during the 90-minute meeting, and another 16 questions and comments that were in the queue when the meeting ended will be addressed in a report from councillors.
鈥淚t was interesting how quickly we started hearing from other cities across sa国际传媒 who have been interested but haven鈥檛 taken that next step,鈥� said Cooper, referring to public participation through digital media. 鈥淭his is where it鈥檚 headed. A lot of cities are going to have to change how they embrace public input.鈥�
Among those interested in the Nanaimo experience are several municipalities in the Capital Regional District. But before they can take the step to interactivity, they need to take the first step of being connected. All municipalities in the region make agendas and minutes available online, but most don鈥檛 broadcast meetings. They should 鈥� the technology is relatively inexpensive and the payback is a better-informed and engaged public.
North Saanich was the first in the region to make videos of council and committee meetings available online, something it has been doing since May 2011.
鈥淚t really makes city hall business more accessible,鈥� said Rob Buchan, North Saanich鈥檚 chief administrative officer. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have to come out to the meeting to see the dialogue. And they can watch it 24/7.鈥�
The next step is to set up a forum on the website where people can speak out about municipal matters, he said. That鈥檚 planned for next month.
Sooke has been live-streaming and archiving its council and committee meetings on the Internet since August 2012, and the response has been positive.
Victoria plans to live-stream its council and committee meetings in the near future, says Mayor Dean Fortin, and other mayors are considering similar moves.
It can be a boon for people interested in civic affairs but too busy to attend council meetings or unable to leave their homes.
Sure, there鈥檚 a slight danger some councillors will perform for the camera (think question period) but that will be offset by the awareness that the cameras can capture moments of buffoonish behaviour for posterity (and possible YouTube consumption).
It shouldn鈥檛 be a question of if, but when. Broadcasting municipal meetings and providing opportunities for convenient feedback will only enhance public participation in local government.
