City Policies Remote Meeting Procedures

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                                  CITY OF MUSKEGON
                     PROCEDURES FOR ELECTRONIC MEETINGS AND
                        ATTENDANCE BY MEMBERS REMOTELY


Introduction
Public Act 228 of 2020 (the Act) amended Section 3 of the Open Meetings Act (OMA)
and added Section 3a to the OMA to permit, in certain circumstances, public bodies to
meet electronically and to permit members of those public bodies to participate in, and
vote on, business before the public body remotely.

The Act requires the public body, as defined in Section 2(a) of the OMA, being the City
Commission, including all boards, commissions, committees, subcommittees, or
authorities of the City of Muskegon, to establish procedures to ensure compliance with
the requirements of the Act related to electronic meetings.

The City Commission establishes the following electronic meeting procedures for itself
and all of the public bodies of the City to comply with this statutory requirement.


Circumstances Permitting Electronic Meetings and/or Remote Participation by
Members
Electronic meetings of City of Muskegon public bodies, in whole or in part, and/or
attendance by members of those public bodies remotely may be permitted under any of
the following circumstances:

       a.     Before January 1, 2021, for any circumstances.

       b.     On and after January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, only for one of
              the following:

              i.       Military service.

              ii.      A medical condition.

                       (1)    Medical condition means an illness, injury, disability, or other
                              health-related condition, including recommended quarantine.

              iii.     A statewide or local state of emergency or state of disaster
                       declared pursuant to law or charter by the governor or a local
                       official or local governing body that would risk the personal health
                       or safety of members of the public or the public body if the meeting
                       were held in person, but only to permit the following:

                       (1)    To permit the electronic attendance of a member of the
                              public body who resides in the affected area.
                         (2)    To permit the electronic meeting of a public body that usually
                                holds its meetings in the affected area.

       c.    After December 31, 2021 only in the circumstances requiring
             accommodation of members absent due to military duty.

Meetings held Electronically

       a.    Communication
             The City of Muskegon will utilize electronic video and/or audio services or
             equipment that ensures 2-way communication so that during the electronic
             meeting members of the public body can hear and be heard by other
             members of the public body and so that participants in the electronic
             meeting can hear members of the public body and can be heard by
             members of the public body and other participants during the public
             comment period.
                   i.      Members of the general public will not be excluded from a
                           meeting otherwise open to the public except for a breach of the
                           peace actually committed at the meeting.
                   ii.     Members of the general public otherwise participating in a
                           meeting of a public body held electronically under this policy are
                           to be excluded from participation in a closed session of the public
                           body held electronically during that meeting if the closed session
                           is convened and held in compliance with the requirements of the
                           OMA applicable to a closed session.



       b.    Notice

             i.          Any meeting to be held electronically shall be preceded by a notice
                         posted at least 18 hours before the meeting on the City’s website
                         that is fully accessible to the public. The notice shall be posted on
                         the homepage of the website or on a separate webpage dedicated
                         to public notices for non-regularly scheduled or electronic public
                         meetings.

             ii.         The notice of the electronic meeting shall include all of the
                         following:

                         (1)    Why the public body is meeting electronically.

                         (2)    How members of the public may participate in the
                                meeting electronically, including the Internet address to
                                view the meeting along with instructions on how to
                           participate in public comment.

                    (3)    How members of the public may contact members of the
                           public body to provide input or ask questions on any
                           business that will come before the public body at the
                           meeting.

                    (4)    How persons with disabilities may participate in the
                           meeting.

      c.    Agenda
            If an agenda exists for an electronic meeting, the agenda for that meeting
            shall be made available to the public at least twelve hours before the
            electronic meeting begins by posting the agenda on the portion of the
            City’s website that is fully accessible to the public. Posting of the agenda,
            however, shall not prohibit subsequent amendment of the agenda at the
            meeting.

      d.    Identification of the Public
            The City of Muskegon shall not, as a condition of participating in an
            electronic meeting, require a person to register or otherwise provide
            his or her name or other information or otherwise to fulfill a condition
            precedent to attendance at the meeting. However, the City of
            Muskegon may require a person to identify themselves as may be
            necessary to permit the person to participate in the public comment
            period of the meeting.

Remote Participation by Members of the Public Body

      a.    Communication
              i.    When a member of a public body is physically absent from a
                    meeting, but attends the meeting remotely as permitted by this
                    policy, the City of Muskegon shall utilize electronic video and/or
                    audio services or equipment that ensures 2-way communication so
                    that during the meeting the member can hear and be heard by
                    other members of the public body and so that participants in the
                    meeting can hear and be heard by the member.
              ii.   For each member of a public body attending the meeting remotely,
                    that member shall announce at the beginning of the meeting that
                    he or she is attending the meeting remotely and shall, except when
                    his or her absence is due to military duty, announce the member’s
                    physical location by stating the county, city, township, or village and
                    the state from which he or she is attending the meeting remotely.
                    These announcements must be included in the minutes of the
                    meeting.
      b.    Notice

            i.       When a member of a public body will be physically absent from a
                     meeting, but will be attending the meeting remotely, the City of
                     Muskegon shall post at least 18 hours before the meeting on the
                     City’s homepage or website dedicated to public notices for non-
                     regularly scheduled or electronic public meetings a notice that the
                     member of the public body will be attending the meeting remotely.

            ii.      The notice shall include e-mail information about how to contact the
                     member of the public body who will be attending the meeting
                     remotely, so that all members of the public may contact the
                     member to provide input or ask questions on any business that will
                     come before the public body at the meeting.

Adopted 11/24/2020

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