Orange County’s transit agency leaders are expected next week to launch a debate about whether they should make it easier for members of the public to watch their board meetings.
The debate comes in the wake of a Chapman University student investigation that assigned the agency a “D” grade because it only allows people to remotely monitor their meetings through audio recordings.
Orange County’s Transportation Agency is one of just a few public entities in OC that doesn’t offer the public video access to their meetings.
[Read: Making it Easy to Watch Local Government From Home]
“The Orange County Transportation Authority as well as any other regional agency should advocate for public transparency,” said Fullerton Mayor Pro Tem Fred Jung, in an interview with Voice of OC following the transit agency’s executive committee meeting on Monday morning where the topic was introduced.
While most cities across OC are video streaming their meetings, many of the elected city council members who serve on the regional transit panel didn’t answer questions about whether they supported a similar approach for the agency spending nearly $2 billion a year on local roads and freeways.
Yet Jung isn’t alone.
He is joined by Orange Councilmember Jon Dumitru, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento and Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan, who also hold seats on the OCTA Board of Directors, and answered queries about video live streaming.
“At this point in time, with the public interaction that needs to take place at such a large agency, its live streaming should be more robust… There is value in having video,” said Dumitru in a call with Voice of OC. “You lose something when you don’t see the passion in some of the speakers’ voices, including the board members. It’s important to be able to see their body language.”
“I’ve spoken with (OCTA) Chairman Nguyen and OCTA staff about the importance of increasing public accessibility and government transparency wherever reasonably possible,” said Supervisor Sarmiento in an email. “Given the possibility of moving the agency’s headquarters, the board should establish a short-term plan to improve coverage of OCTA’s meetings until more permanent live-streaming options can be considered.”
“I support providing video access at OCTA. I believe it would provide more clarity for those tuning in,” Khan said in an email.
Jung serves alongside several other local elected officials on the executive committee, including two public members – Chairman Tam T. Nguyen and Michael Hennesey along with high ranking elected officials like Vice Chairman Supervisor Doug Chaffee, Supervisor Andrew Do and Supervisor Donald Wagner.
What are the Options?
OCTA staff has presented three potential options – ranging from low-cost AI-controlled cameras to high-cost systems of cameras – for board members to consider.
The agency’s cheapest video streaming option would post a 360-degree, AI-controlled camera in the center of the dais, which would cost them $1,150 to start and no costs going forward, according to the staff report.
The mid-range option would include a system of cameras with predefined zoom locations to highlight speakers. It would include more robust features, such as on-screen graphics and the agenda item number, as well as identifying speakers by name and title. That option would be controlled by a single person located off the premises and cost $75,000 to set up and $48,000 annually to maintain.
The final and most expensive option would cost $243,000 to set up and $358,000 annually to maintain, and would include a system of cameras with more advanced features than the mid-range option with staff noting it would produce a broadcast quality stream. Multiple individuals would be on premises to control the features and video.
OCTA has Rejected Video Live Streaming Twice Before
The agency has considered incorporating video live streaming on two occasions – once in 2011 and again in 2015.
According to an OCTA staff report, officials decided against posting videos of their meetings back in 2011 – just as the agency was engaged in cutting bus services.
[Read: OC Grand Jury Chastises Officials on Transportation Decisions]
OCTA began using Granicus, a meeting management and streaming platform, to livestream and archive audio in 2007, according to the staff report. Digital agendas were added to the audio livestream in 2009.
In 2015, video cabling was added to the boardroom but the board again chose not to move forward with video live streaming.
Video live streaming will be considered for a third time at the upcoming March 11 board meeting.
What About Other Agencies?
Cities across the county are increasingly considering the path forward to an “A” grade on the students’ video report card.
Dumitru raised questions about the student investigation during the Feb. 27 Orange city council meeting, calling into question the accuracy of the city’s “B” grade.
Despite official claims that the meeting video posts immediately following the meeting, the video was not available immediately afterwards, leaving them in range for a “B.”
After publication of the investigation, agencies across the county are increasingly debating how to make their meetings more accessible online, and question the path forward to transparency.
Last month, Laguna Woods city officials launched YouTube and Zoom streaming options for city council meetings – earning them an “A.”
Orange officials are hoping to improve their “B” accessibility grade.
Moving forward, Dumitru said he will ask for more of the budget to be allocated to the integration of additional streaming platforms, such as YouTube, as well as a more immediate fix to make videos easier for the public to find on the city’s website.
How Chapman Students and Voice of OC Graded Agencies:
A: Video and audio posted immediately following the meeting
B: Video and audio posted within 24 hours after the meeting
C: Video and audio posted within seven days after the meeting
D: Only audio is posted to the website
F: No livestream is available after the meeting
An interactive map of Orange County displays meeting accessibility grades for each city. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC
Who Else was Given a “D” or “F” Grade?
The City of La Palma and the City of Rancho Santa Margarita only provide an audio livestream of city council meetings, and were given a “D” for accessibility.
The three of the county’s community college districts flunked with an “F” grade.
Rancho Santiago Community College District and Coast Community College District do not livestream their board meetings in any capacity, leaving attending in-person as the only option for those looking to participate.
The North Orange County Community College District does provide a video livestream on YouTube, but it does not post archives to the channel or their website. Video recordings are only available by request for those unable to tune in to the livestream or attend in person, earning them an “F.”
Why is it Important to Have Accessible Meetings?
Michael Moodian, Chapman University Leadership Studies Lecturer and public policy researcher, said that a lack of transparency in local government can breed corruption.
“The City of Bell scandal in 2010 taught us a crucial lesson: When local governments lack transparency, it paves the way for corruption,” said Moodian. “Fortunately, the technology to video record and stream these meetings is readily available and affordable.”
“There’s no excuse for citizens not to have access to observe the actions of public officials online.”
Online accessibility is crucial to creating an informed public, said Dr. Fred Smoller, Associate Professor of Political Science at Chapman University.
“Democracy requires an informed public, so obviously anything we can do to make it accessible for the public that engages their ability to judge the policies that are being passed and the performance of the people sitting on the council,” said Dr. Smoller.
“The more people can watch, the more we have a check on city council.”
Dumitru echoed this sentiment in a call with Voice of OC.
“Something I really strongly believe in is that those folks that are in the county that are governed by these agencies should absolutely be participants in the process. Because otherwise, you’re guessing what constituents want or are looking for.”
“More involvement of the community is imperative to good decision making.”
Erika Taylor is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow and photojournalist. You can find her on Instagram @camerakeepsrolling.
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