COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Coldwater City Council will be asked on Monday night to pass a resolution which would allow the city to keep holding virtual and electronic meetings through the end of August.
An amendment to the Open Meetings Act which permits “no-reason” remote or virtual meetings held by electronic and / or telephonic means ends on March 30.
But City Attorney Megan Angell points out that although legislation has been introduced in the State Legislature to extend that March 30 deadline, the bills are inconsistent with each other and neither of them has progressed out of committee.
If the Michigan Legislature does not act on these matters, then the next Council meeting on April 12, 2021 would have to be held in person. Capacity in the Council Chambers would be limited to 25 with social distancing and the wearing of masks required.
Angell says in her letter to the Council that one of the amendments to the Open Meetings Act from 2020 specified that remote meetings under the rules previously adopted may take place if a statewide or local state of emergency or state of disaster has been declared which is what the proposed resolution states.
She points out the resolution mirrors what other Michigan municipalities have either already done or are contemplating doing in light of the uncertainty that the legislature will act by the end of this month.
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