Some local officials will continue to be able to attend government meetings virtually. Virtual meetings first became allowed in Indiana last year during the health emergency. House Bill 1437 made that option permanent, if the governing body adopts a written policy allowing it.
The Culver Town Council adopted its policy Tuesday. Town Manager Ginny Bess Munroe noted that the state law does add a number of stipulations once the emergency ends. “If you’re participating electronically, only 50 percent of your council could, so you could only have two doing that at a time,” she explained. “The others have to be physically present. There’s also, you can only do two meetings in a row or what they call a set, and then your next meeting, you have to be in person.”
There are exceptions for military service or illness. Additionally, those attending virtually are not allowed to vote on budgets, fees, or tax hikes.
Town Attorney Jim Clevenger added that the council could choose to add more restrictions in the future. “You all are very good about attending. That’s not always been, historically, the situation,” he noted. “And so, thinking down the road, would you have somebody that would want to participate more so electronically, and if that’s okay with you guys, then that’s fine. If you want them there more often, then you may want to give some thought to fine-tuning that a bit.”
The Marshall County Council adopted a similar policy Monday, while the Marshall County Commissioners adopted theirs last week.
