COUNCIL POLICY
CITY OF CHULA VISTA
SUBJECT: REMOTE COUNCIL MEETING POLICY EFFECTIVE
PARTICIPATION BY NUMBER DATE PAGE
COUNCILMEMBERS
104- 02 05/ 28/ 13 1 OF'
ADOPTED BY: Resolution No. 2013- 098 DATED: 05/ 28/ 13
AMENDED BY:
BACKGROUND
This Policy was preparedin responseto a City Council request that the City Attorney prepare a policy governing the use of teleconferencing by. City Councilmembers for remote participation in City Council meetings.
The Ralph M. Brown Act' ( the ` Brown Act") governs the meetings of legislative bodies. The Brown Act defines "teleconference" as a "meeting of a legislative body, [where] the membersof which arein differentlocations, connectedbyelectronicmeans, througheitheraudioorvideo, orboth."2 In order to conduct a City Council meeting by teleconference in accordance with the Brown Act, the City wouldhavetocomplywithnumerousrequirements. Theseincludethefollowing:3
1. At least a quorum of the Council must participate from locations within the City;
2. All votes taken during the teleconferencedmeeting must be taken by rollcall;
3. Agendas must be posted ai all teleconference locations;
4. Each teleconference location must be identified in the notice and agenda of the meeting;
5. Each teleconference location must be accessible to the public;
6. The teleconference meeting must be conducted in a manner that protects the statutory and constitutional rights of the parties and public appearing before the Council; and
7. The agendafor eachteleconference meeting must provide an opportunity for members of the public to addressthe Council directly, at each teleconference location. ( This requirement means that each location, including private homes, offices or hotel rooms, must be open to the public, accessible to the disabled and allow the members of the public to hear and testify.)
TheCity Councilhashadtheopportunityto experiencetheuseof teleconferenceparticipationby Councilmembers during a couple of recent City Council meetings. Based on those experiences, and public comment, the Council has decided it would be in the best interest of the City and the public to requireCity Councilmembersto attendCity Council meetingsin person, and to limit the Councilmembers' remote participation to emergency or special circumstances. The City Council has determinedthat doing so will savethe additionalcost and time involved with: ( i) establishingand maintaininga remoteconnectionthroughoutthemeeting; and (ii) meetingtheadditionalBrownAct requirements associatedwith remote participation. In addition, it is important to the City Council that City Councilmembersattendthe meetingsin personin orderto facilitateinteractionand communicationwith the public, with otherCity Councilmembersandwith City staff. This Policy is intended to address these concerns.
Cal. Gov' t Code §§ 54950, el seg.
2 Cal. Gov' t Code § 54953( b)( 4).
3See. Cal. Gov' t Code §§ 54953( b)( 2)-( 3).
COUNCIL POLICY
CITY OF CHULA VISTA
SUBJECT: REMOTE COUNCIL MEETING POLICY EFFECTIVE
PARTICIPATION BY NUMBER DATE PAGE
COUNCILMEMBERS
104- 02 05/ 28/ 13 2 OF 3
ADOPTED BY: Resolution No. 2013- 098 DATED: 05/ 28/ 13
AMENDED BY:
PURPOSE
Thepurposeof this Policy is to definethe limited circumstancesin which aCity Councilmembermay participatein aCity Councilmeetingremotely, andto establishtheprocesswhich mustbefollowed in order to do so.
POLICY
It is the policy of the City of ChulaVista that eachCity Councilmembershould attendeveryCity Council meetingin person, wheneverpossible. If a City Councilmemberdesiresto participatein a City Councilmeetingremotely, theCityCouncilmembermayseekauthorizationto dosofromtothe City Council. Thefollowing processshallbe followed by anyCouncilmemberrequestingto attenda City Council meeting by teleconference, video conference, or other meansof remote communication.
E A City Councilmember desiring to attend a City Council meeting remotely shall submit a requestto the City Clerk, no later than 9:00 a.m. five days prior to the meeting which the City Council member desires to attend ( the Thursday immediately preceding a Tuesday Council meeting).
2. The Councilmember submitting a request shall indicate the reason for the request.
Requestsmust be basedon emergencyor special circumstances, as defined below:
a. " Emergency circumstances" are defined as: serious illness or injury of the requesting City Councilmember; death of afamily member; serious illness or injury of a family member requiring the Councilmember' s care; or some other urgent and unavoidable family or business emergency that was not previously scheduled, cannot be rescheduled, and makes it necessaryfor the Councilmember to be out-of-town.
b. " Special circumstances" are defined as either:
i. The scheduling by the City Council, City Manager or City Attorney of a previously - unplanned City Council meeting that the Councilmember could not have anticipated; or
ii. An urgent necessity for the City Councilmember' s attendance, such as the need for a quorum ( all members constituting the quorum would have to be participating from within City boundaries), or a particular item on a City Council meeting agenda requiring a super - majority (4/5) vote, as determinedby the City Manageror the City .
Attorney.
3. Therequestmustalsoincludeall informationnecessaryto complywith theBrown Act teleconference requirements. This includes the following: ( i) address and telephone number of the location from which the City Councilmemberwill participate; (ii) confirmationthat the remotelocation is opento the public, accessibleto the disabled
COUNCIL POLICY
CITY OF CHULA VISTA
SUBJECT: REMOTE COUNCIL MEETING POLICY EFFECTIVE
PARTICIPATION BY NUMBER DATE PAGE
COUNCILMEMBERS
104- 02 05/ 28/ 13 3 OF 3
ADOPTED BY: Resolution No. 2013- 098 DATED: 05/ 28/ 13
AMENDED BY:
and will allow the members of the public to hear and testify; and ( iii) any other information necessaryin order to comply with the Brown Act requirements.
4. Upon receipt of the request, the City Clerk shall send an e-mail to each of the other four Councilmembers, notifying them of the request, the emergency or special circumstance giving rise to the request, and the proposed remote location. The City Clerk shall copy the City Manager and City Attorney on the e-mail.
5. The Councilmembers shall respond to the City Clerk no later than 2:00 p.m. five days before the Council meeting (the Thursday immediately preceding a Tuesday Council meeting). If a Councilmember does not respond by the 2:00 deadline, it shall be deemed a vote in opposition by that Councilmember.
6. If at least two members ( in addition to the requesting Councilmember) respond that they are agreeableto the remoteparticipation, the City Clerk will coordinatewith the requesting Councilmember for proper noticing and logistics of the remote participation.
7. The timeline set forth above may be modified, if necessary, due to the timing of an emergencyor discoveryof a specialcircumstance. Any suchmodification must be approved by the City Manager and City Attorney, and must allow time to meet all Brown Act requirements.