County to post meetings

Henrico County Board of Supervisors meetings can soon be seen and heard with the click of a mouse.

Starting Feb. 10, video of the supervisors' meetings will be streamed live and made available for later viewing on the county's Web site, http://www.co.henrico.va.us/.

In addition to watching meetings in their entirety, viewers also can look up specific agenda items and jump to that clip.

The archived videos will take the place of the audio-only recordings that began in July 2007 at the urging of Tuckahoe District Supervisor Patricia S. O'Bannon. Previously, the county only prepared written summaries of board meetings.

The video webcast will promote greater government transparency and make the meetings accessible to people who cannot attend in person, O'Bannon said.

The total cost of outfitting the Western Government Center board room with broadcast gear, including four wall-mounted cameras, and replacing older audiovisual equipment was $403,637, said Tamra McKinney, Henrico's public relations and media services director. The installation took about two months to complete.

"It will involve the public in a much more hands-on manner, and that's worth it," O'Bannon said. "In this age of technology, this is something you have to consider. It is so important for people to be involved in their governments. It's very important that we have more eyes and ears on the issues."

There are no plans at this time to also broadcast the meetings on the county's cable television station, HCTV-Channel 17, McKinney said. A DVD copy of a meeting can be provided upon request.

Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors, Richmond City Council and Ashland Town Council meetings are broadcast on television. Chesterfield also began posting video of its meetings on the Internet in April.
Contact Melodie N. Martin at (804) 649-6290 or .