Why to hold Asynchronous City Council Hearings (and how to do it)

While COVID-19 has forced many CIty Council meetings to go remote and some business items to be postponed, the country is also seeing a rising trend toward asynchronous Council meetings. The many advantages of holding meetings this way had been proven prior to the pandemic, but have been further highlighted by the current need for remote participation.

What is an Asynchronous Hearing?

Asynchronous means “not happening at the same time.” City Councils that run their meetings asynchronously have hearings that take place on a dedicated website with public input on the website or by automated phone over the course of days, or even weeks, and culminate in a traditional in-person (or remote) meeting for discussion and decision.

For these meetings, the entire public hearing is moved to an online format with pre-recorded presentations and case materials viewable on demand rather than only live on the night of the decision. The site handles questions, has mapping capability, and takes public comment on each hearing agenda item. Comments are read by Councilmembers on their own time and the discussion and voting is live-streamed for the public to view, with or without additional live commenting depending on local law and preference.

Effectiveness through Innovation

The technology was originally designed by city staff of a few pilot cities in Colorado. It has been actively used by a growing number of cities across the country since 2017. In 2019, cities reported as much as 800% increase in engagement in meetings. Up to 70% of public comments come in online prior to the live in-person meeting. 

Cities report reaching a much broader demographic of participants, reaching younger and significantly more diverse populations. One city saw 100 times as many 25-35 year olds participating online as in person. 

Remote participation alone (i.e. Zoom hearings) does not remove the time constraints of traditional hearings. Having one chance at a set time to watch a presentation and wait around for the opportunity to comment is extremely restrictive and prevents many from participation, including residents with families and work obligations. Allowing participation on-demand over a period of days greatly increases the opportunity for participation and the quantity and quality of input.

Benefits

One of the greatest benefits of this type of meeting is that issues and concerns are identified long before the meeting starts. Rather than identifying and dealing with issues right before voting, asynchronous meetings deliver comments and questions in the days prior to the meeting, giving staff and Councilmembers time to consider possible options and resolutions. Both Councilmembers and staff greatly appreciate this aspect of asynchronous meetings.

Because the system was designed by city managers and city clerks, it was created to minimize staff effort. The built in system for questions and commenting save staff from routing emails, collecting comments and passing information to Council. Agendas are simple and quick to build and provide all information to the public and the Council. 

Simple and intuitive agenda management and packet management are built in. It contains the ability to take minutes and record votes during the meeting so that there is no need for other software solutions.

Is it Legal?

Open meeting laws in all fifty states, such as the Brown Act or the Texas Open Meetings Act,  require that most meetings of local government agencies be open to the public, along with their decisions and records.  In general, most statutes require public bodies to meet and deliberate in public. In recent years email exchanges and other technological communications not open to the public have come under scrutiny for violating open meeting laws. 

This system is designed under the provisions of these open meeting laws to operate fully publicly and make public meetings more open and accessible. The service does not replace the live public hearing or the ability of the public to attend in person (or remotely). Instead it adds additional opportunity to participate in a publicly accessible way. And all of the information that is part of any public hearing on the site is fully accessible to the public, unlike email exchanges and other electronic communications.

The site does not provide a way for government decision makers to communicate between each other outside of public view, but does provide the opportunity for the public to provide comment to decision makers in an open format visible by all.

Can CARES Act funding be used?

The cost of remote and/or asynchronous hearings is absolutely an allowed expenditure for CARES Act dollars. Cities can pre-pay for the remainder of 2020 with CARES dollars. Even without CARES funding, the service is designed to be low cost and low commitment. 

Asynchronous meeting software was created as a monthly subscription service. Unlike other technologies for online town halls or agenda management, there are no contracts required and no start up costs. Cities can simply design their website and start using it in a matter of days. Moreover, the monthly cost is about half of those services. It can reduce staff needs, remove the need for other agenda management software, and can start and stop as needed.