(A) Definition of meeting. The term MEETING as used in any existing village resolutions, ordinance or rules shall be defined to mean, “Any gathering, whether in person or by video or audio conference, telephone calls, electronic means (such as, without limitation, electronic mail, electronic chat and instant messaging), or other means of contemporary interactive communication, of a majority of a quorum of the members of a public body held for the purpose of discussing public business” or such other definition as shall be contained within the Illinois state statutes.
(B) Remote Participation Policy. Village Trustees hereby adopt the Remote Participation 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 the policy and any applicable laws.
(1) Policy statement. It is the policy of the Village of Wapella that a member of the Village Trustees (or any village committee, board or commission associated with the village, which is subject to the provisions of the Open Meetings Act) may attend and participate in any open or closed meeting of that covered body from a remote location via telephone, video or internet connection, provided that such attendance and participation is in compliance with this policy and any other applicable laws. (When applying this policy to a covered body other than the Village Trustees, the term “Village Trustees” as used below shall mean that covered body).
(2) Prerequisites. A member of the Village Trustees shall be provided the opportunity to attend an open and closed meeting or only one of such meetings from a remote location if the member meets the following conditions and a majority of a quorum of the Village Trustees votes to approve the remote attendance:
(a) The member must notify the Village Clerk at least 24 hours before the meeting unless advance notice is impractical;
(b) The member must meet one of three reasons described herein why he or she is unable to physically attend the meeting, including either: (1) that the member cannot attend because of personal illness or disability; (2) the member cannot attend because of employment purposes or the business of the village; or (3) the member cannot attend because of a family or other emergency; and
(c) A quorum of the Village Trustees must be physically present at the location of the meeting as posted in the meeting notice.
(3) Voting procedures. After roll call, a vote of the Board shall be taken, considering the prerequisites set forth in division (B)(2) of this section, on whether to allow an off-site board member to participate remotely. All of 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 instance of remote participation.
(4) Quorum and vote required. A quorum must be established by members physically present at any meeting before it can be considered whether to allow a member to participate in the meeting remotely. A vote of a majority of a quorum shall be necessary to decide the issue. For the meeting to continue there shall always need to be a quorum physically present.
(5) Minutes. The member participating remotely shall be considered an off-site participant and counted as present by means of video or audio conference, for that meeting if the member is allowed to participate. The meeting minutes shall also reflect and state specifically whether each member is physically present, present by video, or present by audio means.
(6) Rights of remote member. The member permitted to participate remotely will be able to express his or her comments during the meeting and participate in the same capacity as those members physically present, subject to all general meeting guidelines and procedures previously adopted and adhered to. The remote member shall be heard, considered, and counted as to any vote taken. Accordingly, the name of any remote member shall be called during any vote taken, and his or her vote counted and recorded by the Clerk and placed in the minutes for the corresponding meeting. A member participating remotely may leave a meeting and return as in the case of any member.
(7) Meetings. The term “meeting” as used herein refers to any gathering, whether in person or by video or audio conference, telephone call, electronic means (such as, without limitation, electronic mail, electronic chat, and instant messaging), or other means of contemporaneous interactive communication, of a majority of a quorum of the members of a public body held for the purposes of discussing public business.
(8) Closed meetings. A quorum of Village Trustees members must be physically present at any closed meeting. Members participating remotely shall otherwise be entitled to participate in closed meetings by video or audio conference.
(9) Costs. A member participating remotely via telephone shall be reimbursed for the cost of the telephone call upon a valid receipt shown. Any other costs associated with remote participation, including video conferencing and other audio and video equipment, must be approved by Village Trustees.
(10) Remote meetings due to declared emergency. An open or closed meeting may be conducted by audio or video conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the members, so long as the following conditions are met:
(a) The Governor or the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health has issued a disaster declaration related to public health concerns because of a disaster as defined in Section 4 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, and all or part of the jurisdiction of the public body is covered by the disaster area;
(b) The head of the public body as defined in subsection (e) of Section 2 of the Freedom of Information Act determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting conducted under this Act is not practical or prudent because of a disaster;
(c) All members of the body participating in the meeting, wherever their physical location, shall be verified and can hear one another and can hear all discussion and testimony;
(d) For open meetings, members of the public present at the regular meeting location of the body can hear all discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of the body, unless attendance at the regular meeting location is not feasible due to the disaster, including the issued disaster declaration, in which case the public body must make alternative arrangements and provide notice pursuant to this section of such alternative arrangements in a manner to allow any interested member of the public access to contemporaneously hear all discussion, testimony, and roll call votes, such as by offering a telephone number or a web-based link;
(e) At least one member of the body, chief legal counsel, or chief administrative officer is physically present at the regular meeting location, unless unfeasible due to the disaster, including the issued disaster declaration;
(f) All votes are conducted by roll call, so each member's vote on each issue can be identified and recorded;
(g) Except in the event of a bona fide emergency, 48 hours' notice shall be given of a meeting to be held pursuant to this section. Notice shall be given to all members of the public body, shall be posted on the website of the public body, and shall also be provided to any news media who has requested notice of meetings pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of the Freedom of Information Act. If the public body declares a bona fide emergency:
1. Notice shall be given pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of the Freedom of Information Act, and the presiding officer shall state the nature of the emergency at the beginning of the meeting.
2. The public body must comply with the verbatim recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06 of the Freedom of Information Act.
(h) Each member of the body participating in a meeting by audio or video conference for a meeting held pursuant to this section is considered present at the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all proceedings;
(i) Public bodies holding open meetings under this division (B)(10) must also keep a verbatim record of all their meetings in the form of an audio or video recording. Verbatim records made under this division (B)(10)(i) of this section shall be made available to the public under, and are otherwise subject to, the Open Meeting Act.
(j) The public body shall bear all costs associated with compliance with this division (B)(10).
(Ord. 2010-2, passed 2-16-2010; Ord. 2020-4-28A, passed 4-28-2020; Ord. 2021-1-19, passed 1-19-2021)