MONTICELLO, NY — The issue of providing live video coverage of county meetings has come up several times in the past, but has always been dropped, primarily over budget concerns. This time around, it seems like the current Sullivan County Legislature is open to the installation of a system that has been explored by the county’s chief information officer, Lorne Green.

The matter was broached at a meeting of the legislature at the government center on February 18, when county chair Luis Alvarez brought it up.

Legislator Joe Perrello initially said he did not think the county should take on the additional expense and bother. He said, “I’m not digging all of this technology sometimes.”

A presentation by Green, however, seemed to get a positive reaction from the majority of lawmakers.

Green said a system offered by a company called Accela has an initial cost of $2,500, plus $700 per month for unlimited streaming of meetings and archival storage. He said, “We’re not just putting in a live video and streaming solution, we’re putting in an agenda and minutes management solution,” which would aid with satisfying state requirements regarding the handling of county agendas and minutes.

Green said the large hearing room in which the county monthly meetings are held would be outfitted with cameras, as would the smaller meeting room, where committee meetings are usually held.

Green said the system would allow members of the public to watch meetings from many kinds of devices. The system also provides a search function that is tied to the part of the system that is used to create agendas.

After the presentation, Perrello said that the system seemed like a good product. Alvarez said, “It’s part of what most of us, when we ran [for office] said to the public… that we want to inform the public more about what we’re doing here.”

The legislators requested more information and a chance to explore the system, which is up and running in various other counties, including Tompkins. They will probably vote on going forward with the system next month.