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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrder ED-05 - Public Meeting Protocols 'et�r�k Co. CITY OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA ORDER ED—05 FOR COVID-19 PANDEMIC Declared this 31st day of March,2020 Public Meeting Protocols WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020,the President of the United States issued a Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak; and WHEREAS,on March 12,2020,the Governor of the State of Montana issued Executive Order No. 2-2020 Declaring a State of Emergency to Exist Within the State of Montana Related to the Communicable Disease Covid-19 Novel Coronavirus; and WHEREAS, the Health Officer and Board of Health for the Gallatin City-County Health Department are implementing precautionary and protective measures for the citizens of the City of Bozeman; and WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020 the City Manager issued an Emergency Declaration establishing certain authority and powers which such Declaration is incorporated herein; and WHEREAS, on March 26, 2020 the Governor of the State of Montana issued a Directive Implementing Executive Orders 2-2020 and 3-2020 providing measures to stay at home and designating certain essential functions; and WHEREAS, the Governor's Directive identifies "Essential Governmental Functions" as an "Essential Operation", and directs Essential Operations to take proactive measures to ensure compliance with social distancing requirements, including online and remote access where possible; and WHEREAS, on March 27, 2020 the Attorney General of the State of Montana issued a letter of guidance to local governments recommending public meetings be held only for essential business, and those public meetings be held remotely. CITY OF BOZEMAN,MONTANA ORDER IMPLEMENTING MARCH 16,2020 DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY FOR COVID-19 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS Page I of 3 NOW, THEREFORE, as City Manager of the City of Bozeman, Montana, and as chief executive officer of the City, and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the City of Bozeman Charter and the laws of the State of Montana, I hereby issue this Order in fulfillment of the Emergency Declaration dated March 16, 2020. As such, I order the following: 1. This Order applies to all meetings of the City Commission and all public meetings of a City board, agency or committee which has been approved by the City Manager as an "essential"meeting in accordance with the Emergency Declaration. 2. In accordance with the Emergency Declaration,public meeting agendas will be limited to only essential matters. To allow for the quickest and most efficient meeting possible, the "consent agenda"must be used for items that are necessary to continue to provide service to the public,to keep public works projects on schedule,or are directly related to an existing land use application. The City Manager may make exceptions if an item is otherwise deemed to be in the public interest during this emergency. 3. Except as otherwise provided herein, if the City Manager authorizes a public meeting to occur, it must be held by remote attendance and participation through use of a live online videoconferencing platform. a. The online platform used must allow the members of the City Commission or City board, applicants, and the public the ability to see, hear, and participate in the meeting. b. In addition to the live online videoconference platform, the City will continue to ensure meetings which have traditionally been streamed online or broadcast on cable, continue to be viewable on channel 190 and the City's TV and streaming audio webpage. c. The City may limit the public to only audio participation;that is,the platform may allow the public to see video of commissioners, staff, and applicants but not authorize video display of members of the public seeking to comment on an item. 4. If, due to technology issues or other circumstances,the City Manager determines a public meeting must be held and that the meeting method described in Section 3 is not reasonably achievable,the City may hold a remote meeting by telephone. In doing so, the City must ensure, at a minimum: CITY OF BOZEMAN,MONTANA ORDER IMPLEMENTING MARCH 16,2020 DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY FOR COVID-19 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS Page 2 of 3 a. Each member of the City Commission or City board can adequately hear other members, staff, applicants, and members of the public, and b. The public and applicants must be able to hear and participate in the meeting,either via telephone or by other means providing the opportunity to comment. 5. All members of the City Commission or City board,the public, and applicants must be able to observe all materials presented to the City Commission or City board during the meeting. Any materials presented by staff or an applicant that will be presented to the City Commission or City board at the meeting must be provided to the City Clerk or staff liaison no less than 72 hours prior to the occurrence of the meeting to ensure compliance with one of the following methods: a. Accessing the agenda and all related materials on the City's website; b. If providing video conferencing, having the materials available through the video conferencing platform if possible; or c. At the request of a member of the public,the agenda and all related materials must be provided on an individual basis by email, mail, in-person, or other method agreed to by the City and the member of the public. 6. The notice of the public meeting must identify how the meeting will be held, including information regarding how the public may participate remotely and specific information on how to access the meeting through the internet or telephone as appropriate. 7. The City's established rules for taking minutes of or recording the meeting remain in effect. 8. This Order will be in place until cancelled or superseded by subsequent Order of the City Manager. 9. All City departments must take all steps necessary to implement this Order. % e--i— ILI��IA . Dennis M. Taylor, Interim ity Manager ��f-ff�FlF ATTEST:' g B 02'�, Mike Maas a City Clerk � ♦ 1883 • ^ ` CO. OF BOZEMAN MONTANA ORDER IMPLEMENTING MARCH 16,2020 DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY FOR COVID-19 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS Page 3 of 3