What began as a battle over what should air on DeKalb County’s government access channel could on Tuesday turn into a new $75,000 job.
Commissioners have complained for months that their committee meetings haven’t been shown on DeKalb County Television, known as DCTV, noting at one point that CEO Burrell Ellis’ “state of the county” report was on 60 times a week.
Tuesday, the board is slated to vote on a resolution to move $75,000 out of the CEO’s budget to hire a public information officer to oversee board programming on DCTV and possibly other duties. Supporters say the new hire could help get commission messages out, though the CEO's office said the move could also wreck the current DCTV operation.
The channel is available to all Comcast Cable subscribers in DeKalb and airs public affairs shows and government meetings, along with government-produced programs explaining public services. The channel airs regular commission meetings that are held twice a month and in May will begin airing committee meetings of the full board – known as the committee of the whole – in which items are reviewed before they are voted on in a regular commission meeting.
“We’ve had too much CEO TV now, not DeKalb County TV,” said Elaine Boyer, who is sponsoring the change. “If we hire someone, they can film our meetings and help show the public the work that is being done.”
County spokesman Burke Brennan, who is paid out of the CEO’s budget as the administration's public information officer, said DCTV has three county employees and temporary workers to film, edit and produce various events around the county. Brennan did not have salary totals for those workers but said it was close to the $100,000.
“As (the proposal) is written, it would be extremely detrimental to our operations,” Brennan said, adding he would not oppose the position as long as the money does not come from Ellis' budget.
Commissioner Kathie Gannon agrees with the idea but not the funding. She has advocated the board take money from its own budget if it decides it wants the position.
“I’d like to see a substantive discussion about content, without spending more money,” Gannon said of what programs could air on the channel.
DeKalb could take a page from Dunwoody to see how to get its meetings out to the public without new hiring.
Dunwoody began live-streaming online all of its city council meetings in the past year and also has an archive of past sessions. The city bought the cameras and uses an automated system that syncs cameras to live microphones for the video, said City Manager Warren Hutmacher.
The one-time price tag for the overhaul of council chambers including the gear and system: $100,000. There is another minimal cost for software licensing to put the video online for free.
“We do it with limited equipment and no labor, so there is minimal cost to allow people to watch what’s happening,” Hutmacher said. “It’s working for us.”
Supporters of the new DeKalb PIO position argue the job could be expanded beyond filming duties. For instance, the board does not have its own spokesman, relying on its budget analyst and staff director for media and resident inquiries.
“My main focus has been to ensure all of the board meetings are aired, but I’d like to see some engagement of the media as well,” Commissioner Lee May said. “We need to get our words out.”
What's next: The commission will vote on the PIO proposal at its regular meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday at Manuel Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Dr., Decatur.
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