Will Northampton County Council be Webcasting Anytime Soon?

When Diane Neiper told fellow Northampton County Council members that her resignation is imminent, she threatened to come back and attend meetings from time to time. "If our livestream didn't cost so much, you might be able to watch us," answered Council Prez Ann McHale.

Cost so much? What the hell is she smoking?

Livestreaming county council meetings was supposed to be part of the $650,000 in renovations to the star chamber. Members did get fancy little laptops for a paltry $10,294.57, but no web cams.

I spoke yesterday to Al Jordan, Northampton County's Director of Information Services. He's had a proposal since January '07. Since that time, Lehigh County has decided to webcast its meetings. In November, Council member Mike Dowd asked McHale what she had done, and she claimed they needed someone to operate the camera. That was news to Al Jordan, who told me no one from council had spoken to him.

I spoke with Al again yesterday. He told me webcasting could be done as cheaply as $500. But McHale is opting for a $17,000 production that saves meetings and even has a nice little index. The county has apparently applied for a grant to fund this project.

Here's an idea. Why not break down and spend $500 for a fricking webcam and livestream those meetings while you're waiting for that grant to be rejected? As Al told me yesterday, it's "inevitable." So why not bite the bullet?

If iCarly can do it, so can Ann McHale.

Lehigh County Comm'r Browning Asks for More Transparency

Lehigh County Commissioner Dean Browning is one of about three Republicans left in Allentown. Despite this character flaw, he's one of the most effective legislators I've ever seen. He's always prepared at meetings and has a command of complicated financial data. Most importantly, he advocates transparent government.

At Wednesday's meeting, Browning argued meeting minutes should be available on the county's web page. Northampton County Council, with all its flaws, is actually a step ahead of Lehigh County on that one. They began doing that last February. Chairman Dougherty responded that digitalized versions of minutes will soon be available.

Browning also suggested that commissioners consider livestreaming their meetings. Currently, the only Lehigh Valley municipality that webcasts meetings is Emmaus. Northampton County's Director of Information Services, Al Jordan, has been working on a similar plan, which he tells me is inexpensive.
Update: According to a commenter, Dean may actually reside in beautiful South Whitehall Township.

Northampton County's C-Span?

Al Jordan, Northampton County's Director of Information Services, has a terrible weakness. He smokes. If he wants to light up, he has to step outside the courthouse. And when he does, I can nail him and find out what's going on.

He's working on a proposal to livestream county council meetings. He envisions a system in which we can see and hear what's going on in real time, and is even considering some interactive features that might make it possible for the public to make comments. He'd also like to be able to archive meetings. I'm telling you right now the Nielsens on this will go right through the cupola. If the county sells this as a series, it might avoid a tax increase for a few years.

You, too, might soon be able to watch the council circus. Of course, they must approve this plan. It certainly will put them in the public eye, where you can watch the most dysfunctional government in the Lehigh Valley.

Maybe I can get a job doing Angle's make up.