Staff Report: Webcasting Review

WEBCASTING REVIEW

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Microsoft Teams Live Event chat feature be used only for Public Hearings;

AND THAT the October 20, 2020 resolution to address Ministerial Order No. M192 provisions be replaced with the following:

THAT, pursuant to Ministerial Order No. M192 of the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General passed June 17, 2020, Council authorizes, until there are changes to the restrictions on gatherings and social distancing requirements, all open meetings shall be conducted without members of the public present;

AND THAT openness, transparency, accessibility, and accountability of these meetings are ensured through the following means:

1. live webcasting to see and hear Council meetings, Committee of the Whole meetings, and Public Hearings available through a link on the Town of View Royal website;
2. participation in and attendance at Council and Committee of the Whole meetings via real-time telephone conference for Public Participation and Question Period;
3. participation in and attendance at Public Hearings via real-time telephone conference and the chat feature;
4. participation in and attendance at Board of Variance meetings via real-time telephone conference;
5. attendance at Advisory Committee meetings via real-time telephone conference;
6. provision of a newspaper notice of Council and Committee of the Whole meetings;
7. accommodating Petitions and Delegations by real-time telephone conference only or pre-arranged live video presentation;
8. accommodating applicants/consultants by real-time telephone conference only or pre-arranged live video presentation;
9. making the meeting agenda available on the Town of View Royal website;
10. accepting written correspondence up to 1:00 p.m. on the day of the Council, Committee of the Whole, and Board of Variance meetings and Public Hearings for inclusion on the agenda; and
11. posting recorded webcast meetings on View Royal’s website as soon as possible after the meetings.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

1. To provide an overview of webcasting at its almost one-year anniversary; and
2. To seek amendments to the current a.) use of the Microsoft Teams chat feature during Council and Committee of the Whole meetings; and b.) resolution addressing Ministerial Order No. M192.

BACKGROUND:

It is an understatement to say that a lot has transpired since early 2020. Specific to corporate operations, the following are some notable dates:

March 17, 2020

• Last Council meeting held before COVID-19 changes began
• Decision made to not hold first Council meeting of the month or Advisory Committee meetings

March 26, 2020

• Province introduces Ministerial Order No. M083, authorizing local governments to: a.) conduct electronic meetings in the absence of a pre-existing bylaw to hold such meetings b.) undertake all three readings and adoption of a bylaw at one meeting c.) hold a council meeting without the public present

April 14, 2020

• Council holds first Council meeting since March 17 – held electronically

April 21, 2020

• Decision made to change meeting schedule again, reverting back to only regularly scheduled Council meetings
• Authorization given to acquire and install electronic meeting tools in Council Chambers

May 1, 2020

• Province replaces Ministerial Order No. M083 with Ministerial Order No. M139, adding provision for electronic public hearings

June 16, 2020

• Council holds first public hearing – held with Microsoft Teams Meeting by teleconference

June 17, 2020

• Province replaces Ministerial Order No. M139 with Ministerial Order No. M192, adding several new provisions around open meetings and electronic meetings and reintroducing limitations on the timing requirements of bylaw passage for some bylaws

July 7, 2020

• View Royal launches first webcast public hearing and Council meeting
• Council passes motion to address Ministerial Order No. M192, outlining ways in which municipality complies with open meeting requirements in the face of Public Health Officer orders and physical distancing recommendations

September 29, 2020 Advisory Committees reconvene in joint committee meeting – held with Microsoft Teams Meeting technology (most logging into the meeting, some phoning in)

October 20, 2020

• Council passes motion to update earlier resolution to address Ministerial Order No. M192 provisions, reflecting reintroduction of Advisory Committee meetings, amended correspondence submission time to Committee of the Whole, and removal of requirement for draft minutes to be posted on website as webcast with chaptering is uploaded as soon as possible after meetings

DISCUSSION:

1. Webcast Overview

View Royal’s use of Microsoft Teams Live Event for its Council and Committee of the Whole meetings has been a success. Through the live webcast, the public can see members of Council in Chambers. Also, if a Council member is unable to attend a meeting in person, they can attend virtually and still have their face shown to the public when they speak either on the screen behind the Council table (see Image 1) or when the Webcast Producer presents their image solely on the live feed as they speak (see Image 2).

During meetings, staff presentations are shown by the staff member through the screen sharing function. If there are tech challenges, the Webcast Producer can easily share the preloaded presentation on behalf of the staff member. The public is able to see the staff member’s image when they are speaking so that they are aware of who is speaking and it is not simply a “disembodied voice” (see Image 3).

