Tech Upgrade Will Bring Wayne Meetings to Your Phone

Residents will be able to watch council and board of education meetings on their smartphones and tablet devices in 2013.

The Council introduced an ordinance Wednesday appropriating $75,000 to upgrade the video and audio system broadcast system in town hall.

Cameras inside the council chamber will be upgraded and new digital equipment to run cable channel 77 will be purchased, said Scott Pasternak, the township’s information technology director.

“The new cameras will allow us to have much better video and audio quality,” Pasternak said.

Township officials have said they receive complaints from residents during meetings about the video and audio quality of broadcasts.

All municipal and board of education meetings held in the chamber are broadcast on channel 77.

New digital production and broadcast equipment and software will be purchased. This will allow meetings to be broadcast live online using any Windows-, Android-, or iOS-enabled devices, including smartphones and tablets. Users not using Windows-based devices will not have to download a separate plug-in, which they have to do now, in order to watch the meetings.

The new equipment will allow all recorded meetings to be archived online and watched anytime on demand.

The council is expected to approve the ordinance at its Dec. 19 council meeting. Pasternak said he hopes the new system will go online in June or July of next year.

“It’ll be a fun and exciting project for us,” he said.

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