The electronic system Springfield aldermen use to record their votes is getting an upgrade the city clerk says will soon allow the public to follow along with City Council action in real-time on the web.
City Clerk Cecilia Tumulty introduced aldermen to the new eVote system during their committee meeting Tuesday. Tumulty says work will now begin to link the technology to her website. She says the goal is to give the public a more "comprehensive snapshot" of Council action:
Tumulty: "As opposed to what they used to see, which was simply the vote. The is providing who is present at the meeting, who voted yes, no, present, if there was an amendment, the vote total and if it passed. So in terms of transparency, I think it takes that step forward in providing that information for the public."
Two members of the city's Information Systems Division spent about 3 months developing the new system, which will eventually allow people to "see what aldermen see" as they follow Council meetings from the city clerk's website.
Tumulty says that apart from city employees' time, the software comes at no cost to taxpayers.
