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Cities and towns press to make hybrid public meetings permanent; smaller communities warn of technology costs

Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government · October 28, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Municipal leaders across the state urged the committee to make hybrid and remote meeting authorizations permanent and local‑option, citing improved public participation and volunteer recruitment.

Municipal leaders across the state urged the committee to make hybrid and remote meeting authorizations permanent and local‑option rather than a one‑size‑fits‑all mandate.

“Almost every one of our public bodies has hybrid meetings and we absolutely have seen more diverse representation,” Northampton Mayor Janelle LaFontaine said, citing better access for working parents, residents with mobility limitations and…

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