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Roseburg Will Not Replace Broadcast Equipment; Will Stream Online Only

Roseburg City Council will no longer broadcast using the Public Education and Government channel through Charter Communications in favor of streaming on the city website and Facebook Live for public meetings. The decision was made at the city council meeting on Monday and is open to public input. The City has an agreement with the company to broadcast for free to Charter customers, but they have to keep certain equipment up-to-date enough to access the channel. The equipment is outdated and no longer adequate to continue broadcasting, according to City Finance Director Ron Harker. He said it will cost $20,000 to replace the system. "It's pretty old," Harker said. Harker said Douglas County bought the system years ago, then when they decided it was no longer useful for them, The City took it over with the intent to enhance the use of the broadcast channel. City Manager Nikki Messenger said the channel has been down for weeks and they haven't received any calls about it. The City broadcasts more meetings through Facebook Live than they do through the channel. The council members debated about whether ending the channel would limit access to public meetings, but decided in the end that they would continue to leave it down and wait for the public to tell them if they wanted it to continue. Mayor Larry Rich said $20,000 seemed like a low number to pay if people are still utilizing the channel. The city does not have data about how many people access the channel.