St. Cloud, MN, August 15, 2023 - The City of Goodyear has a new facility, and with it, a new electronic voting system with features that benefit the public.
Goodyear, Arizona, the ninth fastest-growing city in the United States, has been on the move to modernize for the last couple of years, including an impressive new government campus. With the new facility came an update to their council chamber and meetings. The result is a better public experience and greater efficiency for staff.
"The voting system has been a great addition to the city’s new state-of-the-art council chambers," said Darcie McCracken, Goodyear City Clerk. "It was easy to learn and implement and helps to streamline meetings and enhance the experience of those watching in-person and online."
As construction nears completion, Darcie McCracken, Goodyear City Clerk and recipient of the AMCA President's Award of Distinction, looks over Goodyear's new city council chambers with anticipation.
Goodyear's new meeting management system is the first of its kind, making use of smart-device technology. Members sign in to their council meetings on iPads. Following the prepared agenda and Robert's Rules of Order, members tap a large green Present button for roll call, and just like that, attendance is shown on new wall displays in seconds. As the meeting progresses, council members make motions and seconds on their tablets. Council members are able to request to speak, and multiple requests automatically create a speaker queue to help maintain fairness and order. The result is streamlined meetings and the prevention of confusion or conflict. When a vote is called, voting buttons appear and each member locks in their votes. Votes remain private until tallied and are revealed with the vote outcome simultaneously.
The system—developed by OpenMeeting Technologies, a Minnesota-based company with a background in local government solutions—is a milestone in legislative meeting management. It's the first purpose-built legislative meeting app to run on Android and iOS. Visually communicating meeting details and activity to the "Public Display" allows officials and the public to see precisely where they are in the agenda and what is happening in what can sometimes be a complicated legislative process. Further, municipal staff like that the system records all actions and automatically creates the meeting minutes, saving valuable time for city staff.
"Local legislative leaders are looking to modernize their systems, making use of technologies that can save time and improve the meeting experience for the public," said Mark Netsch, Director of Business Development at OpenMeeting. "The ability to see the agenda items, which elected officials made a motion, amendment text, and vote outcomes is a boost to civic experience, something that is overdue. City staff like the time savings and mayors like the improved presentation of their meetings."
About OpenMeeting Technologies: OpenMeeting is a leading provider of legislative meeting management solutions for city councils, county boards and school boards. Unique to the OpenMeeting system is a tablet-based app that allows for electronic roll call, electronic voting, requests to speak with speaker queue and much more. Legislative meeting actions are instantly streamed to a special Voting Display making it easier for elected officials and the public to follow the action, increasing engagement and transparency. Adoption of the new OpenMeeting system has been high as cities and counties make strides to improve transparency and efficiency.
Media Contact: Mark Netsch, Director of Business Development, mark.netsch@openmeetingtech.com, 866-668-0123
