(Beaver Dam) A few cities in the area have invested in technology to livestream their government meetings, including Mayville and Horicon. Mayville mayor John Guinn says the city has invested in something called an OWI.
“We actually have these two pods that are actually shaped like the body of an OWL,” Guinn says. “They work in concert with one another. They have microphones that are integrated within, you know, a 360 degree level, and also cameras that operate at a 360 degree level.”
Guinn says the OWL is also reactive to responses and movement to people in any given setting. The Mayville mayor says the average cost for an OWL is around $4,000. Meanwhile, similar efforts to broadcast city meetings are going on in the City of Horicon. Mayor Josh Maas:
“We do have a YouTube page for our council meetings,” says Maas. “I have already posted small videos, like after our budget meeting. You know, I went through what our mill rate is, what they should be expecting on their bill. I think, I know I’m probably the first Horicon public official who set up their own webpage.”
The Dodge County Board also livestream their monthly meeting. The next on will occur on Monday, February 20th. Their meetings are usually held on Tuesday but was moved up a day due to the primary election.
