All regional council and committee meetings now webcast on internet
Regional Councillor Geoff Lorentz
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By Helen Hall
Kitchener Citizen​
   Kitchener residents can now watch all Region of Waterloo council and committee meetings from the “warmth and convenience” of their own homes, according to regional councillor Geoff Lorentz.
   Starting in December, the region began webcasting all council and committee meetings on the internet, and videos of the meetings are archived on the region’s website and can be watched at any time.
   “I think it’s great,” said Lorentz. “One of the biggest mysteries in this community is what regional council does.”
   Giving residents the opportunity to view the meetings will help solve that mystery. Regional council handles many of the high tax items for the City of Kitchener such as public transportation (including the recently approved light rail transit system), garbage collection, public health, and monitoring our drinking water.
   Webcasting the meetings will also keep the media on their toes. After reading newspaper articles or seeing television reports, residents will be able to view the actual meeting to verify the contents of the stories.
   “It’s been a longstanding wish of regional council to webcast its meetings,” said Bryan Stortz, Director of Corporate Communications for the Region of Waterloo.
   “It makes council more transparent.”
   According to Stortz, the Region of Waterloo has spent about $50,000 to purchase and install the webcasting equipment in the council chambers and modify its website to show the meetings live.
   The filming will be done by Region of Waterloo employees.
   To watch a council or committee meeting live, or to view an archived video of a meeting, go to the Region of Waterloo website at www.regionofwaterloo.ca. Click on the “Council Webcast” tab under the Quicklinks at the bottom right-hand side of the page.
   The next live webcast of meetings will be shown on www.regionofwaterloo.ca on January 10. They include Planning and Works Committee at 9am, Administration and Finance Committee at 11am, and the Community Service Committee at 1pm.