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ACT Committee previews CivicPlus agenda/meeting-management upgrade; purchase listed on finance agenda
Summary
Committee members heard a demonstration of a CivicPlus agenda and meeting-management add-on on Jan. 7 and were told a purchase order will appear on the finance agenda; the system would integrate agendas, attachments and meeting video, with a planned six-month rollout and training for council members.
The ACT Committee on Jan. 7 received a demonstration of an agenda and meeting-management add-on from CivicPlus, a cloud-based module the borough plans to purchase and implement over about six months.
The presenter said the CivicPlus meeting center would centralize agenda creation, attachments and post-meeting tasks in a single online platform; integrate meeting video into minutes for public research; provide customized agenda templates, drag-and-drop agenda creation, version tracking and a secure notes repository for elected officials; and enable indexed search and ad hoc reporting on agenda data.
The presenter said the purchase order for the add-on is on the finance agenda and that the borough expects a six-month implementation that will include demos and training for council members. Rolling the service out to boards and commissions is planned but will be phased: the presenter recommended starting with two or three active boards to pilot the system before expanding it to less-active bodies.
Questions from committee members and the public focused on public-access and sunshine-law concerns, remote participation and transcription. Daryl Cook of South 1 Street asked whether the public would have access to council members’ notes; the presenter said elected-official notes are attached to individual logins and default to private, and that staff and officials can choose what (if anything) to publish. The presenter clarified that Webex video/conferencing and vendor transcription are separate modules; the CivicPlus purchase discussed does not include automated transcription and would raise the cost substantially if added.
The presenter also said that the system can migrate historical agendas and minutes from CivicPlus for continuity, and that staff workflows for agenda approval and notifications would be built into the platform.
Ending: The committee did not vote on the purchase at the Jan. 7 meeting; staff said the PO is on the finance agenda for approval and training will follow if the purchase is authorized.
