The city council in Springfield, Massachusetts, has made some technological improvements to how it does business.
New video conferencing equipment has been installed in the city hall meeting room where the council holds subcommittee meetings. This will allow for hybrid sessions and for the video to be archived. An online list has also been created to allow members of the public to sign up in order to speak at meetings. And, the council's social media presence will be enhanced.
Council President Jesse Lederman announced the upgrades this week.
"All of these improvements are really about making local government work better. We want to make it easier for residents to engage with their representatives, we want to bring more voices to the table round the work that the city council is doing," he said.
The upgrades are a collaboration between Focus Springfield Community Television, City Clerk Gladys Oyola-Lopez, the city's IT Department. Lederman said technology has also been improved in the main council chambers.
