Officials from Rancho Santa Margarita oppose the meeting of the live streaming city council videos

Rancho Santa Margarita officers continue to resist a video livestreaming option for city council meetings -one of the last cities of Orange County, which only offers audio for the public to vote from home.

The newly elected Rancho Santa Margarita council member Keri Lynn Baert made an application to investigate the budget costs and options for adding video livestreaming at the meeting of March 12.

However, none of her colleagues supported the application and ended the discussion.

“There is no interest in the persecution of video streaming,” said Baert in a telephone interview on March 14, “or it doesn't seem to be because they are not second.”

Council member Keri Lynn Baert at the city council meeting of Rancho Santa Margarita on April 23, 2025. Credit: Erika Taylor, voice from OC

Of the 34 cities in Orange County, Rancho Santa Margarita and La Palma only offer audio access to their council meetings. Every other city in the district offers video livestreaming with playback.

[Read: La Palma Residents Push for City Council Meeting Video Livestreams]

In a 2023 examination of the journalists from Chapman University, journalism students who work with Voice of OC, La Palma and Rancho Santa Margarita were given for their limited public access. All other cities received an “A” or “B.”

[Read: Making it Easy to Watch Local Government From Home]

The lack of video streaming during public meetings in cities such as Rancho Santa Margarita and La Palma prompted the state's legislators to examine a legislative template that would require such access.

The California Senator María Elena Durazo proposed the legislation – called SB 707 -, which would be prescribed by live streaming of all city council and district supervisory owners.

“I have introduced SB 707 to make urban and district sessions more accessible and transparent and ensure that all residents – regardless of location, language barriers or mobility problems – can take part from a distance,” wrote Durazo in an explanation that was sent to Voice of OC.

She added that the residents enable you to strengthen open meetings from home, obligation and civic engagement for chosen civil servants.

“I ask all the board of directors to expand participation – every resident deserves easy access to discussions and decisions on critical topics such as living, jobs and infrastructure,” she wrote.

“The government has to serve everyone – not just those who can personally visit.”

[Read: Santana: Defending Your Right to Watchdog Local Government From Home]

In the meantime, the residents of Rancho Santa Margarita ask the council members to add a video option for public sessions to increase transparency and observe the residents from home if they cannot personally take part in the meeting.

“I tried to listen to the audio recordings, and it is almost impossible to say what's going on,” said Jaclyn Martin, resident of Rancho Santa Margarita, in an interview on March 26.

The residents observe the Rancho Santa Margarita City Council meeting on March 26, 2025. Credit: Erika Taylor, voice from OC

Council member Baert was elected in December to represent the seat of city council 3. She replaced the long -time council member Carol Gamble, who suspended her campaign after she guilty of falsifying nomination papers.

Baert said she first learned that her city was one of two in Orange County who, after reading Voice of OCS, is offered reporting on the meetings.

“I heard directly from people who are citizens of Rancho Santa Margarita who would like to see a video streaming,” said Baert on April 10 in a follow-up telephone interview.

“When I ran into office, I went from door to the door, and this is one of the things I talked to the city's residents. Many were surprised that it hadn't been done yet.”

A resident appeals to the city council during the public comment on March 26, 2025. Credit: Erika Taylor, Voice of OC

Other council members disagreed.

Mayor Anthony Beall, who has been working in the Council since 2004, said that audio recordings and e-community submissions have “very effective”.

In an interview after the city council meeting of March 26, he said that he had not spoken to residents who were interested in the implementation of video livestreaming.

“I think the lack of a second in our last meeting to further examine it would indicate that my council colleagues are also in the same background and they hesitate to do this because the professionals would not predominate the disadvantages,” he said.

Mayor Anthony Bealll at the Rancho Santa Margarita city council meeting on April 23, 2025. Credit: Erika Taylor, voice of OC

In a telephone interview on March 13, council member Jerry Holloway said that the lack of public interest was one of the reasons why the Council did not implement any video records.

“Nobody ever spoke to me about live streaming city council meetings. I only thought of the subject after the subject until I received the e -mails,” he said, referring to e -mails that were sent by Chapman University with Voice of OC.

Council member Jerry Holloway looks at a resident who addressed the council during the public statement at the Rancho Santa Margarita city council meeting on March 26, 2025. Credit: Erika Taylor, Voice of OC

Council member Holloway also said that the demand for video livestreaming did not justify the high costs in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Cities in Orange County pay a number of prices for video livestream city council meetings on various platforms.

According to city clerk Janet Martinez, the neighboring Aliso Viejo spends more than 13,000 US dollars for Video Livestream meetings on Granicus.

