Blackford County Commissioners Vote to End Zoom Livestreaming

From the Blackford County Commissioner Meeting on July 20, 2026

The Blackford County Commissioners voted 3-0 to discontinue Zoom livestreaming of their meetings, effective August 3.

Commissioner John Lancaster cited persistent technical problems as the reason, saying Zoom creates a lag that interferes when participants try to ask questions or make comments. Lancaster noted that most Zoom viewers are "just watching" rather than interacting, and that anyone with actual business before the commissioners "should probably be in front of us anyway."

The county will continue livestreaming meetings through its website, which does not have the same delay issues. Lancaster confirmed Zoom is "not a requirement — just the online part," meaning the website livestream satisfies the legal requirement for online public access.

County IT has been unable to resolve the Zoom technical issues.

Residents who have been watching meetings via Zoom will need to switch to the county's website livestream or attend in person starting August 3.

Source: YouTube transcript — Blackford County Commissioner Meeting, July 20, 2026

Some information may be inaccurate due to video audio quality.