Bartholomew County Council members agreed to appropriate funding to upgrade the audio capabilities in their chambers before a new state law that requires their meetings to be live-streamed goes into effect on July 1.
Commissioner Carl Lienhoop, R-District 2, was there on behalf of the commissioners on Tuesday to request $40,000 out of a telecommunications fund for the upgrades. The commissioners approved the underlying agreement with local audio-visual consultant FORTÉ for the improvements during one of their meetings about a month ago.
The funds will be used to reposition some speakers in the room, adding wireless, gooseneck microphones and paying for the associated labor as part of the installation.
“We want to do a little more to this room, so that particularly everybody in the back there can hear all of you up front,” Lienhoop said. “… We just feel like that when the public comes to a public meeting, they ought to be able to hear.”
The Bartholomew Governmental Office Building was renovated in 2019, which involved moving the council chambers from the fourth floor to the ground level. New panels that line the chambers have since been installed that has partly improved the acoustics, but county officials said it still can be tricky to hear when members speak at varying volumes.
While improving the experience for those attending public meetings is one component, another is making the experience better for those watching via live-stream.
House Enrolled Act 1167, passed in 2023, goes into effect July 1, requiring certain local and state agencies to begin livestreaming meetings and archiving them for at least 90 days. The law applies to governing bodies including elected school boards, county boards of commissioners, county councils, common/city councils, town councils and township boards.
Bartholomew County IT Director Scott Mayes conducted a trial run of the livestream during the commissioners and county council meetings this week. The county’s YouTube page where all of the meetings will be stored can be found here.
