Access in an instant. A new Internet website unveiled today by Metropolitan King County Councilmembers will do just that, by allowing citizens to hear council and committee meetings live from their home or business computers.

With the innovation, King County will be one of the first local governments in the nation to open its meetings for live broadcast on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at www.metrokc.gov/mkcc/.

"This technology will allow King County to communicate more effectively with citizens and other elected officials," said Council Chair Pete von Reichbauer. "How better to meet the increasingly complicated needs of this region than to be accessible around the clock? Today, we ride the ‘wave’ out of the 20^th century and into the 21^st century," added von Reichbauer, who as chair has vowed to improve public access to county government.

The new "e-government" site uses Real Audio to provide the sound. Citizens can download a free copy of the RealPlayer 7 basic, also available on the site, to allow them instant access to their local government. The website also provides citizens with:

• Online video of various government programs and projects. For example, residents can view the council’s "Salmon Update," a short video detailing the latest information on the region’s fight to save the endangered chinook salmon;

• Access to critical information about local government services that affect them directly, including council and committee meeting agendas, county code, audits, recently proposed legislation, and a link to the county’s Civic Television station CTV; and,

• A direct line to county services via the web. Residents can now go to the council’s website to sign up for an absentee ballot, marriage or animal license, research properties, or get the latest traffic information.

The site will also feature e-testimony, which will allow citizens to enter official public testimony via the web on important topics such as the King County budget and county comprehensive growth management plan. Councilmember Greg Nickels, former chair of the council’s budget committee introduced "Cyber democracy" during the council’s budget process two years ago. The e-testimony feature was another first across the nation. "It became so popular, that the council hopes to take e-testimony during the upcoming deliberations on the county’s comprehensive growth management plan update," said Nickels.

Councilmember Jane Hague added, "We can do more than just surf the web – we can use the Internet as a valuable tool to complete critical transactions with local government, such as providing citizens with access to real-time audio and a variety of county services, as well as the ability to enter official testimony via the web." Hague is currently serving as president-elect of the National Association of Counties (NACo), where she has championed improved public access to local government. "King County is way ahead of the digital curve when it comes to public access. With this innovation, we have effectively taken the courthouse out of downtown Seattle and moved it into every neighborhood in the county."

Hague and Councilmember David Irons, who chairs the council’s new Utilities and Technology Committee, also hope to be able to add an option for residents to make e-payments on the site in the very near future. The councilmembers introduced a measure earlier this month that would allow the county to accept electronic payments for county fees and services. Some of the fees that could be paid for electronically include, court fines, transit passes, document copying and some services in public health clinics. That proposal is currently under review by the utilities committee.

"While online government remains in its infancy for many, King County is taking the technology to the next stage," added Irons. "The information superhighway is a two-way street. By improving public access via the web, the council is fostering a more civic-minded attitude from citizens. The immediacy of this medium makes it one of the best communication tools we have to offer. Imagine, citizens who are listening can actually weigh-in to a debate by sending their councilmember an e-mail during the discussion. That’s the power of e-government."

Nickels agreed, adding, "We have an opportunity here to save time and money for taxpayers through simple use of existing technology. County employees who have a work-related interest in some council deliberations can now listen without leaving their work station, rather than taking time away from their job to come to the courthouse.

The council hopes to add more video streaming capability, and provide citizens with the ability to track legislation through King County government sometime this year.

"I guess George Orwell had it wrong," Nickels concluded. "Now the public can listen in on Big Brother, and that’s the way it should be."

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