LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Governor Whitmer has signed a new executive order that makes changes to the Public Bodies Act until April 15.
Under this temporary change, public bodies may now conduct their meetings electronically, while also facilitating public participation.
“We are taking every measure we can to mitigate the spread of coronavirus and protect Michigan families, but recognize that public bodies still have an obligation to conduct business as usual,” Whitmer said. “During this crisis, we must ensure that public officials can do their job to meet the needs of residents, while also ensuring that meetings remain open, accessible and transparent to the public.”
Executive Order 2020-15 allows public bodies subject to the Open Meetings Act, including boards, commissions, committees, subcommittees, authorities, councils, and nonprofit boards, to use telephone or video-conferencing methods for holding meetings and conducting business during the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health crisis, so long as they follow certain procedures to ensure meaningful access and participation by members of the public body and the general public.
Public bodies must meet the following criteria when holding a public meeting electronically:
- Ensure two-way communication for members and the public to hear and address each other.
- Provide adequate notice to the public of the meeting.
- Post a public meeting notice on their website.
- Permit participants to record or broadcast the public meeting.
- Allow participants to address the public body during a public comment period.
Additionally, public bodies, departments, and agencies are now authorized to use technology to enable remote participation in public comment and hearings. School boards are now temporarily excused from monthly meeting requirements.
In Kalamazoo, City officials took measures earlier this week in the event of some meetings needing to be cancelled.
City Manager Jim Ritsema has been authorized to conduct proper business on behalf of the commission up to $5 million. The spending limit was previously set at $100,000.
“In the event that a commission meeting has to be rescheduled or cancelled, it would allow myself to execute any documents and contracts to purchase and enter into contracts,” Ritsema said. “A key to this is first, its any budgeted items in the 2020 budget. The reason the amount is so high is because we have some fairly significant capital improvement projects coming up in those dollar amounts, and we want to continue working on those behind the scenes so that we don’t lose the construction season that’s coming up.”
Ritsema must notify the commission of any such spending within 24 hours before execution.
Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.
