Members of a public body in the City of North Olmsted may hold and attend meetings and may conduct and attend hearings by means of teleconference, video conference, or any other similar electronic technology subject to the following:
(a) The City Council has adopted, in an in-person public meeting format and by two-thirds of the members of Council eligible to vote, an Ordinance or Resolution authorizing the public body to hold, attend or conduct public meetings and hearings in a manner authorized by this Section.
(b) Provisions of the Revised Code notwithstanding, members of a public body who attend meetings or hearings by means of teleconference, video conference, or any other similar electronic technology, shall be considered present as if in person at the meeting or hearing, shall be permitted to vote, and shall be counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at the meeting or hearing as required by any ordinance, rule or Charter Art. IV, Sec. 8 of the City of North Olmsted. This section does not authorize individual members of a public body to participate and vote at public meetings or public hearings via teleconference or video conference when the public meeting or public hearing has not been authorized via Section 3(a) herein.
(c) The public body shall provide notification of meetings and hearings held under this section to the public, to the media that have requested notification of a meeting, and to the parties required to be notified of a hearing, at least twenty-four hours in advance of the meeting or hearing by reasonable methods by which any person may determine the time, location, and the manner by which the meeting or hearing will be conducted, except in the event of an emergency requiring immediate official action. In the event of an emergency, the public body shall immediately notify the news media that have requested notification or the parties required to be notified of a hearing of the time, place, and purpose of the meeting or hearing.
(d) The public body shall provide the public access to a meeting held under this section, and to any hearing held under this section that the public would otherwise be entitled to attend, commensurate with the method in which the meeting or hearing is being conducted, including, but not limited to, live-streaming by means of the internet, local radio, television, cable, or public access channels, call in information for a teleconference, or by means of any other similar electronic technology.
(e) The public body shall hold and conduct meetings and hearings in such fashion as to enable the public to observe and hear the discussions and deliberations of all the members of the public body, whether the member is participating in person or electronically, and to enable public participation therein, if required by rule or ordinance. When members of a public body conduct a hearing by means of teleconference, video conference, or any other similar electronic technology, the public body should use electronic equipment that is available to the general public, and the methods must be sufficient to preserve adjudicatory rights and records pursuant to Revised Code Chapter 2506.
(f) Any resolution, rule, or formal action of any kind adopted in accordance with this section shall have the same effect as if it had occurred during an in-person open meeting or hearing of the public body. The authority granted in this section shall apply notwithstanding any conflicting provision of the Revised Code.
(Enacted 11-3-20)