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As part of a flurry of cost-cutting and open-government bills to be introduced by Ward E councilman Steven Fulop for a first reading at the next City Council meeting, city-owned cable station JC1TV would be required to televise city council meetings.

The proposed ordinance would mandate that JC1TV broadcast all city council meetings “gavel to gavel” at least four times after each council meeting. In a statement released last week, Fulop called for the station “to show the public who votes for waterfront tax abatements, who votes for no-show jobs, and who puts their own personal interests ahead of the taxpayers.”

The initial proposal included a provision for council meetings to air live, as well as a mandate that the council have the power to approve the program schedule. These provisions were removed after city press secretary Jennifer Morrill addressed the council at Monday’s City Council caucus. She took particular issue with the notion of council approval of the station’s programming, characterizing this item as an attempt “to take [the channel] out of the control of the Division of Communications.”

Morrill also expressed concerns about the technical feasibility of live meeting broadcasts and noted that it may be difficult for the Communications division to provide for any additional staffing needs in light of ongoing attempts to tighten the city budget. In addition to camera operators and an editor, she estimated the cost of the additional cabling required for live coverage at $3,000 to $4,000.

While stating that the original ordinance was modeled on practices in “much larger cities,” such as Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco, Fulop agreed to remove the portions of the bill that Morrill objected to. However, after the meeting he characterized the potential for televised recordings of city council meetings as a “huge win” for the public.

Some of the council members present at Monday’s caucus came out in favor of the revised legislation. Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson told the council that she “talked about this eight years ago” and would like to see council meetings televised. Similarly, Ward A councilman Michael Sottolano, who took on the role of Acting Council President at the caucus in the absence of Council President Peter Brennan, stated his belief that there is no “strong objection to televising the meetings.”