Cedar Park City Council hears more about videoconferencing risks

The two bills are inconsistent, and the merged version is difficult to understand, Selleck said. For example, one bill says the video quality must clearly show a person's demeanor, he said.

"We believe [that means] you have to be able to see the expressions on their face," he said.

City Council may follow guidelines from the Texas Department of Information Resources, which manages communications technologies in state and local governments, Selleck said.

If videoconferencing is utilized, the meeting's presiding officer at the council chambers would need to work directly with the off-site council member. At the member's place on the dais would be a screen that shows the member's video feed.

City staffers estimate equipment for one video link would cost about $10,000, and additional links could cost about $5,000 each, Selleck said. City Council could instead use a program such as Skype or try to build its own service for a cost of about $50,000–$85,000, he said.

City Council would also need to determine whether a council member's off-site location has an adequate Internet connection. For example, Internet infrastructure in the Bahamas is usually unreliable, Selleck said. If a member's video connection failed, the council meeting would be postponed, and unless the link was restored within six hours, the meeting must be canceled, he said.