Subject: Disruption of Telephonic or Internet Service During City Council Meetings Index: 1201-15
Effective Date: July 1, 2026
Prepared By: City Clerk
Supersedes:
Approved By: City Council
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Attachment 1
Attachment 1
Policy And Procedure
PURPOSE:
This policy establishes procedures for responding to a disruption in the telephonic or internet services that provide two-way remote public access to meetings of the City Council, as required by the Ralph M. Brown Act (Gov. Code § 54953.4).
This policy pertains to telephonic or internet services that provide two-way remote public access to meetings of the City Council. This policy does not apply to one-way television broadcasts or one-way internet streams of City Council meetings. The meeting may carry on if one or more one-way services are disrupted, so long as two-way remote public access is functioning.
ORGANIZATION AFFECTED:
This policy applies only to meetings of the City Council; it does not apply to City Council-appointed commissions and committees.
REFERENCES:
Government Code § 54953.4
POLICY:
Procedures in the Event of a Service Disruption
Response to a Service Disruption
If the Presiding Officer or City Clerk becomes aware of a service disruption:
“Service disruption” means a disruption of telephonic or internet service that prevents members of the public from attending or observing the meeting via the two-way telephonic service or two-way audiovisual platform being utilized for City Council meetings.
The Presiding Officer or Clerk shall immediately announce the service disruption to the public.
The Presiding Officer shall then call for a recess of the open session. A service disruption does not preclude the City Council from meeting in a closed session that has been properly noticed and announced consistent with the Ralph M. Brown Act.
Staff shall begin efforts to diagnose and restore the disrupted service.
The meeting shall remain in recess for at least one hour or until service is restored, whichever is sooner. The recess period may be extended if restoration efforts are ongoing.
Efforts to Restore Service:
Staff efforts to restore service shall include, but not be limited to:
Troubleshooting platform or teleconferencing software.
Resetting or replacing audiovisual equipment, if available.
Attempting alternative connection methods, if available.
Contacting necessary support staff or service providers.
Switching to back-up equipment or platforms, if available.
The City Clerk shall document the restoration efforts undertaken.
PROCEDURE:
Reconvening the Open Session
Timing
The open session may be reconvened after at least one hour has elapsed from the time of disruption or as soon as service is restored, whichever occurs earlier.
If the public remote access service is restored before or at the time the meeting reconvenes, the meeting shall continue as normal.
If service has not been restored after at least one hour of attempting to restore service, the City Council may reconvene and:
1. Adjourn the meeting; or
2. Resume meeting in open session by adopting, by roll call vote, the following, or a substantially similar, findings:
“The City of San Clemente has made good faith efforts to restore telephonic or internet service in accordance with its adopted City Council Policy 1201-15 and the public interest in conducting this meeting outweighs the public interest in remote public access”.
3. Upon adoption of the above findings, the City Council may resume the open session despite the fact that public two-way remote access services have not been restored.
4. After making the above findings, the City Council should identify agenda items that are not time sensitive and continue those items so long as public two-way remote access services have not been restored.
Recordkeeping
The City Clerk shall enter a brief statement into the meeting minutes, including the following:
The nature and start time of the service disruption.
The time the meeting was reconvened (if applicable).
A summary of restoration efforts undertaken.
Any finding adopted pursuant to Section 5.1.1.