Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Technology topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Canton board keeps Zoom meetings but asks committee to review live-captioning accuracy
Summary
The town and village boards agreed to continue using Zoom for meetings but asked the Communications & Technology committee to return with data on viewership and guidance on live-captioning accuracy and ADA obligations after members raised concerns about caption errors and past Zoom abuse.
The Canton joint board voted by consensus on March 12 to continue offering meetings over Zoom, but members instructed the Communications & Technology committee to provide more information about caption accuracy, viewership statistics and whether live captioning is required under accessibility rules.
Chair read language added to the agenda noting that "live captioning has been enabled for Zoom meetings" and that captions "do not translate with 100% accuracy but can be helpful." Board members discussed accessibility and accuracy: one member said captions are valuable for residents with hearing disabilities but worried captions sometimes misrepresent speech; another member recalled early Zoom sessions had been "hijacked" with inappropriate images.
The committee will report back with metrics on how many viewers watch meetings live and post-meeting, and with recommendations about whether the town must retain captioning to meet ADA obligations. Several residents who spoke during public comment urged continuing Zoom. The board made no change to the service at the March 12 meeting; renewal and captioning procedures will be revisited after the committee report.
