Council Meetings On Demand

From HoCo Gov:

ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and County Council Chairperson Mary Kay Sigaty are pleased to announce that beginning Monday, October 5, the County will officially launch new video streaming technology that will enable the public to view County Council public hearings and legislative sessions through the Internet. The Council sessions will be available either live or on demand, at the viewer’s convenience, from the “webcast” link on the County’s homepage at www.howardcountymd.gov. The first live webcast will be the Council’s Legislative Session on the 5th beginning at 7:30 pm.

“We know that more and more people are getting their news and information off the internet as opposed to through traditional media outlets, so the Internet is where we need to be. This is a giant step forward in open government and how we communicate with the public,” said Executive Ulman.

“Our citizens demand and are entitled to know when the Council is engaged in the all-important function of passing laws that impact on their welfare. Now, they can follow the ins and outs of the process,” said Council Chairperson Sigaty.

The new on-line service is powered by San Francisco-based Granicus, Inc., the premier provider of government webcasting and public meeting management solutions to over 500 government agencies spanning 45 states across the nation. The Granicus solution includes streaming software to capture, manage, store and distribute online video recordings. In the future, the county plans to offer videos of different county events and other public meetings available through the video streaming technology.

On Thursday, October 8, the Howard County Board of Education will also begin using the same technology to broadcast their public sessions on-line, live and on-demand. To access those meetings, visit the school system’s website at www.hcpss.org/board.

The funds to purchase this new technology were provided by Ellicott City Cable Company through a cable franchise agreement signed with Howard County earlier this year.