Councilman Hopes to Provide Streaming Video of Meetings

Couldn't make the last Mayor and Council meeting? One Council member wants to make it possible for residents to watch the proceedings without leaving the house.

Borough Councilman Alan Brundage said he would look into providing streaming video of council meetings on the new Borough website once the 2011 budget process was finished.

The Borough's new website has the capability of live streaming video. The only obstacle preventing the Mayor and Council from doing so is a lack of equipment.

"I'm looking to find that equipment and I don't want to just half-step," Brundage said.

Brundage said he didn't want to simply set up any camera and roll without considering the quality of the image and the audio. Residents should be able to hear and see the meetings clearly, he said.

On the other hand, Brundage, who is also chairman of the budget committee, said the Borough would have to monitor the costs of streaming the meetings.

Steven Tessler, information technology systems specialist for the Borough, said the administration was looking into entering a partnership with or another local school to tape the meetings as part of a class. The issue has been put on the back burner while the Mayor and Council weigh the 2011 budget, but Tessler said the website would have streaming audio of the meetings soon.

Brundage has advocated for streaming the meetings since he campaigned for his council spot. He rejects the thinking that residents who don't come to meetings shouldn't get a say.

"I think it's an important thing that everybody is allowed to be engaged in the community," Brundage said.

Ideally, he said, providing streaming video of the meetings will make the the governing body's decisions-making process more open, and put more educated voters at the polls.

"It's a really important thing that everybody is more educated on what's going on," Brundage said.