Chatham Sets Ground Rules For In-Person, Remote Meeting Access

CHATHAM, NJ — As the Chatham Township Committee moves forward through its remaining meetings of 2021, Committee Members plan to adopt two resolutions at Thursday’s upcoming meeting to clarify that in-person meetings are the official format, with remote access to meetings a secondary convenience.

The resolutions spell out these rules, including an update to Township Committee meeting by-laws, because of a special meeting on July 8. At this meeting, there were both in-person and remote attendees, with it mentioned before the meeting - when a significant thunderstorm was expected - that if the connection dropped, the in-person meeting would continue.

Chatham Township’s Attorney Albert Cruz stressed the importance at the Committee’s last meeting in July that the public would need to receive notice in advance of what the meeting format would be at every meeting, should there be a power outage because of a storm or an internet issue.

“The Township Committee meeting will continue to be held notwithstanding because the in-person meeting held at the municipal building is the only official meeting of the Township Committee,” one of the resolutions state.

The Township Committee notes in its upcoming agenda that meetings will be in person with Zoom access as well “as a convenience and accommodation for the public for the remainder of 2021,” according to the resolution. The Zoom access information will be provided before every meeting at least 48 hours ahead of schedule, not only on the township’s website but on agendas and the municipal building’s bulletin board in the main hallway.

If there’s a special meeting, the Zoom information will be included on the notice for that meeting.

People participating by Zoom can do so by video or by phone, raising their hand in either format, during public comment sessions. If those attending remotely would like to submit written comments before the meetings, they’ll need to before 3 p.m. on the meeting date. Only one public comment will be allowed, whether in-person or submitted, during each comment period, with a five minute limit to speak or have comments read. If there are comments that are repetitive, the resolution indicates they “may be summarized.”

The upcoming in-person meetings through January 2022 for Chatham Township’s Committee that are planned at the municipal building are on: Sept. 9, Sept. 23, Oct. 14, Oct. 28, Nov. 18, Dec. 16 and Jan 6, 2022’s reorganization meeting.

RELATED: Chatham Committee To Fine-Tune Remote Meeting Guidelines

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