Boca plans to broadcast commission meetings on U-verse

More AT&T U-verse subscribers now have access towatch their local government meetings on television.

Fort Lauderdale commissioners have started televising their sessions on U-verse, joining Broward and Palm Beach counties andsomeother cities taking advantage of its Channel 99 for public, educational and government programming. Boca Raton offisaid cials hope to have their council meetings available to U-verse subscribers later this year or in 2014.

A generation ago, carrying meetings on cable television was a critical part of government accessibility, allowing residents to flip to the local government channel to see what officialswere doing without having to leave home.

Now, many cities stream their meetings live online, making the sessions convenient for anyone to pull up on their computers.

Butmost peoplewhohave dropped cable and turned to U-verse or satellite dishes have not been able towatch on their TVs.

“We obviously want to ensure our programming is available in several formats,” said Lisa De La Rionda, Palm Beach County’s public affairs director. The county expanded to U-verse last year and is exploring ways of making broadcasts available to more people through smart phone applications and using other devices, she said.

Fort Lauderdale spokesmanChazAdams the city spent about $7,700 for the equipment and other expenses to tie into the U-verse network. Coral Springs, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines and Lauderdale-bythe-Sea are also on U-verse, but no Palm Beach County cities have connected yet.

“It’s something we budgeted for, and we’re looking to do after the beginning of the fiscal year,” Boca Raton Assistant City Manager MikeWoika said.