2018-12-11 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                               11 DECEMBER 2018


    Fraser Coast Regional Council – at the time of preparing this report, the CEO was awaiting
      details of the average number of viewers for this Council.
    Ipswich City Council – this Council decided to introduce live video streaming service several
      months ago, just prior to the administrator being appointed. This has subsequently been
      actioned by the City Administrator.

Quite a number of Councils across Australia (and in New South Wales and Victoria in particular)
provide live video streaming of Council meetings. On 16 November 2018, the New South Wales
Local Government Minister announced that new provisions are being introduced that will mandate
the live video streaming of Council meetings in that State from November 2019. We have spoken
to a number of interstate councils who undertake live video streaming to gather information about
what has worked and what hasn’t worked based on their experience.

Some of the key learnings from other Councils are:
 Good audio is critical. While there are different standards of cameras available that provide
   high resolution, low resolution or other types of picture, unless the audio is clear to the viewer,
   the live streaming service is not effective. This was an overwhelming message from a large
   number of councils - get the audio right, otherwise it is not effective.
 Viewer numbers vary. The anecdotal feedback was that when live video streaming is first
   introduced, there is a significant uptake of viewers but after a period, it tends to drop off. The
   exception is when there is a “hot issue” on the agenda and there are spikes in viewing numbers.
   We sought feedback on actual viewer numbers from Redland Shire Council, Central Highlands
   Regional Council and Fraser Coast Regional Council and details from two of those Councils
   are set out above.
 There are a range of technologies and service providers available. From the humble webcam
   with a single built in microphone to multiple cameras/split viewing screens managed by
   independent service providers. Unsurprisingly, smaller Councils tend to use more basic (and
   cheaper) technology while the larger Councils tend to use independent service providers (more
   expensive). The range of options is explored further below.


3.    Consideration of Options


Council staff have undertaken an analysis of different options available to Council that would be
suitable to our meeting room size and layout. Attachment 1 to this report is a short summary of the
different types of options available. A brief discussion on each of the options is set out below:-
Options 1 and 2 - these are basic WebCam options. Staff have trialled these cameras in our
meeting room with poor results for large meeting type scenarios. WebCams are very helpful for
single or small group discussions but are not as suitable for Council meeting scenarios. These
options are not recommended for further consideration.
Option 3 – this option has one single fixed high definition camera and 3 omni-directional USB
microphones. It is similar to the system being used by Alpine Shire Council however, Alpine Shire
Council have individual microphones. Costs are very reasonable with high video quality. It is
anticipated by our technical staff that a 3 x omnidirectional USB microphone system will provide
good audio coverage for our meeting space.
Option 4 - this option is not available with our current technology until we upgrade Skype for
Business which is scheduled for March 2019. This is currently being used by Central Highlands
Regional Council and works well. Costs are quite reasonable with video quality being good.




                                                                                     Page 43 of 148