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Wear PJs to city meetings

St. Petersburg considers buying equipment to stream video of live meetings onto the Internet.

By JON WILSON
Published May 31, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Debate about spending your tax money and decisions regarding neighborhood development are among topics that could be a mouse-click away if the City Council approves a plan to put city board meetings on the Internet.

Known as "streaming video," the service would let a computer user watch live meetings, opt for a particular item on a board's agenda or review past sessions, said Richard Kriseman, City Council chairman.

The option under consideration would cost $25,000 for hardware installation and $1,000 a month to operate.

The first choice to be plugged into the Internet would be City Council meetings. But meetings of the Code Enforcement board, Planning Commission and Environmental Development Commission also could be shown, Kriseman said.

Kriseman has been pushing for such a service as another way to make city government accessible to the public. The council will consider the proposal at its meeting Thursday at City Hall, 175 Fifth St. N. A council committee endorsed the idea last week, asking city staffers to look into the specifics.

"I'd like to see us get it implemented immediately,'' Kriseman said.

Several Pinellas County government board meetings can be tracked on the Internet. Users can click up the County Commission, the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Tourist Development Council, for example.

[Last modified May 31, 2006, 07:05:18]