FRANKLIN—Within the next couple of months, Franklin residents will be able to watch City Council meetings from the comfort of their own homes.

City Manager June Fleming said that cameras have been installed in council chambers at City Hall. Soon, the cameras will broadcast City Council meetings live through the city’s PEG channel, available through Charter Communications cable.

“We’re trying to make government open, accessible and transparent,” she said.

While the cameras have already been installed, there is still wiring and other “behind the scenes” work to be done before the system can go live.

“Our target date has been the first meeting in October, but that was with a full staff,” Fleming said. She said that Andy Ritter’s recent departure from the city’s information technology department has slowed the process.

Fleming said that the city is completing the project “with an eye toward economy.” She said that funding for this was included in this year’s budget, and the city had a goal of spending no more than $6,000 on the project.

“The people want access, but they don’t want to spend a lot of money,” she said.

The systems will require that one person work televised meetings to control the cameras.

City Council meetings will be shown live, but it isn’t clear yet whether the meetings will be replayed.

Other public meetings, including School Board and Planning Commission meetings, could also be televised, but not right away.

“We’re going to perfect it with council first,” Fleming said.