The Clifton Park Town Board debuted a new open government measure Monday, March 10, as they provided residents with live video streaming of the meeting via the Internet.
I want every member of our community to feel empowered so they can participate more fully in the public dialogue, said Town Board Member Scott Hughes.
Making good on a campaign promise to provide more open and transparent government, Hughes and fellow Town Board Member Thomas Paolucci, who co-wrote a five-point plan to support open government, announced the new measure.
`Video streaming will make it easy and convenient for residents to have greater access to their town government, ensuring unprecedented openness and transparency,` Hughes said.
Residents can view the video during regularly scheduled board meetings — the first three Mondays of the month at 7 p.m. — or an archived, unedited version of the meeting through the town’s Web site, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Clifton Park is one of the first municipalities in the state to adopt this measure.
`Clifton Park has earned a reputation for being on the cutting edge of innovation, and this is just another example of the town board taking a leadership role in support of expanding public access,` Paolucci said.
The board will continue to air meetings on Time Warner Cable’s local cable access channel for residents who do not have an Internet connection.
Town residents can also view the live video stream at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library, where Internet-ready computers are available for public use.
To view town board meetings live on the Internet, visit http://www.cliftonpark.org/townhall/livestream.asp.
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