COVID-19 Archives - Page 5 of 5 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

24 Mar, 2020

Governing bodies across Tennessee begin Facebook Live, Zoom, live broadcasts

By Deborah Fisher|2020-05-09T13:23:35-05:00March 24, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: COVID-19, electronic meetings|1 Comment

Hickman County Mayor Mark Bentley welcomed all viewers on Facebook Live and promised to have the video taped and available on the website the next day, which it was. Governing bodies across Tennessee are entering into a week of meetings and business regarding the COVID-19 emergency with a new challenge. They are allowed by the Governor's Executive Order 16 to meet electronically, so long as they provide electronic access to the public. TCOG is getting reports of various approaches. The Knoxville City Council, for example, plans to meet today using Zoom, where all members of the Council can connect from home with their computer audio and video. They haven't yet [...]

Now is the time for governing bodies to quickly implement technology to provide the public better meeting access

By Deborah Fisher|2020-05-09T13:24:11-05:00March 22, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: adequate public notice, COVID-19, electronic meetings|0 Comments

An example of a New Jersey City Council holding a meeting via a Zoom video conference, streaming it live on its Facebook page, and allowing the public to submit testimony via email. (https://hudsonreporter.com/2020/03/21/hoboken-city-council-meets-virtually-to-conduct-city-business/) Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued an executive order on Friday that gave much-needed relief and guidance on how governing bodies may conduct meetings electronically in light of a need to contain the spread of coronavirus. The order contained key provisions TCOG sought, including that governing bodies be allowed to conduct "essential business," make reasonable efforts to provide live electronic access to the public and provide the public with better notice of the meeting agenda and how the [...]

Open meetings during an outbreak: We must preserve transparency

By Deborah Fisher|2020-03-13T14:06:26-05:00March 13, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: COVID-19, open meetings|0 Comments

The chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court announced today that all Tennessee courts would be suspending in-person judicial proceedings through March 30 because of the coronavirus outbreak. There are some exceptions. Business must go on for some essential and critical proceedings. In those cases, the court said the proceedings will be limited to attorneys, parties, witnesses, security officers and “necessary persons” as determined by the trial judge. Also this week, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners announced it will host “virtual meetings for at least the next two weeks.” “These virtual meetings will take place in the 1st Floor Chambers to ensure that residents and employees may view the [...]