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Council tests Zoom webinar format and adopts amended meeting-participation policy
Summary
After public commenters reported difficulty participating in the new webinar format, the City Council discussed testing panelist/cohost roles and amended and adopted its meeting rules and participation guidelines to allow schedule/location flexibility.
Essex Junction City Council members on Jan. 8 tested hosting their meeting as a Zoom webinar rather than an open Zoom meeting and adopted an amended City Council meeting policy giving the council flexibility to alter time or place when needed.
Lede: Council members and several remote attendees reported problems with visibility and the ability to signal participation when the council ran the meeting in webinar mode instead of the meeting mode that shows all attendees' video; the council voted unanimously to adopt the City Council rules of procedure with a small amendment so the “regular meeting” language allows meeting time or place to be changed when necessary.
Nut graf: The city tried the webinar format to reduce chance of disruptive participants (“Zoom bombers”) and to give remote viewers a controlled way to raise hands for public comment. Residents and remote attendees told the council they missed seeing who else was in the meeting and that hands raised were sometimes not visible unless staff promoted an attendee to a panelist.
Public comments and staff response: Resident Brian and Risa (remote) both said they had repeatedly raised hands during remote meetings and were not recognized until staff made them panelists; Amber (panelist/TV operator) and staff confirmed that panelist and attendee views differ and that cohosts or additional panelists could be assigned to monitor chat and raised hands. Staff said meeting minutes will continue to include an attendee list downloaded from Zoom to preserve record of remote participants.
Rules adoption: Council Member Marcus moved to adopt the City Council rules of procedure (the consent-agenda item that had been pulled for discussion). The motion added an amendment to section 3, paragraph 1 so regular meetings “will take place on the second and fourth Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Hall conference room unless otherwise designated.” The council approved the amended policy unanimously.
Why it matters: Council members said webinar mode reduces risk of disruptive participants and can be managed with additional cohosts or panelists, but they acknowledged a learning curve and asked staff to test roles, provide guidance for future meetings and ensure remote attendees remain clearly documented in minutes.
Ending: Councilors said they will experiment with the webinar mode for a few meetings, assign additional staff or cohosts as needed, and collect feedback from remote participants to refine the approach.
