Brick, NJ - Residents can now watch Brick Township Council meetings any time they want by visiting the Township website, www.bricktownship.net.  The new system is powered by San Francisco-based Granicus, Inc., provider of local government streaming media and public meeting management solutions to over 300 government agencies spanning 30 states across the nation.  Brick is first in the state of New Jersey to deploy a Granicus award-winning streaming solution.

“This Council has made open and transparent government a top priority.  We started televising Council meetings and have worked to increase public input and involvement in government,” said Council President Stephen Acropolis.  “Making Council meetings available on the internet is another example of these ongoing efforts.”

Earlier this year, Brick Township contracted with Granicus, Inc. to expand their communication capabilities with online media. The Township paid $9,640 in startup costs and pays $684 a month for storage and distribution management, proactive support, 24/7 system monitoring and continuous software upgrades.

“Our partnership with Brick Township helps expand traditional communication beyond one-way channels – providing citizens with quick and convenient access to local government anywhere, anytime,” said Sal Baglio, Granicus’ Northeastern Regional Director. “The Brick solution represents the best way to see government in action – through the integrated public record – which combines legislative documents, voice and video.”

The Council began airing their public meetings on the municipal access channel in 2004.  With Granicus, Brick can expand public meetings beyond the pre-scheduled, inflexible schedules and cable boundary lines that limit the reach of broadcast TV. The most recent public meetings from July and August are now available online and in the future, all 2007 meetings will be available as they take place.  The turn around for streaming video on the web is quick and easy, Brick Township can publish streaming video immediately following the public meeting.

“We are getting a great return for our investment,” said Council Vice-President Ruthanne Scaturro.  “You can’t put a price on good government and giving residents more opportunities to watch their government at work is good government.”

This service gives residents who do not subscribe to Comcast the opportunity to view the meetings.  “I have spoken with numerous residents who could not view Council meetings on television since they were not Comcast subscribers,” said Council President Acropolis.  “Those residents will now have that opportunity.”

To access the Council meeting archive on the internet, visit www.bricktownship.net, click on Resources and then click on the link for BTV.  In addition to the Council meetings, residents can also watch a live feed of the municipal access station, BTV. 

In the future, the Township plans to have public Planning Board and Board of Adjustment meetings televised and available on the web.

The Brick Township Council meets on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. at the Brick Township Municipal Building.  Beginning September 18^th, the Council will meet weekly and alternate between caucus and public meetings.  Public meetings are televised on BTV on Thursday evenings at 8 p.m., Friday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m.

About Granicus
Founded in 1999, Granicus, Inc. is the leading provider of government solutions for streaming media and public meeting management.  Serving more than 300 governments across 30 states, and reaching more than 57 million direct citizens, Granicus solutions capture, store, manage and distribute live and on-demand audio and video broadcasts of public functions to help government maximize democratic transparency, engage their constituents, more efficiently manage public meetings, and improve public communications.  Granicus provides the most comprehensive and tightly integrated online public records retention and streaming media system to all levels of government.

www.granicus.com

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