The City began to stream their Regular Council and Committee of the Whole meetings on the City’s Youtube page earlier this year when the public was not allowed to attend meetings in person because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Council debated whether or not to continue to stream the Committee of the Whole meetings, as they are ‘more of a round table discussion’.
Mayor Walt Cobb also cited concerns over presenters who may not want to be broadcasted while presenting.
Councillor Craig Smith also asked ‘how many people were watching those meetings’, and if they were arguing a moot point. The most recent regular Committee of the Whole (July 13th, 2021) meeting had 82 views on YouTube (as of Thursday, August 19th), and a Special Committee of The Whole meeting, streamed on August 4th, had 190 views.
After discussion, Council voted to keep streaming the meetings to maintain transparency.