Township officials here say a new system is helping to increase transparency in local government while saving thousands of dollars in taxpayer money.

Deerfield Twp. recently partnered with Granicus Inc., a provider of government meeting recording software, to record and broadcast all of the township’s public meetings at at www.choosedeerfield.com.

The move is projected to save about $55,000 per year, township officials said.

The effort improves public service and provides a greater value for each dollar spent, according to Bill Becker, the township’s administrator.

“We’re always looking for options of what’s more cost effective and good for the township and for our citizens,” Becker said. “The Granicus platform made a lot of sense to me. It’s designed for government and there’s a lot of transparency.”

Included on the website are regular meetings of the board of trustees, zoning commission, board of zoning appeals and Deerfield Regional Storm Water Board. Agendas and packet materials for trustee work sessions will be available but not video or audio.

Prior to meetings, all schedules, agendas and supporting materials will be available for preview by visiting the website.

In the days following the meetings, the video recordings are then be published and available for viewing. Meeting minutes will be published to the site after they are approved at subsequent meetings.

Archived meeting recordings dating to last November are available.

In prior years, Deerfield contracted with WKRC to record and broadcast township meetings for about $65,000 per year, according to Matt Clark, the township’s director of administrative services.

The monthly cost for the service is $825, or about $9,900 per year, including all the training and materials needed, 24-hour year-round support, professional managed services for their platform, installation and implementation, Clark said.

“The option we selected, Granicus Open Platform, allows us to upload all of our agendas and supporting materials for our public to see, and allows us to record and make available for viewing any recorded meeting,” Clark said. “An end user can access the materials and videos from any computer, iPad or mobile device” regardless of the operating system.

Future incarnations of the platform could include a community input page and other interactive features, Becker said.