How To Watch City Council Meetings Live

While everyone else is sitting comfortably in theater-style chairs during City Council meetings, Mike Dunn is in a tiny room at the back of the chambers watching several television screens.

From a laptop-sized panel with lots of tiny buttons, dials and sliding knobs, the city’s public information officer controls the four cameras that are used to record City Council and Municipal Code Board meetings. The meetings are broadcast live on Verizon channel 39 and Bright House channel 950. Then, they are rebroadcast at different times during the week.

“You can only get it in Temple Terrace,” Dunn said, although he noted he had heard of some people in other areas who are able to pick up the broadcasts.

Code Compliance Director Joe Gross sits in the control room with Dunn. If Dunn is called out to address the council, Gross takes over the controls.

The city has filmed its meetings for years. It started out with one stationery camera that eventually became “really, really old,” Dunn said.

“Nobody even remembers how long it was there,” he said.

Then in 2005, the city entered into a franchise agreement with Verizon to broadcast the meetings live. It entered into a similar agreement with Bright House Networks in 2006. Verizon and Bright House each had to contribute $35,000 toward new equipment, which the city ordered in late 2006. By early 2007, it was broadcasting with the up-to-date gadgets.

Dunn had to learn the function of each little button and knob, and how to cut from footage of council members to images of PowerPoint presentations.

“It was not easy,” he laughed.

With Dunn and Gross working the control panel, the city is able to provide its citizens with a convenient means of watching important meetings—even if they aren’t able to make it to in person.

—City Council meetings are broadcast live the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 6 p.m. Rebroadcasts are shown Mondays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Wednesdays and Fridays at 2 p.m.

—Municipal Code Board meetings are broadcast live the second Wednesday of month at 7 p.m. Rebroadcasts are shown Mondays at 2 p.m.