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Los Angeles City Council approves plan to pursue webcasting and broadcast of meetings
Summary
Councilmembers voted unanimously to advance two measures directing staff to develop plans and budget requests to webcast council proceedings online and pursue broadcast airtime on local public television.
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to move forward with plans to webcast council meetings and to pursue broadcast airtime on a local public television station.
Councilmembers approved Budget & Finance Committee recommendations as amended by two related motions directing the Information Technology Agency and the City Administrative Officer to develop costed implementation plans and to include funding requests in the next fiscal-year budget. The measures passed 13-0.
The ordinance-level change does not itself create expenditures; councilmembers said they want staff to return with detailed cost estimates and implementation steps. Councilmember Jackie Chick, who introduced the motion to pursue webcasting, told colleagues the proposals would increase access for residents who do not subscribe to cable television and those who use the Internet to follow civic business.
“The spirit and the intent of both of these methodologies is the same,” Councilmember Alex Padilla said in debate, urging support. “Anything that we can do to increase civic participation, we should be doing.”
Council members discussed early cost estimates presented in committee: webcasting was roughly estimated at $120,000 annually, and broadcast airtime on Channel 58 at about $180,000 annually. Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas and others described the proposals as part of broader efforts to modernize public access; Councilmember Joel Holden, noting constituents who cannot access cable or Internet, said the city needed both web and televised coverage.
Staff from the Information Technology Agency and the City Administrative Officer will be asked to return with detailed budgets, schedules and technical plans. Councilmembers said they also anticipated requesting funding as part of the mayor’s upcoming budget process.
The council’s action instructs staff to prepare implementation options and budget requests; it does not appropriate funds or set an effective start date. Next steps will be determined when ITA and CAO present their costed plans to the council and mayor’s office.
