HomeMy WebLinkAbout01. 21-323JUNE 11, 2021 21-323 ORDINANCE
FIRST READING
(CARRIED__4-0____ LOST_______ LAID OVER_______ WITHDRAWN_______)
PURPOSE: AMEND RULES PERTAINING TO COUNCIL, BOARD AND
COMMISSION MEETINGS IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19
CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY: TO ELIMINATE SOCIAL
DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS IN MEETING ROOMS
INITIATED BY: CITY ADMINISTRATION
Whereas, the Common Council desires to implement certain amendments to its
rules pertaining to Council, Board and Commission Meetings to eliminate specific social
distancing requirements for in person attendance at Council, Board and Commission
Meetings.
Now, Therefore, the Common Council of the City of Oshkosh do ordain as follows:
Notwithstanding any provision contained within the City of Oshkosh Municipal
Code, General Council Rules or Oshkosh Board and Commission General Rules of Order
the Council adopts the following rules and procedures:
Council Meetings:
Council will meet in person in the Council Chambers.
Persons who are unable to appear or uncomfortable appearing in person at
Council Meetings may appear remotely as provided in the Section governing Remote
Meetings and Appearances below or provide written comments. Written comments for
Council meetings may also be sent via mail addressed to the City Manager, placed in the
City Hall dropbox, or sent by email prior to the Council Meeting to
council@ci.oshkosh.wi.us.
Written comments will be distributed to the Council and made part of the public
record of the meeting.
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Persons requiring other reasonable accommodations as an alternative to any
method identified on meeting agendas, may contact the office of the City Manager in
regard to participation in the Council meeting at citymgr@ci.oshkosh.wi.us, or by phone
920-236-5002.
Board and Commission Meetings:
Boards and Commissions may determine by majority vote of those present and
voting at any Board or Commission meeting, whether to conduct meetings in person or
remotely. Due to logistical limitations in room assignments, technology and staffing,
Boards and Commissions must conduct meetings either entirely in person or entirely by
remote means (no “hybrid” meetings).
In Person Board and Commission Meetings
Persons are encouraged as an alternative to appearance in person to submit written
comments. Written comments for Board and Commission meetings may be sent via mail
addressed to the appropriate Board or Commission, placed in the City Hall dropbox, or
sent by email prior to the scheduled meeting to the Board or Commission. Contact
information for Boards and Commissions is available on the City website:
www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us
Written comments will be distributed to the Board/Commission and made part of
the public record of the meeting.
Persons requiring reasonable accommodations to these rules may contact the staff
liaison for the Board or Commission who shall work with the individual to provide
appropriate accommodation as necessary.
Remote Meetings of Boards and Commissions
Boards and Commissions may, as provided above, choose to conduct meetings
solely by remote means. If a Board or Commission chooses to conduct meetings by
remote means, then meetings shall be conducted as provided in the Section governing
Remote Meetings and Appearances below.
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Remote Meetings and Appearances
“Remote Means or Remote Participation” shall mean participation by a member
of a public body or by a member of the public in a meeting of that public body, where the
member is not physically present at a designated meeting location. Remote Participation
includes by members of the public body or by the public through video, telephone,
computer or other means where persons are permitted to view, listen to and participate
in the meeting without having a physical presence at a defined physical meeting location.
If a meeting is conducted solely by Remote Means and there is no physical meeting
location or the public is otherwise excluded from being present at a physical meeting
location, the public must be afforded an opportunity to live access the meeting and
instructions shall be provided how to do so. This may include live broadcast or
streaming, video or call-in participation, or other adequate means to provide live access
to the public meeting. Where public comment or participation is required by law,
adequate means must be provided to accommodate such participation.
Staff shall work with members of the Council, Boards and Commissions to
facilitate appearance by Remote Means as required or permitted by these rules consistent
with the following:
o Remote participation may be permitted in meeting rooms that have
adequate audio, video and other technological facilities to allow for remote
participation.
o Persons wishing to participate by Remote Means should be advised via
meeting agendas or other means that participation by remote means may
be limited by number of participants and available technology, and may be
disrupted by problems such as breakdowns of equipment and fluctuation
or interruption of electric power or communications networks. The City of
Oshkosh does not guarantee that even if persons have been afforded the
opportunity to appear by Remote Means that telephone, computer, wifi or
other connections will be sufficient or that the person will be guaranteed
the ability to appear by this method.
o In order to accommodate participation for the general public by Remote
Means, a meeting link will be provided on the meeting agenda. For
meetings where the public may participate by Remote Means, general
public comment and public comment on all agenda items shall be taken at
the beginning of the meeting, except as necessary to conduct Public
Hearings or as may be accommodated at the direction of the Council, or
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Board or Commission. Public comment may be closed at the end of any
public comment period and persons participating by Remote means shall
not interrupt or disrupt the business of the governing body.
