(A) The village hereby adopts a policy that permits a member of the public body to attend and participate in any meeting of a public body as defined in the Open Meetings Act from a remote location via telephone, video, or internet connection provided that such attendance and participation is in compliance with this section and any applicable laws.
(B) It is the policy of the village that a member of any group associated with the village which is subject to the provisions of the Open Meetings Act (a "covered group") may attend and participate in any open or closed meeting of that covered group from a remote location via telephone, video or internet connection, provided that such attendance and participation is in compliance with this section, the Open Meetings Act, and any other applicable laws.
(C) A member of the covered group of the village shall be provided the opportunity to attend an open or closed meeting from a remote location if the member meets that following conditions and a majority of a quorum of the covered body votes to approve the remote attendance:
(1) The member must notify the recording secretary or clerk of the covered body at least 24 hours before the meeting unless advance notice is impractical;
(2) The member must be unable to physically attend the meeting, for one of the following reasons:
(a) The member cannot attend because of personal illness or disability;
(b) The member cannot attend because of employment purposes or the business of the village; or
(c) The member cannot attend because of a family or other emergency; and
(3) A quorum of the covered body must be physically present.
(D) After roll call, a vote of the covered body shall be taken considering the prerequisites set forth in division (C), on whether to allow an off-site member to participate remotely. All the members physically present are permitted to vote on whether remote participation will be allowed. A vote may be taken to permit remote participation for a stated series of meetings if the same reason applies in each case. Otherwise, a vote must be taken to allow each remote participation.
(E) The member participating remotely shall be counted as present.
(Ord. 2020-29, passed 11-17-2020)