Explanation
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this ordinance is to amend Chapter 111 of the Columbus City Codes to allow Council to hold virtual meetings and allow virtual attendance to otherwise in-person meetings and hearings.
With the onset of the COVID pandemic, quarantine and social distancing became not only household terms, but best practices. However, there was the possibility that public meetings could not be conducted in Columbus, as prescribed by the state, without potentially spreading the virus. Ohio law places strict mandates on elected and appointed members of public bodies being in-person to conduct business in meetings. Though the state legislature did pass temporary exemptions to these mandates, the City remains subject to the sunsets of these exemptions, given that we must follow the general laws of the state. However, home rule allows for local exceptions to state statute in this situation. Other cities in Ohio, including Cleveland in 2021, have allowed for Council ordinance to determine the need for virtual meetings.
In July 2022, the decennial Columbus Charter Review Commission recommended a charter amendment that would allow Council to conduct virtual meetings. Council placed this recommended amendment on the November 2022 ballot, when it was passed overwhelmingly by Columbus residents. It is now incumbent on Council to effectuate this charter change with an amendment to the City Codes that establishes how Council may allow for virtual meetings. The amendment does the following:
· Allows Council to hold meetings & hearings in-person, virtually, or a combination of the two
· Establishes the means by which Council may hold virtual meetings & hearings
· Establishes that such meetings and hearings are to be conducted in such a way as to ensure that members of the public are able to observe and hear the public discussions and deliberations of all the members of Council, whether members are attending in-person or virtually
This amendment...
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