As the state slowly reopens and massive federal funding is on its way to cities, many city councils are beginning to look at restarting in-person public meetings. Are you one of them?

AWC has created a brief, two-minute survey to better understand if cities have restarted in-person public meetings, what challenges cities are facing with in-person meetings, and what steps cities are taking to stay in compliance with state and county guidelines.

Please take a moment to complete the survey by Monday, April 26.

Under Phase 2 and Phase 3 of Governor Inslee’s Healthy Washington: Roadmap to Recovery plan, cities can allow in-person attendance at public meetings with limited in-person capacity. Under Phase 2, cities are limited to 25% of the posted room capacity. While under Phase 3, cities are limited to 50% of the posted room capacity. Under both phases, cities are still required to provide the public with virtual access to meetings, at a minimum via telephone.

Under the Governor’s updated reopening plan, meetings subject to the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) will follow the same guidelines as business meetings in the miscellaneous venue guidance document.

AWC encourages city leaders to review the guidance document with your legal counsel as you plan to resume in-person public meetings.