Item 8FAGENDA ITEM # 8F
JUNE 14, 2010
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM: Direction to staff related to the Audio Recordings being put on the City's
Website
SUBMITTED BY: Donna L. Bartle, City Clerk
David E. Thompson, Asst. City Manager
DATE: June 4, 2010
BACKGROUND: At the last meeting, the City Commission directed staff to look into the
possibility of posting the audio recordings of the meetings to the City's Website. The IT Manager,
Keith Randich researched and created a process for it. In summary, the process involves recording the
audio, reformatting the data, posting the information on a separate server on the Internet and then
linking it to the City's website. We have done this successfully and tested it.
As a test, the audio recordings for April and May 2010 have been posted and are currently available on
the City's Website at www.coab.us. To access the audio files click on Government/City
Clerk/Commission Meeting Audio Files and select the appropriate meeting date.
There is no requirement that voice recordings be made at the Commission meetings. However, once
voice recordings are made, they are considered public records and their destruction/disposal is
controlled by ss. 119.041 and 257.36 (7), Florida Statutes, and the schedules adopted/approved under
Chapter 257, Florida Statues, by the Division of Library and Information Services of the Department
of State. Currently, that schedule requires retention for two (2) anniversary years after adoption of the
official minutes. It is our suggestion that the files be removed once the retention requirement is met.
If the Commission determines they want staff to post audio recordings to the website, the City Clerk's
Office will be responsible for that task. The Commission should give guidance as to what meeting
date to start with and how long each recording should remain posted.
Note: There is no way for staff to guarantee the quality of the recordings. The data would be captured
at one point by an electronic recording system and then transported and converted before eventually
being placed on a server for public access. Electronic devices sometimes fail and staff will not know
how reliable this process will be until they have had more experience performing the tasks and using
the equipment.
BUDGET: Presently, the City Clerk's Office receives very few requests for audio recordings.
Staff estimates an average of one (1) request per month is received. When these are received, it
currently takes approximately 10 minutes to burn the file to a CD and provide it to a citizen. The
citizen is typically charged $5.00 for the CD. If the citizen brings their own blank CD, then there has
been no charge for burning the recording. Based on these averages, the City Clerk's Office spends a
total of approximately two (2) hours per year filling these requests. With the $5.00 charge for the
service, the City Clerk's office is at a breakeven point in providing the recordings.
Relative to posting recordings on the website, audio files are relatively large, and they require
considerable storage space. The existing server that would be utilized for this purpose lacks the
capacity to store more than 10-12 meetings. If the City Commission wants to store two (2) years of
AGENDA ITEM # 8F
JiJNE 14, 2010
recordings, then it would be necessary to purchase and configure a new server for this purpose. The
purchase price and set up cost would be approximately $6,400.
The cost of staff time for the biweekly administration of the project would require approximately thirty
(30) minutes. Based on an average hourly rate of compensation, this would cost approximately $283
per year. This cost would be in addition to back-loading previous recordings in the system.
Total: The total projected costs for purchasing and configuring a server, back-loading two (2) years of
recordings, and adding new recordings for every City Commission Meeting for a year would be
approximately $7,249.
RECOMMENDATION: For the City Commission to provide direction to staff relative to providing
audio recordings of City Commission meetings online.
ATTACHMENT: Sample of COAB Commission Meeting Audio Files webpage
REVIEWED BY CITY MANAGER:
The Atlantic Beach Official Website! -Commission Meeting Audio Files
~.TL.NT"I BE.A+~H
Search ~ . ~
__ 1
You are here: Home > Government > City Clerk > COmmiSSion Meeting Audio Files
Local Business Tax
Receipt
AGENDA ITEM # 8F
JUNE 14, 2010
Pubiic Records City of Atlantic Beach
Property Liens
Commission Meeting
Agendas
Commission Audio Files
Minutes
Commission
Meeting Audio Files Below is a list of audio files of the City Commission Meetings. These files are in a Windows Media (WMF)
format and can been played on any Windows-based computer. If you have a Macintosh or a Linux machine,
you can download a WMF player for your machine.
C°~ ~ Oirc~^cgicra Please note that these audio files can be VERY large (up to 100MB). Their size is determined by the length of
the Commission Meeting. Double click on the meeting date that you would like to download. Once the file
[i~rp~cyir/o has been downloaded to your computer, the WMF player on your machine will open and begin to play the
audio file. Depending on your Internet connection, the download of the audio file may take a minute or two
- _.. r.:.~,. - :~. to complete.
• Mav 24. 2010
• Mav 10. 2010
• April 26. 2010
• April 12. 2010
Home • Print Page • Email Page • Accessibility • Sitemap • Copyright Notices • Using Renewable Energy ~ • Powered by CivicPlus
800 Seminole Road • Atlantic Beach, Florida 32233 • Ph. (904) 247-5800 • Fx. (904) 247-5805 `
http://www.coab.us/index.aspx?nid=440 6/4/2010