Sound woes mean city leaders seen but not heard

Councillor Angela O'Leary. Photo / APN

Hamilton City councillors could be seen but not heard at the first web-streamed council meeting.

Eager viewers wanting to tune into the council from the comfort of their lounges could see their elected members but the pearls of wisdom coming from their mouths could be heard only in the council chamber.

Jacqui Stokes commented on the council's Facebook page that the sound quality last week was poor. "Can't understand what they are saying," she wrote.

Staff frantically tried to address the issue at the morning-tea break when the cameras were turned off for the council to discuss meaty topics such as the V8s, Riverview Hotel and ArtsPost site in private.

Before the meeting, councillor Angela O'Leary, who has been tirelessly pushing for webcams in council chambers for more than a year, said she would be shamelessly promoting the initiative on Facebook and Twitter throughout the hearing.

Ms O'Leary also put out a sign cheering on the Warriors for viewers in case the meeting bored them but said that except for a few teething issues, the feedback she had received was positive.

Councillors were warned before the meeting that there was a problem with the sound. It is hoped it will be fixed by the next meeting, and that cameras will be able to zoom in closer on speakers.

Some council Facebook users have criticised the use of ratepayers' money when huge cuts are being made to parks and gardens and the cleaning of public toilets.

"Visitors aren't going to care what you do in chambers, but are going to care that Hamilton is going to look shabby and that the toilets could be cleaner," Justina Perdija wrote.

But Nick Johnston argued it was "a pretty minimal cost" to make council debate and discussions more accessible to the wider community.

Councillor Martin Gallagher's request for the cameras to be switched on during the Long Term Plan discussions in the chamber, including tomorrow's debate on pensioner housing, cannot be met because of a decision that only ordinary council meetings are to be filmed at this stage.