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Roseville council discusses limits on remote participation after state law changes
Summary
City staff and council members debated whether to limit remote participation by elected and appointed officials after the legislature removed prior location/meeting-frequency restrictions; staff will draft ordinance language proposing a three-times-per-year cap and accommodations.
City manager Pat Trojgen opened a policy discussion at the Aug. 11 meeting after recent state legislative changes removed several previous restrictions on public officials’ remote participation in meetings.
The change matters because the prior rules required disclosure of a remote location or allowed limited exceptions for medical or military reasons; the legislature’s revision, Trojgen said, “just took away all, of that, requirement away,” enabling broader remote participation so long as members are visible and audible at the public meeting location.
Council members debated whether the city should set local limits. Several members said in-person participation is preferable for deliberation and relationship-building and that hybrid meetings can be clumsy; others urged discretion for medical or caregiving needs and cautioned against creating barriers for prospective commissioners who cannot reliably attend in person. City attorney Rachel Tierney advised building accommodation language into any local rule so commissions could also apply the standard and to consider narrow exceptions for short-notice executive sessions.
Mayor Roe and council members directed staff to draft policy language that would: start with a three-times-per-year remote participation cap for both council and commission members, preserve a discretionary accommodation path for medical or other exigent circumstances, treat council and commissions the same, and keep particular executive-session scheduling exceptions to avoid hampering time-sensitive attorney–client or personnel discussions. Trojgen said he will return with proposed wording for the council to consider at a future meeting.