o Persons wishing to provide public comment on agenda items for Council
meetings either in person or by Remote Means must sign up to speak
through the City’s website or the Connect Oshkosh App and if participating
remotely must participate through the City’s meeting link as published on
the meeting agenda.
o Persons wishing to provide public comment through Remote Means must
join the meeting at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting to allow
staff to test the audio/video set up. Attendees must stay muted when not
speaking and are responsible for muting and unmuting themselves in a
timely fashion when called upon to speak.
o Each member of the public speaking must wait to be called upon by the
Chair or appropriate staff person and must provide their name and address
prior to speaking.
o Every person participating by Remote Means must be audible through clear
telephone line or computer connections. If a connection is not clear or
causes disruption of the meeting, the connection may be terminated at the
discretion of the Mayor or Presiding Member or their designee. If a
connection is terminated and this causes the loss of a quorum, the meeting
shall be adjourned and rescheduled to another date to permit consideration
by a quorum.
o All votes shall require a roll call vote – no “all in favor”
When practicable, public meetings will be made available live on GOV TV in the
City of Oshkosh, live streamed on oshkoshmedia.org, live on WOCT radio station 101.9
fm, live through Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire Stick.
When in the determination of the City Manager, it is reasonable and necessary to
limit in person participation for the protection of the public, city officials and city
employees; the City Manager may require remote participation in public meetings of the
Council, Boards and Commissions in accordance with the rules set forth above for remote
participation.
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All provisions of the City Ordinances, General Council Rules and Commission
General Rules of Order not specifically altered by these temporary rules shall remain in
effect.
This ordinance shall take effect immediately and shall remain in effect until altered
or repealed by the Common Council.
Publication Notice
Please take notice that the City of Oshkosh enacted ordinance #21-323 AMEND RULES
PERTAINING TO COUNCIL, BOARD AND COMMISSION MEETINGS IN RESPONSE
TO COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY: TO ELIMINATE SOCIAL DISTANCING
REQUIREMENTS IN MEETING ROOMS on June 11, 2021. The ordinance modifies
ordinances and council, board and commission rules to eliminate the requirement for social
distancing at meetings. The ordinance includes options and requirements for remote
participation and provides a means for requesting reasonable accommodation if necessary.
The full text of the ordinance may be obtained at the Office of the City Clerk, 215 Church
Avenue and through the City’s website at www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us. Clerk’s phone:
920/236-5011.
City Hall, 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1130 Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130 920.236.5000 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us
TO: Mayor and Members of the Council
FROM: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager
DATE: June 10, 2021
RE: Amend Rules Pertaining to Council, Board and Commission Meetings in
Response to COVID-19 Coronavirus Emergency: to Eliminate Social
Distancing Requirements in Meeting Rooms
BACKGROUND
The Council by previous ordinances has adopted temporary rules pertaining to Council,
Board and Commission Meetings during the COVID-19 coronavirus emergency. By
consensus at the June 8, 2021 Council meeting Council members asked staff to draft an
amendment to the ordinance to remove the requirement for social distancing in meeting
rooms.
ANALYSIS
Relaxation of the strict requirement for social distancing in meeting rooms will allow
Council and Board and Commission members to sit more closely to each other on the
council dais or around tables in other meeting rooms within City Hall and other City
facilities. It is important to note that removing the requirement does not require everyone
to sit as closely as possible to one another and would still allow some spacing to be made
available on a more discretionary basis according to need and staff’s best judgments.
Relaxation of this requirement will allow for greater numbers of persons to be
accommodated in the various meeting rooms.
The ordinance carries forward other current rules requiring in-person attendance by
Council members and requiring Boards and Commissions to determine whether they will
meet in an all in-person or all remote manner. A staff working group has been assigned
the task of reviewing the current rules and making recommendations in relation to
potential long term options for Council, Board and Commission meetings including
continued options related to remote participation. This group will review information
from other cities as well as the experiences of the City of Oshkosh and anticipate making
a recommendation at a later meeting for potential “permanent” rules changes.
Because this is an ordinance, it would normally require two readings, however, Council
may waive the rules and adopt the ordinance on first reading if it so chooses. In this case,
because the requirement will relax requirements and because a delay would appear to
serve no immediate need and may cause confusion, staff recommends waiving the rules
and adopting the ordinance on first reading.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no anticipated fiscal impact associated with this ordinance update.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends waiving the rules and adoption of the ordinance as proposed.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mark A. Rohloff
City Manager