But Ernstes said that any bouncing back and forth between in-person and virtual meetings could raise legal questions about the exemptions that are currently allowed.
The county is still operating under an emergency declaration that, under the Georgia Open Meetings Act, gives them a wider berth to hold public meetings remotely. Patrick said he’d tried to reach out to Terry several times but heard nothing back Terry said he had the call logs to prove otherwise. He accused Patrick of not being transparent with his decision. “We don’t live in a world now where everything can just be all back in-person,” Terry said. Technology director John Matelski said upgrades are in the works but the county’s Maloof Auditorium, where meetings are held, is not currently equipped to handle “hybrid” gatherings, with some participants in person and others participating via Zoom.Ĭommissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said the upgraded technology needs were something that “could have, or should have, been addressed already.” Colleague Ted Terry said the virtual option has become “very important for public engagement.”
Members of the public are welcome to attend and provide comments or submit their thoughts via email.īut as things are currently set up, Ernstes said, residents will not be able to actually participate in meetings from a virtual setting. The decision has raised some concerns among fellow commissioners, chiefly as pertains to public participation.ĭuring Tuesday’s (virtual) commission meeting, county attorney Viviane Ernstes said future in-person meetings will be shown on DCTV (Comcast Channel 23) and streamed on the county’s website.
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