[Ord. No. 20-10, 3-25-2020]
While it is legally permissible for members of the City's
public governmental bodies to attend meetings and vote via video conference
transmission, a member's use of video conference attendance should
occur only sparingly. Because it is good public policy for citizens
to have the opportunity to meet with their elected officials face
to face, elected members of a public governmental body should endeavor
to be physically present at all meetings unless attendance is unavoidable
after exercising due diligence to arrange for physical presence at
the meeting. The primary purpose of attendance by video conference
connection should be to accommodate the public governmental body as
a whole to allow meetings to occur when circumstances would otherwise
prevent the physical attendance of a quorum of the body's members.
A secondary purpose of attendance by video conference should be to
ensure that all members may participate in business of the public
governmental body that is emergency or highly important in nature
and arose quickly so as to make attendance at a regular meeting practically
impossible. Except in emergency situations, all efforts should be
expended to ensure that a quorum of the members of the public governmental
body be physically present at the normal meeting place of the body.
[Ord. No. 20-10, 3-25-2020]
As used in this Chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Shall refer to:
A means of communication where at least one member of a public
governmental body participates in the public meeting via an electronic
connection made up of three components:
A live video transmission of the member of the public governmental
body not in physical attendance; or
A live audio transmission allowing the member of the public
governmental body not in physical attendance to be heard by those
in physical attendance; or
A live audio transmission allowing the member of the public
governmental body not in physical attendance to hear those in physical
attendance at a meeting.
If at any time during a meeting one or more of the elements
of a video conference becomes compromised (e.g., if any participants
are unable to see, hear, or fully communicate), then the video conference
participant is deemed immediately absent, and this absence should
be reflected in the minutes. A video conference participant's
absence may compromise a quorum in which case the applicable Missouri
laws shall take effect regarding a broken quorum.
[Ord. No. 20-10, 3-25-2020]
A member of a public governmental body shall not attend more than two (2) meetings via video conference in a rolling twelve-month period, unless specifically waived and additional appearances be allowed by a majority of the Board of Aldermen. In keeping with the policy stated in § 155.020 above, attendance via video conference should only occur sparingly and for good cause. Such good cause shall be at the discretion of the member seeking to attend by video conference, but shall be for significant reasons, including, but not limited to, serious illness or injury of the member or a member of his or her immediate family, including father or mother, spouse, sibling, child, or grandchild and declared national or State of Missouri declaration of a state of emergency.
[Ord. No. 20-10, 3-25-2020]
Members of the public may not participate in a public meeting
of a governmental body via video conference. The public wishing to
attend a meeting, and elected officials not participating via videoconferencing
of a meeting, shall participate at the physical location where meetings
of the public governmental body are typically held, or as provided
in a notice provided in accordance with the Sunshine Law.[1]
[Ord. No. 20-10, 3-25-2020]
If the governmental body chooses to have a meeting by telephone
or other electronic means and there exists no physical location of
the meeting, the public governmental body shall include in its meeting
notice information on how the public may access that meeting via telephone
or other electronic means.
[Ord. No. 20-10, 3-25-2020]
Members of the governmental body must be at the physical location
for the meeting or appearing by video conference to be counted towards
the quorum. Any member appearing solely by voice or conference call
is not counted as present for quorum.
[Ord. No. 20-10, 3-25-2020]
The public governmental body shall cause there to be provided
at the physical location communication equipment consisting of an
audio and visual display, and a camera and microphone so that the
member(s) of the public governmental body participating via videoconferencing,
the members of the public governmental body in physical attendance,
and the public in physical attendance may actively participate in
the meeting in accordance with rules of meeting decorum. The communication
equipment at the physical location of the meeting must allow for all
meeting attendees to see, hear, and fully communicate with the videoconferencing
participant. This requirement shall be subject to social interaction
limitations or restrictions as duly enacted by the Oronogo Board of
Aldermen, State of Missouri or United States of America.
[Ord. No. 20-10, 3-25-2020]
Elected members of a public governmental body attending a public meeting of that governmental body via video conference are deemed present for purposes of participating in a roll call vote to the same effect elected members of a public governmental body in physical attendance at a public meeting of that governmental body are deemed present. As indicated in Section 155.020 above, if any component of the video conference communication fails during the meeting, the member attending the meeting by video conference whose connection failed shall be deemed absent immediately upon such failure, and if the public governmental body was in the act of voting, the voting shall stop until all of the components of video conference attendance are again restored and the video conference participant's presence is again noted in the minutes.
[Ord. No. 20-10, 3-25-2020]
In a meeting where a member of a public governmental body is
participating via videoconferencing and the meeting goes into a closed
session, all provisions of Missouri law and City ordinances relating
to closed sessions apply. Upon the public governmental body's
vote to close the meeting, all members of the general public shall
not be present. Likewise, a member of a public governmental body participating
via videoconferencing must ensure there are no members of the public
present at their location to see, hear, or otherwise communicate during
the closed session. The member must also take all reasonable precautions
to guard against interception of communication by others. Failure
to ensure the requirements of this Section may result in corrective
action by the full public governmental body in accordance with the
City of Oronogo ordinance and regulations.
[Ord. No. 20-10, 3-25-2020]
In the meeting, whether in open or in closed session, the minutes
taken should reflect the member, if any, participating via video conference;
the members in physical attendance; and members, if any, absent.
[Ord. No. 20-10, 3-25-2020]
In the event that emergency circumstances create impossibility
for the members of a public governmental body to physically attend,
the body as a whole may meet and, if necessary, vote pursuant to Section
610.015, RSMo., by telephone, facsimile, internet or any other voice
or electronic means. Examples of such emergency circumstances include,
but are not limited to, declaration of national emergency, war, riot,
terrorism, widespread fire, or natural disaster such as earthquake,
tornado, hurricane, flood, or blizzard. To the extent possible in
such circumstances, the public governmental body shall use reasonable
efforts to cause a physical location to be provided for public attendance
and participation.
