Councilman Ian Ciseck pushed for livestreaming to expand public access and participation in the meetings.
Sea Isle City will begin livestreaming its City Council meetings in 2026, giving members of the public the option of watching online instead of having to show up in person to participate in the local government.
Exactly when Council will start livestreaming remains unclear, but it is shooting for some time in early 2026, Council President Mary Tighe said.
Tighe explained that a number of audio and visual upgrades are needed in the Council chambers in City Hall to make livestreaming possible.
They include replacing the antiquated microphones and recording system, improving the acoustics inside the Council chambers and installing the new camera for livestreaming. City employees will also need to be trained on the new equipment, Tighe noted.
“We will start out slow and based on what happens, we’ll take it from there,” she said.
Council took the first step Tuesday by awarding a $63,517 contract to BIS Digital of Boca Raton, Fla., for the audio and visual equipment and other improvements needed for livestreaming.
Once everything is ready, the meetings are expected to be livestreamed on YouTube, Tighe said. A video of the meetings will also likely be made available for the public to watch the next day on Sea Isle City’s municipal website at www.seaislecitynj.us, she noted.
Sea Isle currently does not livestream its Council meetings on any online platforms. The only option for members of the public to see the meetings live is to show up in person.
City Council President Mary Tighe says audio and visual upgrades are needed in Council chambers in City Hall before livestreaming begins.Meeting agendas are posted in advance of all Council meetings under the “Government” tab on the homepage of the city’s website. Minutes of the meetings are also available to the public on the website after they are approved by Council.
But Councilman Ian Ciseck, who joined the governing body in July after winning election this year, has been pushing for livestreaming to expand public access and participation in the meetings. He believes livestreaming is way to create more government transparency.
“I’m happy that the community will have greater access to the local government. We’ll see how it goes. I’m sure it will be a work in progress,” Ciseck said of livestreaming in an interview after Tuesday’s Council meeting.
Ciseck expressed his gratitude to the four other members of Council for joining him in agreeing to have livestreaming.
“As a councilman, I’m thankful,” he said.
Sea Isle usually holds its Council meetings twice a month on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. Ciseck said members of the public often cannot attend meetings on Tuesday mornings because they are at work.
Ciseck believes the public will enthusiastically support livestreaming. He said livestreaming would give an opportunity “for everyone to see, for everyone to hear” the meetings without having to be there in person.
However, Council still must work out the ground rules for members of the public to comment or ask questions online, including whether there should be any limits on the amount of time they are permitted to speak, Tighe explained.
“That’s what we’re discussing,” she said.
Tighe emphasized that she wants to give members of the public who attend the meetings in person the first opportunity to speak.
In earlier discussions about livestreaming, some of the Council members said that some limits might be needed to prevent online participants from “grandstanding,” particularly if they wanted to discuss issues that had nothing to do with Sea Isle.
Currently, the only way for members of the public to see Council meetings live is to show up at City Hall.
