Title
Recommendation to Approve Findings to Allow City Meetings to be Conducted via Teleconference Through February 28, 2023. (City Clerk 10022020)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager and Lara Weisiger, City Clerk
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Every 30 days, the City Council must make certain findings to allow members of the City Council, Boards, and Commissions to continue to participate in City of Alameda (City) meetings via teleconference without meeting certain Brown Act requirements. Staff recommends approving findings to allow City meetings to be conducted via teleconference through February 28, 2023.
BACKGROUND
The City has been allowing City Council, Board, and Commission members to participate in meetings via teleconference since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 16, 2021, the Governor signed Assembly Bill No. 361 - Open Meetings: State and Local Agencies (AB 361), taking effect immediately, authorizing local agencies to conduct meetings via teleconference without complying with certain requirements imposed by the Brown Act. The Bill does not address whether members of the public attend the meetings in person or via teleconference. On October 5, 2021, the City Council adopted an urgency ordinance suspending certain provisions of the Sunshine Ordinance and made the findings required by AB 361. The City Council made the required findings on November 2 and 16, 2021, December 7, 2021, January 4, 2022, February 1, 2022, March 1 and 15, 2022, April 5, 2022, May 3 and 17, 2022, June 6, 2022, July 5 and 12, 2022, August 9, 2022, September 6, 2022, October 4, 2022, November 1, 15, December 6, 2022, January 3 and 17, 2023.
AB 361 requires the City Council to make findings (set forth below) every 30 days to continue allowing members to participate in meetings via teleconference without complying with certain requirements imposed by the Brown Act, such as the agenda listing teleconference locations that are each required to be accessible to the public for in-person attendance. The Governor has indicated the State of Emergency will end on February 28, 2023 at which time standard Brown Act requirements will be reinstated and in person meetings for members of the City Council, Boards and Commissions will resume starting on March 1st.
DISCUSSION
This agenda report is being presented again so the City Council, Board members, and Commissioners can continue to participate via teleconference through February 28, 2023, notwithstanding certain provisions of the Brown Act and the City’s Sunshine Ordinance. Due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, staff recommends that the City Council consider the circumstances of the state of emergency and find that the state of emergency continues to directly impact the ability of the members, the public, and staff to meet safely in person and State and local officials, including the City, continue to recommend measures to promote social distancing.
Accordingly, pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e)(3), staff recommends that the City Council make the following findings by motion:
1. The state of emergency, as declared by the Governor of the State of California, continues to directly impact the ability of the members to meet safely in person; and
2. State and local officials, including the City Council of the City of Alameda, continue to recommend measures to promote social distancing.
If the City Council approves the requisite findings, members may continue to participate via teleconference without meeting certain Brown Act requirements.
City staff has implemented the technology components required for a hybrid meeting. By the end of February all necessary procedures and trainings will be completed to accommodate hybrid meetings. The first City Council hybrid meeting will be March 7, 2023 and the February 27, 2023 Planning Board meeting will be conducted in the hybrid format as a test to confirm the technological aspects and procedures for a hybrid meeting. This hybrid meeting format allows the public to attend the meeting and speak under Public Comment either in person or via Zoom as well as viewing through television broadcast and streaming live on Facebook. Following Alameda County Health Department recommendations, masks will be strongly encouraged for anyone attending meetings in person.
For City Boards and Commissions, Sunshine Ordinance Section 2-91.14 requires video coverage of the following: Planning Board (PB); Transportation Commission (TC); Historic Advisory Board (HAB); Recreation and Park Commission; and Open Government Commission (OGC). Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City also started broadcasting Commission on Persons with Disabilities meetings so that viewers could watch without having to attend in person. These Boards and Commissions will follow the same hybrid meeting format and procedures as City Council.
The Boards and Commissions which previously were not broadcast include: Civil Service Board, Golf Commission, Library Board, Pension Board, Public Art Commission, Public Utilities Board (PUB) and Social Service Human Relations Board (SSHRB). Alameda Municipal Power will manage and conduct hybrid meetings for the PUB at the Alameda Municipal Power facility. The remaining Boards and Commissions will utilize an adapted hybrid format since they are not held in Council Chambers or broadcast on television. These groups will be held in locations where Zoom capability is available, such as Room 360 at City Hall. The public may then attend in person or view and participate in Public Comment on Zoom as well as view live on Facebook. The primary difference for these Boards and Commissions versus those that are broadcast in Council Chambers, is that the view on Zoom will be a static perspective of the room rather than the varied broadcast views.
Overall, the hybrid meeting formats provide increased opportunities for public participation with City Council and all Board and Commission meetings.
ALTERNATIVES
• Approve the findings to allow teleconferencing and for the meetings to continue through February 28, 2023 in the same remote fashion for City Council and the public with the hybrid meeting format beginning as of March 1, 2023 for City Council and all Boards and Commissions.
• Do not approve the findings. This would result in in person meetings and any meeting via teleconference starting February 7, 2023 being required to comply with Government Code Section 54953(b)(3), which states: “If the legislative body of a local agency elects to use teleconferencing, it shall post agendas at all teleconference locations and conduct teleconference meetings in a manner that protects the statutory and constitutional rights of the parties or the public appearing before the legislative body of a local agency. Each teleconference location shall be identified in the notice and agenda of the meeting or proceeding, and each teleconference location shall be accessible to the public. During the teleconference, at least a quorum of the members of the legislative body shall participate from locations within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction, except as provided in subdivisions (d) and (e). The agenda shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the legislative body directly pursuant to Section 54954.3 at each teleconference location.”
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no direct financial impact from the City Council continuing to approve the findings to allow members to participate via teleconference.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS-REFERENCE
Alameda Municipal Code Section 2-91.3, Meetings to be Open and Public; Application of Brown Act.
CLIMATE IMPACTS
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action does not constitute a “project” as defined in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 and therefore no further CEQA analysis is required.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve findings to allow City meetings to be conducted via teleconference.
By:
Lara Weisiger, City Clerk
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Margaret O’Brien, Finance Director