OGDEN — Ogden residents will soon be able to watch City Council meetings from the comfort of their living rooms.

The City Council passed a resolution Tuesday night allowing the videotaping and broadcasting of its meetings.

Next, the city administration plans to negotiate a per-meeting rate of payment with Bill Francis, whom the city contracts with to run the government-access cable Channel 17.

Francis has told city officials he can currently provide nearly everything the council has asked for in its resolution: high quality sound and images, archived recordings, recordings available for the city's Web site, gavel-to-gavel coverage and on-screen identification (or labeling) of known speakers and presenters.

Public comments would also be recorded, and the council agreed to inform the public, either through signs at Ogden City Hall or on the council agenda, that meetings will be broadcast.

Council executive director Bill Cook said Salt Lake City's Channel 17 is probably the model for the entire state of Utah for broadcasting meetings, and Ogden's channel would do something similar.

Council Chairwoman Amy Wicks said the council would like the broadcasting to begin as soon as possible.

John Patterson, Ogden's chief administrative officer, said he plans to work quickly on getting the broadcasts up and running.

Francis may have to purchase new software for one of the council's specific requirements, agenda scrolling, which allows viewers to jump ahead in a recording to a specific agenda item.

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