Virtual Sessions Keep the Training Going

The interruption of in-person meetings in 2020 as a pandemic precaution has not stopped online training opportunities from the Municipal Association. 

The Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government, for example, replaced in-person sessions for the fall with online courses in October, but it has also maintained a variety of online, on-demand training sessions. The on-demand courses address such topics as budgeting and municipal finance, forms of municipal government, the SC Freedom of Information Act, municipal economic development as well as municipal governance and policy. The MEO Institute will host a virtual Advanced Continuing Education session on October 13, as well as a virtual session on Advanced Municipal Economic Development on October 14. 

In the spring, the Association launched the “Online Orientation Training for Planning and Zoning Officials.” That six-hour course, available to elected officials as well as relevant staff at no charge, covers a state training requirement for all officials working in that area. 

In the fall, Risk Management Services began to host online training sessions. It launched “Workers’ Compensation Nuts and Bolts” for members of the SC Municipal Insurance Trust and SC Municipal Insurance and Risk Financing Fund. This fall, it will host several virtual trainings for SCMIT and SCMIRF members: 

• October 6 – Recruiting and Hiring, Use of Force and Traffic Pursuits. Registration is required. 
• November 10 – RMS Annual Members Meeting, featuring prerecorded content. No registration will be needed. 
• December 9 – Public Works/Utilities Risk Management Online Training. No registration will be needed. 

Many of the Municipal Association’s affiliate associations are also creating online versions of their scheduled annual meetings and quarterly meetings. Find the list of all of them on the Association’s Training Calendar.

Preparing and Executing Effective Virtual Meetings

Some city and town councils have moved their meetings to virtual formats because of the pandemic. Some boards, commissions and committees have also changed their meetings into virtual events. Virtual meetings create difficulties for conducting meetings — speakers muting and unmuting themselves, or participants trying to avoid talking over one another. 

These challenges can make the planning and preparation that go into meetings all the more important. The Municipal Association has a handbook, How to Conduct Effective Meetings, which can help with many of the aspects of preparing for and participating in meetings. 

For example, the handbook includes the importance of a council adopting rules of procedures, which is required by state law in SC Code Section 5-7-250(b). Using Roberts’s Rules of Order provides one way to satisfy the requirement. Even so, Robert’s Rules are not designed for a city or town council, so using them exclusively can create difficulties. The handbook contains a set of sample rules of order that councils can modify for local needs and then adopt. 

Another critical consideration is the process of establishing an agenda and publicly distributing it. The SC Freedom of Information Act requires public notification of meetings, with agendas, 24 hours in advance for all meetings where there will be a quorum of council, whether the meeting is in person or virtual. Once the agenda and agenda packet are complete, every councilmember needs to receive the agenda packet at relatively the same time well in advance of the meeting — for example, the weekend before the meeting. This allows councilmembers the critical time they need to familiarize themselves with material and ask staff questions as needed. 

The presiding officer's role in a council meeting, ordinarily the mayor, is critical to the process. The presiding officer needs to be familiar with the rules of order adopted by the city or town and work to facilitate the meeting both firmly and courteously. The person in this role should help make sure that only one councilmember speaks at a time, and that every voice on council is allowed to speak. The presiding officer should also ensure that residents who wish to make comments do so only at designated times. Presiding over meetings is one of the topics covered in the How to Conduct Effective Meetings handbook. 

More information 

• Conducting effective meetings podcast, Part 1 and Part 2 — Hear from Municipal Association field services managers Charlie Barrineau and Jeff Shacker about the different types of council meetings and their requirements, preparing and participating in meetings and handling executive session appropriately 
• Municipal Association videocasts on setting up electronic meetings and electronic meeting best practices
• Uptown articles: Take Care With Executive Session Procedures, Keeping Public Participation Productive, Running Council Meetings Effectively