Resident urges return to podium presentations for Vienna budget hearings, cites unstable livestream

Ken Williams, a Vienna resident, used the public forum to urge the City Council to restore in-person department-head budget presentations at the podium, saying the previous approach provided more transparency than the current practice of having department heads sit at a table without microphones.

"For years ... the budget process always allowed for budget hearings where department heads stood right here at the podium," Williams said. He described a change two years ago in which department heads instead sat at a table with their backs to the audience, limiting public access to clear department-by-department presentations and placing more burden on the council to ask probing questions.

Williams also praised some of the city's new camera angles and the decision to stream meetings to Facebook, but he said the livestream had been unstable during a recent meeting and sometimes cut out entirely. "If we can't keep consistent livestream going, it doesn't make a difference," he said, adding that reliable video is important because many residents rely on livestreams to follow meetings and as a later reference.

The meeting agenda notes that "department heads will be available for budget questions at the next council meeting." Williams said the full budget document had not yet been posted and urged that it be made available promptly so the public can review spending details before votes.

No formal action on the budget process was taken at the meeting; Williams' remarks were made during the public forum.