The municipality is one step closer to expanding its cable access television (CATV/RPTV) station to more than just municipal meetings and place card announcements.
Ordinance 2521 will offer guidelines that will allow residents and non-profit groups to submit non-commercial/not-for-profit/non-political content along with rules for programming.
Very recently RPTV – which is channel 32 for Verizon customers and channel 34 on Comcast – began airing Board Of Education (BOE) meetings after years of not being broadcast on the borough’s public access station. Some events – such as the Memorial Day Parade and Remembrance – were aired but games, concerts, performances, interviews, documentaries, and original content from residents were absent from the channel.
This ordinance will have a process by which those who wish to submit their video content to the municipality. The five-page ordinance updates the guidelines to become more inclusive with its public access channel.
Even though meetings and municipal events are available online – most namely on YouTube – regularly scheduled local programming on tv still has high local viewership.
The public hearing and vote on this ordinance will be part of tonight’s municipal meeting that is set to start at 7 p.m. in borough hall located at 110 East Westfield Avenue.
A copy of the ordinance is included below: