At its June 17 Chair’s Meeting, the City Council voted to establish a new hybrid format for its meetings, replacing the current webinar format with a controlled Zoom system. The webinar format was used during Covid to allow the public access to City Council meetings. Following a defamatory “Zoom bomb” incident during one of its meetings, however, the City Council voted to use a webinar format that limits the participation of attendees.
Public reaction to the webinar format has been generally negative. People complained about the limitations on their access to other participants. City Council President Marc Laredo promised members that they would be able to discuss and, if they chose, replace the webinar model. Newton City Clerk Carole Moore, in consultation with the Law Department, provided the Council with three options:
1) Continue the webinar model
2) Use a Zoom option with pre-registration
3) Use a mute Zoom option requiring the Meeting Clerk to unmute speakers.
After considerable discussion, during which City Councilors Lisle Baker, Josh Krintzman, Susan Albright, Bill Humphrey, and Maria Greenberg expressed preference for retaining the webinar model, and Councilor Andreae Downs spoke for the registration Zoom model, the Council voted for a Zoom model with the Meeting Clerk in charge of unmuting those who wish to speak (Option 3).
Councilor John Oliver — who chairs a Community Dialogue Working Group inviting residents to share their suggestions about ways to make the Council more accessible – said that the Zoom model with controls will open up civic engagement and involvement. City Council President Marc Laredo told Fig City News, “I think our new Zoom system for meetings will provide appropriate security against disruptions while allowing residents to feel that they can better observe our meetings. We will test it out through the end of September and then evaluate the results.”