View Royal is set to become the latest municipality in Greater Victoria to stream council meetings online as local governments look for ways to improve transparency in the age of COVID-19.
Mayor David Screech said the town had been talking about purchasing the necessary technology even before the pandemic hit.
But with residents now barred from attending meetings in person, council accelerated its plans and expects to air its first meeting this month.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still working on it, but it鈥檚 our hope that we鈥檙e going to be livestreaming for the first time,鈥� Screech said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never livestreamed before and the public will be able to phone in and speak to us through a speakerphone in real time.鈥�
Most municipalities in the capital region began livestreaming their meetings long before the outbreak, and were better positioned to keep their meetings 鈥渙pen鈥� to scrutiny, even though public participation remains a challenge.
Others, such as View Royal, Langford and Metchosin had to make adjustments on the fly.
A series of ministerial orders permitted municipalities to hold meetings electronically and without the public present. But, more recently, the province has made clear that it expects local governments to provide ways for the public to listen to meetings or watch them live.
With the exception of an electronic public hearing a few weeks ago, View Royal citizens have been largely unable to do that, although they were able to submit their comments in writing and view meeting minutes after the fact.
That hasn鈥檛 gone over well with some residents. Dave Eliason was among those who wrote to council last month, objecting to the lack of public input on a proposed development on his street and the inability to see or hear the developer respond to questions from council and residents.
鈥淧andemic or not, more transparency has to happen with council meetings and development/ rezoning applications,鈥� he wrote.
Others pointed to neighbouring jurisdictions and the opportunities for residents there to watch meetings online.
Screech said council heard those concerns and has delayed dealing with that development until the livestreaming technology is up and running as of July 7.
He said staff have yet to report on the final cost of the move to livestreaming, but council allocated up to $40,000 in the budget for the equipment.
鈥淲e encouraged them to get a really good system in place because, obviously, we鈥檙e going to be dealing with this for the long term, so it鈥檚 important for the public to see the meetings and be able to participate in a quality way,鈥� Screech said.
Langford, by contrast, continues to resist a move to livestreaming. Instead, it has put a teleconferencing system in place during the pandemic so that people can dial in and listen to a meeting. If they wish to participate, they can press a button to have their comments heard by council.
Coun. Denise Blackwell said livestreaming isn鈥檛 in the plans at this point.
鈥淪o far, it鈥檚 not been something we鈥檝e entertained ... mainly just because it鈥檚 a lot of money.鈥�
Blackwell said council hasn鈥檛 had requests from Langford residents to livestream the meetings. 鈥淭he only people we鈥檝e heard about that from is the Grumpy Taxpayer$,鈥� she said.
Stan Bartlett, who chairs the Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria, wrote a commentary in the Times 91原创 last year asking why Langford council was so 鈥渃amera-shy鈥� and urged the fast-growing municipality to embrace a higher degree of transparency and accountability.
Bartlett said in an interview that the watchdog group continues to have significant concerns about Langford鈥檚 approach.
He said livestreaming meetings and posting the recorded videos on municipal websites for later viewing allows for greater access to municipal government, particularly for people who are working or otherwise unable to attend one of Langford鈥檚 meetings, which typically begin at 5:30 p.m.
鈥淲e think full transparency fosters public support, trust and confidence,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd what they are doing is not the actions of a council that has much respect for its taxpayers, quite frankly.
鈥淰irtually every jurisdiction that I know of, of any size, has livestreaming and there鈥檚 reasons for that. People are busy. People take holidays and are not around to catch a meeting. People do shift work. Most people at 5:30 p.m. are driving home. How do you get to a meeting?鈥�
As well, he said, many council issues are complicated. Livestream recordings of a meeting allow members of the public to review the proceedings at their leisure to try to understand a particular debate or decision.
Bartlett disputed Blackwell鈥檚 claim about expense, noting that most other municipalities have adopted livestreaming.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a prosperous, growing jurisdiction,鈥� he said of Langford. 鈥淪o I think that鈥檚 a flimsy excuse and unacceptable. I don鈥檛 know if she could put a price on good governance and allowing the public to participate and be informed. How do you put a price on that? That鈥檚 what they鈥檙e supposed to be doing. That鈥檚 their job.鈥�
Metchosin Mayor John Ranns also cited cost as the reason his district has yet to adopt livestreaming for its meetings.
鈥淲e looked into it,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e had a report done on it, but it鈥檚 a matter of money more than anything. We don鈥檛 have a big budget.鈥�
Metchosin residents, like those in View Royal, have been unable to watch or listen to their council鈥檚 electronic meetings in real time or participate other than through written submissions. Unlike Langford, however, Metchosin has been posting video recordings of its electronic meetings to the district鈥檚 website so that people could watch and listen to them later.
Ranns said he didn鈥檛 like the fact that the public were largely excluded, which is one of the reasons his district has moved to again allow people to attend meetings in person. Up to 12 people are permitted into council chambers at a time in order to adhere to physical distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
鈥淚 just felt it was important that we get back to at least giving the impression of some sense of normalcy,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 mean, when you鈥檙e doing business it鈥檚 better to do it face to face anyway, I find.鈥�
Ranns said council meetings typically drew 30 to 40 people before the pandemic. So if 12聽spots prove insufficient, council will look for other ways to improve access, and could revisit the idea of adopting livestream technology, he said.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 a big lineup of people that can鈥檛 get in, we will certainly do something else.鈥�
David Black, an associate professor in the School of Communication and Culture at Royal Roads University, said the pandemic could help to redefine what public participation in municipal meetings and hearings looks like.
He said livestreaming is clearly the 鈥済old standard鈥� in terms of allowing people to participate in a meeting when they鈥檙e unable to attend in person.
鈥淵ou are, as much as possible, kind of in the room,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou have a camera that is panning the whole room. You can see people鈥檚 reactions. There鈥檚 a richer informational environment than with even video conferencing platforms or, certainly, with regular telephone conference calls.鈥�
Black said councils have been given a lot of latitude before now in terms of defining what an 鈥渙pen鈥� meeting means, and it鈥檚 perhaps time for the province to provide more direction. 鈥淚n this case, I鈥檇 like to see councils given some guidance and maybe asked to raise their game with respect to the benefits of livestreaming, relative to these other technological options,鈥� he said.
