AN ONLINE poll will determine whether Mount Gambier City Council will spend up to $28,000 to live stream future council meetings.
The poll will be put to the public in the coming weeks to determine community interest in participation for future live streams.
It follows a call from first-time councillor Kate Amoroso to introduce the initiative which aims to increase transparency and accessibility to local government proceedings.
Five different options were provided in a council report at the March meeting, with the costings varying between $1404 and $28,164.
The various costs include individual reports on different cameras, live streaming services, as well as audio capabilities.
Councillors discussed the options before endorsing further community engagement in the decision-making process.
Cr Ben Hood requested an online poll take part on Facebook and council’s Have Your Say website platform to gauge community interest.
“This is to garter the public’s desire for the live streaming of council meetings,” Cr Hood said.
Cr Hood requested the polling period be open for two weeks, with a further report presented to council at the conclusion of the poll.
“The reason I do this is because it is a significant cost for council to set this up and I think it would be a good idea first to see what the public’s appetite for live streaming is,” he said.
Cr Christian Greco also backed the motion.
“I support the motion as is but wish to keep in mind to include the cost of the live streaming within the poll, to see if the community believes that it is a waste of money,” Cr Greco
said.
Cr Steve Perryman also inquired about the costing of the live streaming in relation to the public poll, asking if there was an “option for the community to speak more about how much they wish to spend”.
The line of questioning for the community poll is yet to be determined.
