How Burleson, TX Enhanced Transparency with Swagit

As Burleson grows and changes, so too does the need for connecting the community. Public meetings provide opportunities for resident engagement but require people to be available on the day and time of the meetings. Burleson staff were not using any technology solutions to record, transcribe, or stream public meetings.

Before implementing Swagit, city staff would place a handheld recorder near the speaker to record meetings. City officials sought a solution which would give residents the flexibility to watch or listen to meetings at their leisure, and which would allow Burleson staff to respond quickly and efficiently to open records requests by attaching meeting recordings or documentation.

Swagit has proven to be a customer-friendly, proactive digital solution that Burleson employees find easy to use. The Swagit platform offers robust capabilities, allowing the city to avoid hiring additional full-time employees. By streaming the meetings on the Burleson website, the city has boosted transparency, engagement, and inclusion by creating on-demand opportunities for residents to learn about what is happening in the community.

The city can direct people to the website for historical meetings and data which also gives people the opportunity to gain context for current discussions. Having the capability to point to historical data helps the city ensure it is staying on the path policymakers have directed while staying on point, on message, and on mission for its residents.

The city holds more than 50 council and planning and zoning meetings each year, with each council meeting averaging four to five hours and planning and zoning meetings lasting about an hour. By using Swagit for digital video streaming, Burleson has saved more than 35 days of time, which would have been spent on recording, editing, and transcribing, and has been able to operate with fewer full-time staff.

Additionally, the technology improved compliance with ADA requirements by automatically adding closed captioning and transcriptions to meetings immediately after they concluded. The transcription capability has proven valuable because it also allows users to search for specific terms or topics discussed during meetings.