The Berrien County Board of Commissioners will consider a resolution declaring a state of emergency next week…but only because they will need to continue to meet virtually in order to abide by current crowd gathering sizes in Michigan.
The County Board says that as the impending expiration of the virtual meeting option for public meetings approaches on March 31, 2021, they intend to address the issue at next week’s regular meeting.
The Board recognizes that the current Michigan Department of Health and Human Services orders limit the number of attendees in a meeting to 25, while maintaining social distancing of 6-feet. The current amendment to the Open Meetings Act (OMA) that allows for virtual meetings, however, will expire on March 31, 2021. They say that given the number of people allowed in a meeting, the twelve members of the Board of Commissioners recognize that they cannot limit the public and yet the order restricts the number of attendees to 25. They also recognize that many other boards, councils, and organizations are facing the same challenge.
At next week’s Board of Commissioners’ meeting, they are planning to pass a resolution enacting a state of emergency for the purpose of allowing continued virtual meetings to be compliant with the Open Meetings Act after March 25, 2021.
In declaring a local state of emergency to maintain continuity of government by the county, it will include the ability for all public bodies within Berrien County to meet virtually, consistent with the Open Meetings Act provisions, without further action on their part. The resolution will authorize the state of emergency through June 30, 2021.
At any time that legislators take action at the state level to create allowances for public bodies to meet and/or if the number of allowed people in a room expands to an adequate level, the Berrien County Board of Commissioners will rescind the state of emergency.
