FAIRFIELD, Conn. Do you want to keep an eye on your town government, without making nightly trips to Town Hall? Now you can watch Fairfield government at work, live, as it happens. FairTV, the towns public access channels, began airing town meetings live last week.
Going live is a different adventure. Its an open pipe all the way to the home TV screen, said Gerald Speno, FairTVs director. Were not quite NBC yet, but were working on it.
Over the past few years, a group of volunteers including Plan and Zoning Commission member Jim Kennelly have helped shift FairTV from a regional public access channel to a network that covers only Fairfield. The group manages Fairfields educational and government access stations, via Cablevision's Channels 78 and 79.
Since FairTV started in earnest in 2009, it has run tapes of Fairfields Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, Representative Town Meeting, Plan and Zoning Commission and Board of Education meetings on a delay of about 24 hours. The shows are put on a continuous rotation for about a week. For the last 18 months, those same meetings have also been available on demand on the Internet.
But after some technology upgrades, Speno made his first live broadcast last week of the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finances joint budget hearing Monday. Speno said that hell be able to air any evening meeting in the Board of Educations conference room (currently, the finance board, RTM and school board) as it happens.
Currently, FairTV gets its funding from a pool of money it shares with similar networks in Woodbridge and Milford. A portion of every cable TV customer pays into this fund, which helps pay for equipment, bandwidth and a small stipend for Spenos time.
First Selectman Michael Tetreau proposed this year that Fairfields taxpayers make their first contributions to the network. He included $25,000 in his 2012-13 budget for more of FairTVs expenses.
FairTV has become part of culture, Tetreau said last month. I think its become a cornerstone of open and more transparent government.
Speno does most of the government work, but the two channels also have room for other kinds of programs. For example, state Rep. Kim Fawcett, a Democrat, hosts a series when she profiles people and groups around town. Speno said he also has plans for a Meet the Press style show about town issues.
But because the channel is public access, spots are open for other Fairfielders to host programs. The FairTV Advisory Committee would have to make sure a potential program fits the guidelines. But Speno says hes willing to help others get a program off the ground.
Individuals can put together crews Ill train them, Speno said. Right now, its a crew of me.
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