FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT:
March 19, 2009 Matt Kraunelis
978-983-8508
LIVE WEBCASTS NOW ON CITY OF METHUEN WEBSITE
Public Meetings Available On The Web For The First Time
Mayor William M. Manzi and the City of Methuen Information Technology Department are pleased to further the cause of open government with several new features at the Official Website of the City of Methuen, http://www.cityofmethuen.net.
The award-winning website now features live webcasts of City Council, Community Development Board, School Committee, Zoning Board and Historic District Commission meetings. The monthly program schedule is listed at http://www.cityofmethuen.net and on our Methuen Government Channel, Comcast 8 and Verizon FiOS 32.
“The convenience of live webcasting allows Methuen residents and those outside of the city to view these important meetings from the comfort of their home or office computers,” Manzi said. “Local television broadcasts of meetings will continue on Comcast 8 and Verizon FiOS 32.”
In addition to live webcasting, the City of Methuen now offers On-Demand webcasts of City Council, Community Development Board, School Committee and Zoning Board meetings. Simply visit http://www.cityofmethuen.net and click the On-Demand Webcasts link on the home page. This feature provides citizens the opportunity to view or review recent meetings that they may have missed.
In the coming months, Mayor Manzi will premiere his own live webcast featuring discussion and interviews with City of Methuen staff and other government officials. “I am very exited about hosting my own webcast,” Manzi said. “With webcasting, important city information will be conveyed to residents in a fast and efficient way.”
All of these current and future options have been implemented in-house by the City of Methuen IT Department and are designed to increase access to local government in a convenient and user-friendly manner.
Citizens are encouraged to visit http://www.cityofmethuen.net to take advantage of these exciting additions. For more information, contact the Mayor’s Office at 978-983-8505.
Bill Manzi.com 
Mayor,
‘I don’t really feel as though it’s conducive to public participants to be on line, where other people have access to this’…public information. You know, the same stuff they could find out by simply logging on-line and reading the minutes of the meeting which contains the very same information.
‘As a public participant, I don’t really want my name, my address out there’ so that anybody can find out what I had to say in public, at a public meeting, and allow them to be able to refer back to it in the event I ever contradict myself in public…kind of like my posting on this blog…
DOH!! 😉
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I thought I had heard it all! TV good, Internet bad!
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This is great: as a DirecTV subscriber, I haven’t seen our local democracy in action, thanks, all!
-FM
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I don’t know if you will be thanking me after a few views!
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I am sure I will gain a new appreciation for the job you do for a living ….
😉
-FM
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