In Placentia, the city spends around 40,000 US dollars for videos from Livestream Council, also for Granicus, according to Nicolette Drulias of Communication and Marketing.

According to City spokesman Liz Pharis, the city of Brea spends just over 3,600 US dollars a year for Livestream meetings that affect the CableCast Reflect Plus system using City spokesman.

In La Palma, the Council's agenda contained a list of 2025 goals on May 6, one of which mentioned from an “expansion of the city's YouTube channel for streaming meetings and events”.

While the council unanimously approved the list of goals, there was no discussion about live streaming meetings.

Rancho Santa Margarita residents ask for video livestreaming

Audio council meetings can make it more difficult for residents to make from home, especially for older people, people who are hard of hearing, residents with disabilities or caregivers.

Some inhabitants said they had the feeling that they would stay in the dark due to the lack of city council transparency.

Martin, who lived in Rancho Santa Margarita, took part in a city council meeting on March 26. In an interview during the meeting, she said that the city's refusal to implement video livestreaming is challenges.

“I raised three children here, so there were nights when I was at home with children, did homework and I would like to know what was going on, but I had to appear physically,” said Martin.

Kristi Anne Acuña, a resident of Rancho Santa Margarita, said it was the “job and duty” of the city council to implement video streaming.

“We need change and we need people who represent our voice because it doesn't happen now,” said Acuña in a telephone interview on May 8th.

“They do not represent our voice. They ignore them and do not transfer them on TV. So we have to change that. And the only way to change it is to comment.”

Jackson Smith, a 22-year-old resident who took part in a council meeting on April 23, said that a video livestream was helpful for residents of different ages.

“I think this is important for our city, especially for my age group, which is rather disenfranchised most of the time,” said Smith in an interview after the meeting.

The participants gathered on March 26, 2025 at the Santa Margarita City Council meeting. Credit: Erika Taylor, voice from OC

Some residents have expressed concerns for years.

Shawn Gordon, a resident of Rancho Santa Margarita, said that he wished that he wished the city video from the city that he could see the presentation of the staff during each meeting.

“People would like to see the presentations that take place both in the city council and in the meetings of the planning commission, in which they cannot participate,” said Gordon in an e-community 2022.

Martin said that the Council's refusal to give the second for her application in March was “rude and repellent”.

“I would say that it is only another piece of the obvious lack of interest in the city council to offer our residents more transparency,” said Martin, “and I definitely wonder what they are hiding.”

Employment with public meetings from home

Although there are no legal requirements for video with Livestream Public Meeting, most cities offer the opportunity to help residents to follow the city business without having to participate in person.

Baert said she made the application to add video livestreaming to increase transparency, especially after the recent controversy between the city and its local branch of the Boys & Girls Club of the Capistrano Valley.

The club officially leaves Rancho Santa Margarita this summer after the city leaders and the group had not made a contract agreement. It also came after Beall accused the boys and girls clubs of politically indoctrinating children with ideas regarding diversity, justice and inclusion.

[Read: Rancho Santa Margarita’s Boys & Girls Club Slated to Close This Summer]

Rancho Santa Margarita Rathaus on March 26, 2025. Credit: Erika Taylor, voice of OC

Baert emphasized that it had helped the residents to deal with these discussions from home, e.g. B. the body language of the council members as they discussed.

“Even if you don't comment on something, your body language states how you feel a problem,” she said on April 21 in a telephone interview.

When Council member Bradley McGir was made to comment on this story, he said that he “had no comment on live streaming” and he “has no opinion” on this topic.

The council member Anne Figueroa did not respond to inquiries about comments on the meeting of the city council meeting of Livestreaming and rejected questions about answering questions about the topic personally.

Mayor Pro Tem Bradley McGir on the Rancho Santa Margarita City Council meeting on April 23, 2025. Credit: Erika Taylor, voice of OC

Council member Anne Figueroa at the Rancho Santa Margarita City Council meeting on April 23, 2025. Credit: Erika Taylor, voice from OC

While Rancho Santa Margarita officers oppose, other government agencies updated their platforms to add a video livestreaming option to use the residents.

After many years of reporting on video livestreaming in collaboration with Voice of OC, the city of Laguna Woods and the Orange County Transportation Agency started video -Live streaming sessions last year.

[Read: OC’s Transportation Agency Begins Video Streaming Public Meetings]

The Grove Unified School District garden also moved to Livestream in March and competed in the majority of the school districts who offer a live stream.

[Read: Garden Grove Unified Starts Livestreaming School Board Meetings]

Erika Taylor is a voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow and photojournalist. You can find them on Instagram @CamerakeepSrolling or by e -mail to etaylor@voiceofoc.org

Angelina Hicks is the voice of the OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact them at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.

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