(A) This section solely applies during a state of emergency in the Town of James Island.
(B) Standards for electronic meetings. All Town Council, boards, committees, advisory councils are hereby authorized to conduct public meetings exclusively in electronic form, provided the medium for such meeting, whether telephonic, broadcast video, computer-based, or other electronic media, or any combination of these, and the conduct of the electronic meeting allows for the following standards and practices to be met:
(1) At the beginning of any electronic meeting, the presiding officer shall poll the members of Council, its boards, committees or advisory councils to confirm attendance, and any member of the body attending by way of electronic media shall be considered present for the purposes of constituting a quorum.
(2) Throughout the duration of the electronic meeting, all members of Council, its boards, committees and advisory councils as well as any officials or staff required to speak at such meeting, must have the capability to be heard at all times by a member of Council, boards, committees, advisory councils, and by the general public.
(3) Any vote of Council, its boards, committees, and advisory councils must be conducted by individual voice vote of the members who shall verbally indicate their vote on any matter by stating “yea” or “nay.” All individual votes shall be recorded by the Clerk, secretary, or presiding officers, as appropriate.
(4) Meetings shall be recorded or minutes kept in the same manner as an in-person meeting as required by the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, S.C. Code Title 30, Chapter 4, (the “Act”).
(5) All members of Council, boards, committees and advisory councils, officials, staff, and presenters should identify themselves and be recognized prior to speaking. Members of Council, boards, committees and advisory councils shall strictly comply with the rules of Council, its boards, committees and advisory councils as they relate to procedural matters in order to preserve order and allow for the effectiveness of electronic meetings.
(6) Electronic executive sessions shall be permitted in accordance with the provisions of the Act and Council, its boards, committees, and advisory councils shall properly announce its reason for going into any executive session in conformance with section 30-4-70 of the Act, S.C. Code § 30-4-70. Upon the entry into any electronic executive session, meeting minutes need not be kept and the electronic meeting utilized for such executive session may be held by (i) a separate telephonic, broadcast video, computer-based, or other electronic media, or any combination of these wherein the public shall not be permitted to participate, or (ii) on the initial telephonic, broadcast video, computer-based, or other electronic media, or any combination of these, with the implementation of necessary participation or listening restrictions, provided that in either instance all members of Council, its boards, committees and advisory councils must have the capability to be heard at all times.
(7) Members of the public may submit written public comments which shall be distributed to the members of the body which shall be attached to the minutes. for regular meetings held electronically, the public should be able to make public comments electronically when practically feasible. Conditional of the safety of town staff and the public, members of the public should be able to provide electronic comments to Town Council or its boards, commissions, and advisory councils from Town Hall or other specified physical location.
(Ord. E-01-2020, passed 3-19-2020; Am. Ord. E-03-2020, passed 4-1-2020; Am. Ord. E-03-2020, passed 7-16-2020; Am. Ord. 2020-10, passed 8-20-2020)