Do the Commissioners really think we’re going to believe Scott Mesneak’s report regarding the cost of televising commissioner meetings? ($675,000 for the startup and $200,000 to $300,000 to maintain the system.)
Scott, which counties did you research? We don’t have to create a network like Harford County.
A cheaper alternative is setting up voice-activated cameras and live streaming the broadcasts. I found this site (http://www.county.org/resources/library/county_mag/county/131/lights.html) very quickly and it shows how Smith County in Texas was able to affordably televise through live stream and they have 5 cable companies to coordinate. Franchise agreements deal with that issue.
But the real benefit is that a permanent, complete record is kept of commissioner meetings which may be why the commissioners are not motivated to make it affordable. In fact, we probably could have purchased the voice-activated video equipment for the price of this five-year study.
Diana Broomell
