title
CC - ACTION ITEM: (1) Review of the Current Online Meeting Participation Practice Including Determination of Whether or Not to Continue Allowing Virtual Public Comments; and (2) Direction to the City Manager as Deemed Appropriate.
body
Meeting Date: November 13, 2023
Contact Person/Dept.: Jeremy Bocchino / City Manager's Office
Phone Number: (310) 253-5851
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [X] No []
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (11/07/2023)
Department Approval: Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager (10/31/2023)
______________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) review the current online meeting participation practice, including determining whether or not to continue allowing public comments to be made virtually; and (2) provide direction to the City Manager as deemed appropriate.
BACKGROUND/ DISCUSSION
At the March 14, 2022 City Council meeting Council directed the City Manager to return to in-person City Council and Commission, Board and Committee (CBC) meetings beginning April 2022 and to keep WebEx as an option for the public to remotely attend City Council and Planning commission meetings. WebEx meeting participation was added to the other CBC bodies as a courtesy in October 2022.
Over the last six months, numerous California cities have experienced what is being referred to as "Zoom bombing". A zoom bombing occurs when a member of the public (who may be located anywhere in the world) attends a meeting remotely, requests to speak, and when they are unmuted, provide lewd or racist comments. After several racist, offensive outbursts through online public comment during the October 23, 2023 Culver City Council meeting via the City's online portal WebEx, the City Council requested that staff look into how other city councils are handling online speakers in light of...
Click here for full text