Georgetown, Del., Sept. 19, 2006: Sussex County government is once again taking an innovative leap into the digital age.

Four years after first offering Internet viewers the chance to watch live video broadcasts of all its public meetings, Sussex County government this week is unveiling another technological tool – archived audio of County Council, Planning & Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustment meetings.

Constituents now can log on to the County’s Web page anytime, sussexcountyde.gov, and load audio from any meeting dating back to April 2006. The audio files, which are saved in the popular MP3 format, can be found within the “Audio Archive” listing, under the “e-gov” tab at the top of the homepage.

A temporary link also is provided on the main page of the site. Instructions on how to search and play the files are provided on the “Audio Archive” page.

County Administrator Robert L. Stickels announced in late April the new audio archive feature, which is made possible by a state-of-the-art recording system installed this past spring in the County Council chambers. That system uses digital media cards, like those found in high-tech digital cameras, to store recorded meetings. The audio is then saved on computers rather than on traditional cassette tapes, as was done in the past.

Sussex County is the first county in Delaware to offer this kind of Web-based tool, and joins only a handful of the nation’s more than 3,000 counties to do so, according to the National Association of Counties in Washington. “This is certainly something that is on the cutting edge,” said Jacqueline Byers, director of research for NACo. “Increased public access is something that is extremely desirable, and this gives citizens the opportunity to stay abreast of local government activities on their terms and their schedule.”

Mr. Stickels said Sussex County’s decision to begin offering these recordings via the Internet is one more step in broadening public access, and it demonstrates the County’s desire to provide a more open and user-friendly local government.

“I’m pleased, in my closing days as County Administrator, that we’re able to finish this project, which will enhance the public’s access to its County government,” Mr. Stickels said. “People will now have complete access to meetings, 24 hours a day, seven days a week from anywhere.”