When there is dialogue between elected officials and the staff member, the Webcast Producer periodically toggles between an image of the Council table and the staff member so the viewing public can easily follow the discussion (see Image 4).

“Petitions and Delegations” or applicants and their consultants that pre-register can participate in meetings as “guest presenters”. This feature allows the same access to the meeting that staff members have for sharing their presentations and speaking in “real time” with Council. These individuals may choose to instead participate via phone only (audio only, no video).

For the rare occasion where a staff member is in Chambers for a meeting – other than the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the Corporate Officer that do attend in person – the podium is used and the camera can pan to capture both the speaker at the podium as well as the Council table (see Image 5). Again, in this way, the viewing public can see who is speaking to the elected officials.

Similarly, the camera can pan to the CAO when there is dialogue between Council and the CAO (see Image 6).

In summary, the production value of Microsoft Teams Live Event has proven to be comparatively strong when looking at other municipal webcasts and is of significant quality for the Town’s purposes. Feedback on the service has been quite positive. Virtual attendance at meetings has averaged six people at Council meetings and seven at Committee of the Whole since July 2020 and September 2020 respectively. On average, to date there are fourteen views per Council meeting webcast with an average of 58% of the recording viewed. Looking ahead, and as described in recent monthly “CAO Update” reports to the Committee of the Whole, staff have been working towards a shift in the service delivery model for webcasting where auxiliary staff will soon be on board to provide a continuation of what began as a contracted service.

2.a.) Chat Feature

Since the start of live webcast meetings, the public has been able to participate in Council and Committee of the Whole meetings in real time through one of two ways – either over the telephone by dialing in using a conference ID or through the live chat feature from their computer. These opportunities occur primarily during the “Public Participation” and “Question Period” portions of the agenda as they would if meetings were able to be held in-person (also for “Comments from the Public” on development permit applications at Council meetings). As well, both the telephone and chat feature have been used for Public Hearings since moving to the Teams Live Event platform.

After a nine-month period, staff recommend the chat feature be discontinued for Council and Committee of the Whole meetings for several reasons:

Firstly, there has been little uptake on the use of this feature since the beginning of webcasting at Council and Committee of the Whole meetings. Over seventeen Council meetings, the chat feature has been used at three meetings by a total of nine people; and at eight Committee of the Whole meetings, the chat feature has been used four times by a total of eleven people. When measured against the resources to staff the chat feature – estimated to be in excess of $5,000 to date – it is recommended that the chat feature be used only for Public Hearings where the uptake has been higher and the chat feature considered a more appropriate tool. At the three Public Hearings held since inception of live webcasting, the chat feature has been used two times by a total of ten people.

Secondly, the nature of the chat feature is designed for an open dialogue with the meeting “hosts” (in this case elected officials) instead of being limited to specific timed areas within a meeting agenda. That is, the tool does not afford an opportunity to interact with Council or the Committee of the Whole in real time given that the communication is typed in by the member of the public, read aloud by the moderator during two specific areas on the agenda, and responded to verbally by Council. If the person has any follow-up questions, they then have to type it into the chat feature – which may already be closed off at that point in the meeting as the meeting may have advanced to the next agenda item.

The Town has received feedback on this specific issue voicing frustration as some members of the public may view the chat feature as a conversational tool as opposed to how it is being used. Staff note that the existing alternative to the chat feature – and a similar one-way communication tool – for those that do not feel comfortable participating in the meeting over the telephone, is the correspondence option (email or letter for inclusion on agenda in advance of the meeting).

As noted above, staff recommend continued use of the chat feature for Public Hearings. This type of meeting is better suited as the subject is single-focused and the chat feature can be opened at the beginning of the hearing, providing a longer window of time for the public to comment or ask questions.

