By Cecilia Nasmith
Cobourg is going with eSCRIBE as its new meeting-management software, a change from the iCompass system in use since 2012.
Municipal clerk Brent Larmer described the advantages of the new system at Monday's committee-of-the-whole council meeting.
“It will be impactful in how we conduct meetings, as well as how we get information to the public,” Larmer said.
No additional website is needed, he added, as it is linked up the town website. This will be helpful for those members of the public who don't habitually keep up with council meetings and agendas, and might otherwise have trouble navigating their way.
Upcoming meetings are listed – in a calendar format, if desired – and they are colour-coded to indicate committee-of-the-whole, regular council and advisory-committee meetings.
The agenda is available in more than one format, including a print-view version that shows page breaks for anyone wishing to print out a copy.
Larmer was enthusiastic about the new Mayor and Council News page that is part of the package.
A registry tab allows members of the public to view which councillors had conflicts of interest with what items of business.
A video manager allows the town to retain video in its own archives instead of relying on a third party.
Another great video feature allows you to view a video and have it jump to any item of business you wish to focus on.
For increased transparency, the video automatically resumes after any closed sessions of council, when councillors come back to chambers and report on what took place (provided it is not subject to legislated parameters of confidentiality).
The company is a leader in accessibility, Lawson noted. And since it's based in Markham, “everything they do is based on current Ontario regulations and requirements, which is really good news.”
The launch will be complete Oct. 26, after which time the website will no longer use the Civic Web portal.
