Public Meetings: Suggested Best Practices During a Pandemic

Zoom meeting (Photo – Stefan Kühn, Graphics department)

COVID19 has caused public meetings of city council and commissions to move online, accessible only by dialing in or on Zoom.

By Melissa Michelson

Lately, however, the public has experienced access issues and public entities are taking liberties with the public’s participation.

To allow for maximum public input, here are some recommendations for city governments:

1. Stick to the Zoom meeting functionality, not webinar, so the public can see who else is present just as we do by looking around in the council chambers.
2. Turn off the share screen function to deter Zoombombers.
3. Turn on the function for the meeting hosts to remove participants and block them from re-entering if they are removed, such as Zoombombers.
4. Enable the chat function so members of the public can engage with others without disturbing the meeting, just like they can in the council chambers
5. Discontinue the 4:30 pm deadlines for comment when the meeting starts at 7 pm. Members of the public may not decide to speak until they are at the meeting and hear the presentation from the developers or want to add a perspective not stated by another member of the public. When people arrive, and when they decide they want to speak, they can write “Stack” and wait to be called.
6. Identify to the public which dial-in phone numbers may be charged by different phone carriers and which ones are free.
7. When City staff read the public’s letters aloud into the record, do not summarize them or change them in any way. Have someone that is comfortable reading aloud and consider switching off speakers. Their diction should be comprehensible.

COVID19 does not look like it will be ending any time soon. Cities therefore need to formalize best virtual meeting practices to offer the public maximum participation and minimal frustration.