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Question: Hello, my name is Scott Dixon. I live in Society Hill, SC, a small rural town in South Carolina. We have a huge disconnect between our local government and keeping our citizens informed and abreast of what's being dictated by the powers to be. More and more things are being done in our meetings that the public should be aware of. I have gotten involved and started recording the meetings but I'm limited with funds and thus don't have the best options when it comes to recording the meetings for our community to view/listen to online.. Getting help would be a huge step in the right direction. Especially, now that Covid has pushed many places to stream their meetings - we aren't able to do that here due to the lack of knowledge and understanding in the office here.. And I feel that we're now even more in the dark about what is going on in our town because there's very little transparency and that isn't fair for anyone that lives here.

In my effort to find some kind of support, I found your organization. I'm not sure if you can help, but I hope if anything else you could point me in the right direction. The biggest issue I have right now is finding some equipment that I can afford that will help me record or even stream the meetings to keep the public informed. I don't have the funds to buy what I need, I don't really even know what I need and what would work best for our meetings.. Maybe there's a place out there that could help me find funding or even somewhere I can find affordable equipment.

I hope this makes some sense, and I appreciate your time either way. I look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks again!
Scottd

Answer:

Dear Scott,
Thank you for your email, and a sincere apology for the delay in responding.  Although we are not experts on streaming meetings online, we do want to offer a few suggestions.  There are a variety of online platforms used for meetings these days - from Zoom, to Google Meet, to WebEx and others.  These would utilize your computer's camera, and would allow you to record and stream meetings without additional recording equipment.  We feel like the Zoom platform may be best for your purposes.  It allows you to record meetings to post online, as well as to generate an audio transcript for notes.  Additionally, it will allow for you to stream your meetings live via Facebook or YouTube.
There may also be some local or state grant funding that may help you purchase additional equipment.  Chapter 42  (/en/table-of-contents/finances/grants-and-financial-re...) in the Toolbox on Getting Grants and Financial Resources may be of help as you explore funding options available to you.  You may also find Chapter 6 (/en/table-of-contents/participation/promoting-interest) on Communications to Promote Interest of help - as you mentioned the need to keep citizens engaged with what is happening in the local government.  The sections in this chapter may provide additional suggestions of ways in which to engage the community and keep them informed about what is happening.
We hope these suggestions are helpful, and please feel free to reach out with additional questions.
Warmly,
Hasina Mohyuddin

Question Date: Thu, 05/13/2021