Livestreaming and transparency: Bringing people to your district or municipality

Imagine this scenario: Maplewood's city council is debating the introduction of livestreaming for their public meetings, a question many other towns are also asking. The goal is to improve openness and make it easier for residents to engage with local governance, especially since many cannot attend meetings due to scheduling conflicts. By considering livestreaming, the council hopes to ensure everyone could see how decisions were made, no matter their availability.

Looking into how to start livestreaming, the council has taken cues from other areas that have seen positive results, including better engagement and trust in government. Making meetings accessible live and via recordings means people can stay up-to-date and involved on their own terms. The council views livestreaming as a way to not only enhance transparency but also to draw in new residents by demonstrating their commitment to an open government. Their goal is to guide Maplewood toward a future that is open, inclusive and forward-thinking.

Why does this matter?

Livestreaming publicly-held meetings fosters trust and engagement and can even help attract new residents or families to a community or school district. For many local and education government boards and councils, livestreamed meetings became the norm in 2020 — but not for all. Some city councils and other groups are still debating the value of broadcasting publicly held meetings, even in the face of community demand.

Publicly-held meeting livestreaming has been in the news recently on a number of counts:

Indiana passed a law requiring all government meetings to be livestreamed or recorded, while Colorado debated but killed HB24-1168.

Two cities in Orange County, California, received D grades from a transparency watchdog group for a “lack of virtual accessibility" — in other words, not livestreaming meetings. They are the only cities not offering the option in their area.

Others are updating equipment for better streaming or taking up livestreaming for the first time.

Let’s explore why your board or council will benefit from livestreamed meetings, how similar entities have implemented them and how technology can help.

The value of transparency in local governments

Citizens’ trust in local governments has historically been and remains much higher than trust in the federal government, according to Pew Research. However, the news isn’t all good: trust in local government has dropped to 61% in 2024 from 66% in 2022.

The responsibility for building and maintaining public trust falls on every public servant, from school board members and city councils to the highest levels of government. Governments build trust by being more — not less — transparent. There are a few key ways to achieve this:

• Be accessible to the public, for example, by simplifying the public comments process and offering meet-and-greet events within the bounds of open meetings acts
• Providing consistent documentation of meeting outcomes, including supporting materials, voting records and recorded meetings
• Promoting a single source of information — usually a public website — to remove obstacles to finding out what is happening in your cities and schools

Of interest, a 2021 study found that the most transparent city governments were also the most efficient, noting in the conclusion that, “One possible explanation is that governments that work harder to achieve more efficient management want to involve citizens and other stakeholders in their good governance. In this way, governments can take advantage of their good management to promote their popularity and their possibilities of re-election.”

How does livestreaming support transparency efforts?

Residents want to see what is happening in their communities and schools with minimal filtering, and livestreaming fits directly into that goal. Cities and schools have the ability to show viewers the full picture — quite literally — bringing them into the meeting room both live, if they cannot attend, or through recorded meetings after the fact.

Elected officials have the opportunity to show their commitment to civility, to follow rules of order and to fully consider the issues raised during public comments and debate. In addition, watching video meetings helps viewers understand and see other aspects of their representatives’ public service, including commitments to:

• Quality education, both by using modern tools for communication and facilitating community involvement, which can build public school loyalty
• Accessibility, by making it possible for people in all situations to participate, whether they have a disability, scheduling conflicts or travel limitations that make attendance difficult or impossible
• Increased community engagement and trust by making elected officials more than just a name on a ballot or in a news article — and by showing them at work, considering and making decisions on important issues
• Accountability with a public record of discussions and votes

Also, streamed meetings provide evidence of legal compliance, showing the board takes seriously and follows requirements for open meetings and accessibility.

Simplify your livestreaming journey

Our free guide helps public board administrators make smart choices + streamline the livestreaming process. Download the checklist to make your public meeting livestreams a breeze!

I'd like the checklistchevron_right

How does livestreaming attract new residents and families?

With increased awareness of online resources, many mobile families research potential communities by looking at city and school district websites, local discussion groups and other sources of information. By making more — not less — information available on the city or school district website, you establish your credibility as a source when families are evaluating multiple possible destinations.

For school boards, potential residents will be looking for a commitment to quality education, a board that can work together for the best interests of students and a concerted effort to set reasonable policies to address issues both old and new. With livestreamed and recorded meetings, boards can document the progress of the school district, giving potential resident parents more confidence in the school system.

City councils can also showcase an ability to rise above partisan lines to work in the best interest of the community. By sharing information about economic growth, strategic planning and more, potential residents can understand not only what the city or region is like now, but what it may be like in future years. City councils can also develop engagement with new families from the outset.

Best practices for transparency in publicly held meetings

Technology can help with many of the best practices of hosting transparent, livestreamed meetings. Here are a few of the ways:

• Maintain a regular, predictable schedule for meetings and updates.
• Offer email or text subscriptions to citizens that alert them when new meeting information is posted.
• Offer the option of submitting public comments live or written ahead of time, with rules of decorum that both representatives and the public are expected to follow.
• Archive (and make easy to find) past meetings with key information to help community members easily find what they are looking for.

How Diligent Community helps you manage this easily

Community has a number of product features that benefit cities and school districts, including the Livestream Manager. With this feature, you can set up streaming meetings within the board management solution and broadcast them to your public website. The agenda integration allows viewers to watch the meeting in split screen with the meeting agenda, making it easier to follow along. You can also offer recorded meetings alongside time-stamped minutes, so previous meeting highlights are easy to access.

For many entities, starting fresh with streamed meetings or migrating from a different solution can be intimidating. But a number of entities have benefited from making this change:

• Glenbrook High School District 225 in Illinois ended struggles with multiple meeting solutions by transitioning to Community’s Livestream Manager. Closed captioning and archived meetings allow more community members to follow the discussions.
• The Town of Carbondale in Colorado better manages speakers with the digital timer in the app, which helps each speaker keep to the three-minute limit.
• Transparency goes beyond livestreaming. Aspen School District in Colorado set out to improve both efficiency and transparency. Alice Black, executive assistant and special project manager, said, “One of the board’s main goals is to be as transparent and open as possible with our public constituents. Having a platform that is much more user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing has been a step forward. It’s been really easy for me to post the agenda and share it with our community.”
• For Vigo County School Corporation in Indiana, building relationships with the media is an important part of the overall community relationship. Now, reporters can subscribe to updates and get the information they need without waiting.
• Visalia Unified School District in California heard concerns that community members were not finding information easily. Now they can watch recorded meetings and follow along with time-stamped minutes.

Building transparency is critical for local governments set on fostering trust with their residents and families, and livestreaming is a simple but powerful strategy for achieving it. By offering real-time access to meetings and events, it allows prospective residents to see first hand the commitment to open governance and community engagement, which can be a decisive factor in choosing a new place to call home.

Diligent Community makes livestreaming your meetings simple and provides the tools your public officials need to serve. Let us know how Diligent can help your city or school board.