Warren County government is giving up on Zoom conferencing and going hybrid. 

The county’s Financial Management Committee and Budget and Finance Committees approved spending $9,993 to purchase four TVs, a laptop, a camera and several speakers. If approved by the full Warren County Commission on Nov. 16, the equipment will be installed in the Warren County Administrative Offices courtroom where commissioners hold monthly sessions.

“This equipment will facilitate hybrid meetings,” said Finance Department director Justin Cotten.

A hybrid meeting refers to the physical location of participants. In a hybrid meeting, a subset of the people attending the meeting will locate together in the same place. Other participants join the meeting by conference call or web conference.

County government attempted to use Zoom, an online video conferencing service. However, recurring difficulties hindered the conducting of business such as webcam and audio not working, echoes during calls, difficulties accessing the meetings, dropped calls when commissioners use cellphones and not computers, and situations when attendees forget to mute their audio during the meeting.

Funds for the purchase would come from the remaining $699,529 in grant money. Gov. Bill Lee set aside $200 million in grant monies for city and county governments in the 2020-21 fiscal year budget. Warren County was given $1.02 million. 

Commissioners have allocated $325,000 thus far on several purchases.

Approved: $35,000 to purchase 26 body cameras and update the department’s computer system so it can be used for storage of the body camera videos, $160,000 to replace courthouse elevator, $40,000 for a drive-thru tube system at the Trustee’s Office, $16,000 to install wi-fi at the courthouse and administrative building, and $74,000 for UV lights and ventilators for ambulances.

The county’s Financial Management Committee and its Budget and Finance Committee unanimously approved the purchase of audio and video equipment so hybrid sessions could be offered.