2011-03-23 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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MS. O’HARA: The minutes are online. The minutes don’t always capture all the discussion and all the communications and everything. The online versions are much better now in terms of tacking on all the actual documents that are referred to in the item. So you can usually get most of that information online now. MS. NICHOLSON: So let’s look at this fresh. Another option other than this would be rather than making this available through cable is to make video tapes available for borrowing through the county along with the full transcripts. MS. O’HARA: The public already has the option of the transcripts. An additional option would be to set up a digital recorder, this is cheap to do, record the meetings, make DVDs available for whatever the cost of providing the DVD, $5.00 whatever it is and people can just purchase the DVD. There would of course be a proprietary information confidentiality attachment to that DVD so that people can’t edit it and use it in the public domain in some adverse way. I would imagine that legal counsel would like to have some sort of disclaimer on that DVD. Other than that you could either borrow it or buy it. MS. NICHOLSON: Well what’s the feeling is this a better recommendation that we should just make a firm recommendation about this? MS. OHARA: Well let me ask this question; do we know Bill what the cost of that contract is annually? MR. TAKABA: We can find out. Offhand I wouldn’t know. MS. O’HARA: I mean if we’re going to save half a million dollars yeah this might be worth considering. If we’re just saving a few dollars maybe not, I don’t know. MR. TAKABA: It’s a lot. They do it by the hour yeah, oh by the minute. MS. NICHOLSON: Is it six figures? MS. PROVALENKO: Do we know what kind of following that they do have? I hear a lot of people talk about it. MR. TAKABA: People talk yeah. People tell me what they saw on t.v. So I know they have a following. I don’t know if it’s just entertainment valueor they want to actually follow a particular issue that’s being discussed. MR. PROVALENKO: I’ve heard that too. That’s what I’m thinking too, how are we impacting… MS. NICHOLSON: I hate to restrict public access. If this is of interest to them would they take the extra step to get the DVD? I kind of doubt it so I think it sort of chills public involvement. MS. O’HARA: If that DVD were as easy to get as Netflix it would not be a problem. You just fill out a form online, you order the DVD, you pay online your $5.00 and it’s mailed to you. If it was something like that it would not be that impractical. 13