Winn Parish, La. – Winn Parish integrates 21st century technology to modernize their police jury meetings.
Winn Parish police jury meetings are being improved for both parish officials and citizens with the adoption of OpenMeeting Technologies’ electronic voting and meeting management software. They’ve joined other local legislative leaders across the country focused on efficiency and improving public experience.
We brought our meetings into the digital era with the adoption of OpenMeeting,” said Karen Tyler, Secretary/Treasurer of Winn Parish Police Jury, “and as a result, our meetings have significantly improved. Our meetings run more quickly and smoothly while eliminating undue influence by switching from verbal roll call voting to electronic voting. We can amend resolutions on the screen using the system, and everyone can see the adjustments. Since the system is digital and visual, it is beneficial for both our officials and our community to see meeting activity, like speaking requests, motions, and votes.”
Accessible from almost any device, the secure, touchscreen tablet app guides jury members through the meeting and prompts them for action as needed. This speeds up slow procedural processes and facilitates orderly discussion, saving time and increasing productivity.
When it comes to voting, votes are simultaneous, can be cast in-person in council chambers or in remote meetings, and are private until tallied, removing potential concerns about pressure or undue influence.
E-voting is replacing the decades-old practice of verbal roll-call voting, making the process more efficient and reducing confusion in the process. Board members are able to vote on legislation with the tap of a button on their touchscreen tablet.
As public interest in local government continues to grow, improving citizens’ experience in legislative meetings becomes increasingly important, but it can be difficult for citizens to hear and see everything in meetings. The OpenMeeting Technologies public display creates meeting visuals that are accessible in-person and remotely, making it much easier to understand the proceedings of a public meeting, allowing citizens to engage in their meeting, and it helps reduce any confusion and anxiety.
“We are thrilled that Winn Parish selected OpenMeeting Technologies for their meetings,” said Mark Netsch, Director at OpenMeeting Technologies. “Interest in our system has been high as public participation increases and citizens take greater interest in their local government processes. Our electronic voting app improves board member experience and the meeting itself but the most visible benefit to the public is the public display that provides a visual aid for anyone in the room or watching online. One mayor recently referred to it as the citizen display.”
Trusted by local governments across the country, OpenMeeting empowers city councils and county boards to conduct better legislative meetings. Easy meeting setup, agenda management, documentation and visualization of all procedures including roll call, discussion management, electronic voting, meeting logs, and so much more. For more information, visit http://www.openmeetingtech.com.
