CITY OF COMMERCE
DISRUPTION AND EQUIPMENT OUTAGE POLICY
PURPOSE
This policy ensures continued public access, transparency, and participation and applies to all legislative bodies of the City subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act, including the City Council, boards, commissions, committees, and advisory bodies established by the City in the event of technical disruptions, consistent with state open meeting laws and SB 707 requirements.
This policy shall be interpreted consistent with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code §§ 54950 et seq.), including teleconferencing and public participation provisions under Government Code § 54953, as amended.
REMOTE PUBLIC ACCESS REQUIREMENTS
Consistent with SB 707, the City emphasizes meaningful public access.
The public must be able to both hear and address the body, Livestream alone is insufficient,
The inability to provide public comment remotely constitutes a disruption.
A meeting shall not be considered fully accessible if remote attendees can observe proceedings but are unable to provide real-time public comment.
MEETING FORMAT
City Council and Commission meetings are conducted in a hybrid format:
In-person at the designated Council Chambers or the Commission Meeting room.
Remote participation via Zoom.
Two-way public comment (in-person and remote).
Spanish translation for Council meetings provided in-person and via Zoom closed captioning.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
IT Staff:
Set up and monitor Zoom meeting, audio/visual systems, and captioning Troubleshoot issues in real time
Communicate technical status to the Mayor/Presiding Officer, City Manager, and City Clerk/Clerk of the Board/Legislative Body.
City Clerk/Clerk of the Board:
Tracks speaker queue (in-person and remote)
Announces delays, disruptions, and procedural actions
Mayor/Presiding Officer:
Maintains order
Determines when to pause, recess, or continue meetings due to disruptions
DEFINITION OF DISRUPTION
A “disruption” includes, but is not limited to:
Loss of Zoom connectivity
Audio failure preventing the public from hearing proceedings Video failure affecting public participation
Failure of Spanish captioning/translation
Platform instability affecting two-way communication
Power or network outages
RESPONSE PROTOCOLS
Minor Disruptions (≤ 5 minutes)
Examples: brief audio lag, temporary caption interruption Action:
IT staff attempts immediate fix and meeting may continue if:
Audio remains intelligible
Public participation is not significantly impacted
Moderate Disruptions (5–15 minutes)
Examples: Zoom disconnect, captioning failure, partial loss of participation Action:
Mayor/Presiding Officer announces a temporary pause
IT staff troubleshoots
Clerk informs public (in room and online)
If resolved within 15 minutes:
Meeting resumes
Additional time provided for missed public comment if needed Major Disruptions (> 15 minutes or loss of participation) Examples:
Loss of Zoom platform preventing remote participation
Failure of two-way communication
Loss of translation services preventing meaningful access (City Council meetings only) Action:
Mayor/Presiding Officer declares a recess
IT staff continues troubleshooting
If NOT resolved within 60 minutes:
The legislative body may have to cancel the remainder of its meeting. If the meeting is adjourned remaining agenda items are continued to a future meeting The Council may only proceed without remote participation if they formally vote that the public interest in continuing outweighs the delay.
During a significant technology outage preventing meaningful public participation, the legislative body should avoid taking substantive action items until access is restored or the meeting is continued.
CYBERSECURITY / SECURITY EVENT SECTION
In the event of a cybersecurity threat or unauthorized disruption affecting the integrity or security of the meeting platform, the Mayor/Presiding Officer may temporarily suspend remote participation while IT staff implements corrective measures. These events may include:
“Zoom-bombing”
Malicious disruptions
Cybersecurity incidents
Unauthorized access attempts.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SAFEGUARDS
To comply with SB 707 principles:
Public must be able to observe AND participate remotely If Zoom fails, the meeting cannot proceed with action items unless participation is restored Missed speakers due to technical issues must be given an opportunity to speak later in the meeting or at the next meeting
ACCESSIBILITY
Spanish Translation
Spanish captioning is considered an essential access service If captioning fails:
IT staff attempts immediate restart
If not restored within 10–15 minutes, meeting is paused If translation cannot be restored:
Meeting should not proceed with public comment or action items ADA
The City shall make reasonable efforts to ensure meetings remain accessible to persons with disabilities consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related accessibility laws, including but not limited to:
Auxiliary aids
Screen reader accessibility
Reasonable accommodations requests
Accessibility contact information.
BACKUP MEASURES
Pre-meeting checklist is required:
Test Zoom audio/video
Verify captioning function
Confirm internet stability
Backup options:
Secondary device logged into Zoom (hot standby)
Backup hotspot for internet
Printed agenda and speaker list for manual fallback
COMMUNICATION DURING DISRUPTIONS
Clerk announces status every 5–10 minutes during outages If Zoom drops:
On-site signage and verbal updates provided
If possible:
Status updates posted to city website or social media
DOCUMENTATION
After any disruption, IT staff logs the following:
Time of issue
Duration
Resolution
Clerk includes summary in meeting minutes
If a disruption affects recording:
note whether recording resumed
preserve partial recordings
document missing segments
AUTHORITY TO DEVIATE
The Mayor/Presiding Officer may take reasonable actions to ensure compliance with open meeting laws, including:
Extending public comment time
Reordering agenda items
Continuing items to a future meeting
Policy Review
This policy should be reviewed annually or upon:
Changes to state law
Changes in meeting technology
Recurring technical issues
ACTION
Adopted by the City Council on July 14, 2026
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Legislative Body Meeting Equipment Outage Policy