2.b.) Resolution Addressing Ministerial Order No. M192

Council considered a report from the Director of Corporate Administration at its July 7, 2020 meeting regarding public participation in meetings pursuant to Ministerial Order No. M192. The resolution passed at that meeting was updated at the October 20, 2020 Council meeting to the following:

THAT, pursuant to Ministerial Order No. M192 of the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General passed June 17, 2020, Council authorizes, until there are changes to the restrictions on gatherings and social distancing requirements, all open meetings shall be conducted without members of the public present;

AND THAT openness, transparency, accessibility, and accountability of these meetings are ensured through the following means:

1. live webcasting to see and hear the Council and Committee of the Whole meetings available through a link on the Town of View Royal website;
2. participation in and attendance at Council and Committee of the Whole meetings via real-time telephone conference and interactive chat for Public Participation and Question Period;
3. participation in and attendance at Board of Variance meetings via real-time telephone conference;
4. attendance at Advisory Committee meetings via real-time telephone conference;
5. provision of a newspaper notice of Council and Committee of the Whole meetings;
6. accommodating Petitions and Delegations by audio only or pre-arranged live video presentation;
7. accommodating applicants/consultants by audio only or pre-arranged live video presentation;
8. making the meeting agenda available on the Town of View Royal website;
9. accepting written correspondence up to 3:00 p.m. on the day of the Council and Board of Variance meetings and 1:00 p.m. on the day of Committee of the Whole meetings for inclusion on the agenda; and
10. posting recorded webcast meetings on View Royal’s website as soon as possible after the meetings.

Staff recommend that the above motion be amended to reflect proposed operational changes, including the use the chat feature for Public Hearings only and a proposal to move the deadline for receipt of late item correspondence for all agendas to 1:00 p.m. on meetings days to allow staff ample time to prepare correspondence for inclusion in the late item agenda and to upload it into the agenda software. Accordingly, the following replacement motion is proposed:

THAT, pursuant to Ministerial Order No. M192 of the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General passed June 17, 2020, Council authorizes, until there are changes to the restrictions on gatherings and social distancing requirements, all open meetings shall be conducted without members of the public present;

AND THAT openness, transparency, accessibility, and accountability of these meetings are ensured through the following means:

1. live webcasting to see and hear Council meetings, Committee of the Whole meetings, and Public Hearings available through a link on the Town of View Royal website;
2. participation in and attendance at Council and Committee of the Whole meetings via real-time telephone conference for Public Participation and Question Period;
3. participation in and attendance at Public Hearings via real-time telephone conference and the chat feature;
4. participation in and attendance at Board of Variance meetings via real-time telephone conference;
5. attendance at Advisory Committee meetings via real-time telephone conference;
6. provision of a newspaper notice of Council and Committee of the Whole meetings;
7. accommodating Petitions and Delegations by real-time telephone conference only or pre-arranged live video presentation;
8. accommodating applicants/consultants by real-time telephone conference only or pre-arranged live video presentation;
9. making the meeting agenda available on the Town of View Royal website;
10. accepting written correspondence up to 1:00 p.m. on the day of the Council, Committee of the Whole, and Board of Variance meetings and Public Hearings for inclusion on the agenda; and
11. posting recorded webcast meetings on View Royal’s website as soon as possible after the meetings.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Microsoft Teams Live Event chat feature be used only for Public Hearings;

AND THAT the October 20, 2020 resolution to address Ministerial Order No. M192 provisions be replaced with the following:

THAT, pursuant to Ministerial Order No. M192 of the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General passed June 17, 2020, Council authorizes, until there are changes to the restrictions on gatherings and social distancing requirements, all open meetings shall be conducted without members of the public present;

AND THAT openness, transparency, accessibility, and accountability of these meetings are ensured through the following means:

1. live webcasting to see and hear Council meetings, Committee of the Whole meetings, and Public Hearings available through a link on the Town of View Royal website;
2. participation in and attendance at Council and Committee of the Whole meetings via real-time telephone conference for Public Participation and Question Period;
3. participation in and attendance at Public Hearings via real-time telephone conference and the chat feature;
4. participation in and attendance at Board of Variance meetings via real-time telephone conference;
5. attendance at Advisory Committee meetings via real-time telephone conference;
6. provision of a newspaper notice of Council and Committee of the Whole meetings;
7. accommodating Petitions and Delegations by real-time telephone conference only or pre-arranged live video presentation;
8. accommodating applicants/consultants by real-time telephone conference only or pre-arranged live video presentation;
9. making the meeting agenda available on the Town of View Royal website;
10. accepting written correspondence up to 1:00 p.m. on the day of the Council, Committee of the Whole, and Board of Variance meetings and Public Hearings for inclusion on the agenda; and
11. posting recorded webcast meetings on View Royal’s website as soon as possible after the meetings.

SUBMITTED BY: S. Jones, Corporate Officer

REVIEWED BY: K. Anema, Chief Administrative Officer