City Council Tasks Other Bodies To Increase Remote Access

MELROSE, MA — The City Council on Monday night committed to continuing expanded remote participation for its meetings and encouraged other boards and committees to follow suit.

A resolution offered by Councilors Jen Grigoraitis and Leila Migliorelli highlighted the importance of allowing for public viewing and remote public comment, two of the bright spots in city government to emerge from the pandemic.

"The people who often get left behind in the ability to participate in remote participation are those who work nights ... as well as parents who are trying to juggle work and after-school activities, disabled, seniors," Migliorelli said. "So offering this hybrid approach is something we definitely want to encourage the other boards and commissions to do."

The City Council and School Committee have long had their meetings broadcast on MMTV, but the ability to weigh in remotely was limited to writing emails or letters prior to the pandemic. Other vital boards and committees, especially those not meeting in the Council Chambers, were often left to do their business largely out of the watchful eye of the public.

That changed during the pandemic, but the requirement to provide the ability for remote participation ended after the state of emergency was lifted.

The resolution found support with Mayor Paul Brodeur — who briefly spoke in favor of it — as well as Commission on Disability Chair David Hoff and Commission on Women Chair Rilda Kissel. The commission heads noted that people with disabilities and women are disproportionately impacted by a lack of remote participation options.

"The opportunity to publicly participate in meetings remotely allows for greater and more diverse public participation and stronger government transparency and accountability," Hoff said in a letter.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook