Regular city council followers may have noticed their favourite show was not on the air Monday.
Rogers Communications has informed the municipality it "no longer has the resources" to regularly televise/live-stream Orillia city council meetings.
In a brief memo to Mayor Don McIsaac and city councillors, Kristine Preston, the city's deputy clerk, said the city has been informed by Rogers that as of Oct. 1, the meetings will no longer be televised locally on Rogers Cable, Channel 10.
"As a result, members of the public will be advised through a notice on each meeting agenda whether the in-person meeting may also be held electronically in accordance with Section 238 of the Municipal Act, 2001," Preston noted.
McIsaac said Rogers' coverage will be missed.
“We will miss them, but people are still able to watch us on YouTube, and watch later and preview other meetings and events through the web,” McIsaac said, noting transparency will be maintained through other "public-facing" avenues.
The memo notes meetings can be live-streamed and viewed on the city's YouTube channel. Preston also reminded the public they can visit the Orillia Civic Web Portal, where they can search for documents, subscribe to meetings of interest, view upcoming and past meetings using the calendar, and review agendas and minutes within the meeting area.
"As well, timestamped video links may be added to agendas so the public can easily watch meetings and navigate directly to topics they are interested in," she explained.
Of course, the memo notes, members of the public are still welcome to attend the council chamber at the Orillia City Centre during the open session portions of regular meetings.
Officials from Rogers did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication of this article.
