(A) A meeting of the governing body of an entity formed under the Interlocal Cooperation Act or the Joint Public Agency Act, or the Municipal Cooperative Financing Act, of the governing body of a public power district having a chartered territory of more than 50 counties in this state, or of the governing body of a risk management pool or its advisory committees organized in accordance with the Intergovernmental Risk Management Act may be held by telephone conference call if:
(1) The territory represented by the member public agencies of the entity or pool covers more than one county;
(2) Reasonable advance publicized notice is given which identifies each telephone conference location at which a member of the entity's or pool's governing body will be present;
(3) All telephone conference meeting sites identified in the notice are located within public buildings used by members of the entity or pool or at a place which will accommodate the anticipated audience;
(4) Reasonable arrangements are made to accommodate the public's right to attend, hear, and speak at the meeting, including seating, recordation by audio recording devices, and a reasonable opportunity for input such as public comment or questions to at least the same extent as would be provided if a telephone conference call was not used;
(5) At least one copy of all documents being considered is available to the public at each site of the telephone conference call;
(6) At least one member of the governing body of the entity or pool is present at each site of the telephone conference call identified in the public notice;
(7) The telephone conference call lasts no more than one hour; and
(8) No more than one-half of the entity's or pool's meetings in a calendar year are held by telephone conference call.
(B) Nothing in this section shall prevent the participation of consultants, members of the press, and other nonmembers of the governing body at sites not identified in the public notice. Telephone conference calls, emails, faxes, or other electronic communication shall not be used to circumvent any of the public government purposes established in the Open Meetings Act.
(Neb. RS 84-1411) (Ord. 352, passed 6-6-00; Am. Ord. 371, passed 11- 12-02; Am. Ord. 467, passed 12-14-04)