By Noah Crenshaw | Daily Journal
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The Greenwood City Council advanced an amended ordinance that would allow council members and the public to continue to participate in meetings virtually.
The ordinance would allow for council members and the public to participate in meetings virtually, with conditions. It will also amend the procedures for meeting minutes so that it lists which council members were there physically and virtually, according to city documents.
Council members have to give both the council president and the city clerk 72 hours notice, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, if they are going to participate virtually. This is so the public has an option to participate virtually, and so public meeting notices can include virtual information, city documents show.
A maximum of five council members can participate virtually during a single meeting, so there is a quorum of in-person council members as required by state law, council members Mike Campbell said. They cannot attend more than six virtual meetings in a calendar year, according to city documents.
Council members also cannot attend more than two consecutive virtual meetings unless they have military service, medical conditions, a death in the family or an emergency involving threats to persons or property that would require them to participate virtually, city documents show.
Council member Dave Lekse requested the ordinance be amended. Lekse’s amendment would allow council members to participate virtually without the 72-hour notice requirement as long as one council member had already requested to attend virtually and gave the 72 hours notice. As long as the initial notice was issued, this would be allowed under Indiana law.
Council member Bob Dine also requested the ordinance be amended to allow members to participate virtually in up to 50% of meetings, to put it in line with what state law allows.
Both amendments passed unanimously.
Council members are not allowed to participate virtually if the council is taking final action on budgets, personnel reductions, initiating referendums, establishing or increasing fees or penalties, using eminent domain, or creating, raising or renewing taxes, according to city documents.
The ordinance also includes a procedure in the event of a technical failure of the virtual communication platforms. If there were some sort of issue that disrupts or prevents council members, or members of the public, from attending the meeting, it would not affect the validity of any actions taken during the meeting as long as the sum of council members participating in-person and virtually without issue satisfies both the quorum and voting requirements, city documents show.
Under Gov. Eric Holcomb’s public health emergency orders, local governments are allowed to offer a virtual participation options. However, when the emergency order expires, the option would not be allowed unless the local government passed an ordinance. The public health emergency order related to the coronavirus pandemic was first issued in March 2020, and has been renewed 17 times since then.
The city council will vote on the ordinance at its Aug. 16 meeting.
