East Dubuque City Council To Stop Livestreaming Council Meetings

The East Dubuque City Council has voted to stop livestreaming its meetings, with the city manager citing negative online comments as part of the reason to do so. A report says meetings now will be recorded and posted on the city’s website by the following day. Mayor Randy Degenhardt says residents can check the website the next day if they want, and if they’ve got a big problem or complaint, they can come to the meeting. In May, the city’s Facebook page was temporarily suspended by the social media network after every video post of past council meetings was reported without merit for hate speech. City officials temporarily moved to livestreaming council meetings via Zoom before voting 5-1 this week to stop livestreaming entirely. Council Member Tim Fluhr voted against the change, expressing his opinion that citizens appreciate the ability to watch meetings as they happen.