Backup — original pdf

Backup

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9      RESOLUTION NO. WHEREAS, since March 2020 the Austin City Council and City Boards and Commissions have been unable to meet in person due to the stay-home work order resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, and it is unknown at this time how long these conditions will last, and WHEREAS, City of Austin uses Cisco WebEx along with analog phone calls to enable virtual meetings of the Austin City Council and City Boards and Commissions; and WHEREAS, the Texas Legislature enacted H.B. 2840 in order to ensure 10  that members of the public have the right to address governmental bodies prior to 11  their decisions on items under consideration; and 12  WHEREAS, call-in public participation allows for members of the public to 13  provide testimony from home as opposed to traveling to City Hall; and 14  WHEREAS, members of the public have reported difficulties including lack 15  of awareness of registration deadlines, shortened speaker times, extended time on 16  hold, incomplete speaker queues, call disconnections, and feedback during calls; 17  and 18  WHEREAS, the City’s technology choices and procedural rules have 19  unintentionally limited public participation and even denied members of the public Page 1 of 3     26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  37  38  39  20  the right to address the Austin City Council and/or City Boards and Commissions; 21  NOW, THEREFORE, 22  BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN: 23  The Ethics Review Commission makes the following recommendations to 24  improve equitable access to and opportunities for public participation in Austin 25  City Council and City Boards and Commission virtual meetings.  Rules and instructions for public participation in virtual meetings should be publicized on Council, Commission, and Board websites and included at the top of all meeting notices and posted agendas.  Any changes to rules and instructions for public participation in virtual meetings should be timely and openly discussed by the Austin City Council and City Boards or Commissions.  Adhere to normal public speaking time limits and rules for time donation.  Either eliminate preregistration requirements for public participation or reduce the advance time required.  During meetings, make the queue of speakers and who is next in line visible to the public. The complete ordered list of speakers should be posted as part of the permanent public meeting record.  Allow for written testimony to be read and pre-recorded testimony to be played during virtual meetings. Page 2 of 3  Allow for speakers to easily re-establish connections if their call is disconnected. ADOPTED: , 2020 ATTEST:_______________________ Jannette S. Goodall City Clerk 40  41  42  43  44  45  46      Page 3 of 3