The Region of Queens was testing its livestream on Wednesday on its YouTube channel. (YOUTUBE)

The Region of Queens will begin livestreaming its council meetings on April 11.

Councillors voted unanimously on Tuesday to begin the new service, which will be broadcast simultaneously on the municipality’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Comments will be disabled on the livestream. Staff said that it would take tax staff resources to moderate the comments in real time. The meetings would be available for replays on the region’s YouTube channel, and possibly its Facebook page.

All public meetings in council chambers are currently recorded and uploaded to the region’s YouTube channel, usually the day after the meeting.

In February 2023, councillors asked about the possibility of livestreaming their meetings once a new audio-video system was installed. That new system was installed last April.

Councillors asked staff to investigate the possibility of livestreaming. Staff consulted with 17 other municipalities who currently livestream their meetings.

Livestreaming on Facebook and YouTube is free. But the region may have to spend some money on a mixing board so that pauses in the meeting for breaks or in camera sessions would not interrupt the live broadcast.

Staff have estimated it would cost about $3,000 for that equipment.

Councillors are currently in budget discussions. If they went for that option, they would have to add that to next year’s budget. 

The April 11 meeting which is scheduled to be livestreamed will be one of the budget meetings. Councillors are set to discuss the preliminary draft of the budget from 6 to 9 p.m. this Thursday.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

A screengrab from the Region of Queens YouTube channel.

The Region of Queens is considering livestreaming its council meetings. 

Councillors are expected to vote on a motion at their April 9 meeting for simultaneous YouTube and Facebook broadcasts.

All public meetings in council chambers are currently recorded and uploaded to the region’s YouTube channel the day after the meeting.

In February 2023, councillors asked about the possibility of livestreaming their meetings once a new audio-video system was installed. That new system was installed last April.

Councillors meet four times in other communities around the municipality. In a report to council on Tuesday evening, communications co-ordinator Heather Cooke and IT manager Steve Whynacht said offsite livestreaming would be difficult without new equipment, since the setup at council chambers is not portable.

Cook and Whynacht said that they contacted other Nova Scotia municipalities to find out if they livestream meetings. They said that 17 of those contacted said they livestream meetings in some form.

Streaming on YouTube and Facebook is free, so showing meetings live would not cost any more. But if council decides to livestream offsite meetings as well, the region would have to invest in more equipment.

Councillors voted to consider their options at their April 9 meeting.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com