State court decision leads to confusion on meetings

Royal Oak among cities curious how overturn on executive orders affects Zoom meetings

Royal Oak is among cities statewide watching to see how last week’s Michigan Supreme Court decision to overturn Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive orders related to COVID-19 will affect the ability of municipalities to conduct public meetings remotely on Zoom or other digital systems.

“At this point, a final order has not been issued invalidating the executive order authorizing remote meetings,” said Royal Oak City Manager Paul Brake, “so we are continuing on with the (city) video meetings as scheduled.”

Royal Oak’ s City Commission meeting on Monday will be conducted remotely on Zoom.

The state Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that Whitmer had no authority to issue the executive orders without approval of the Legislature.

There has been some confusion about when the court’s ruling takes effect. Among the governor’s executive orders is one that allowed state, county and local governments to have meetings on Zoom or similar video conferencing, which is normally not allowed under the state Open Meetings Act.

The City Council in Lansing canceled and rescheduled its meeting this week due to uncertainty over the court’s ruling.

Ferndale officials, like those in Royal Oak, have decided to continue with their Zoom meetings for now, said City Manager Joseph Gacioch.

“Michigan’s Open Meetings Act requires public (government) meetings to be conducted in person,” Gacioch said, adding that many people at first didn’t realize that the court’s decision against Whitmer’s executive orders included the one she made suspending the requirement for in-person meetings so they could be conducted remotely on digital platforms.

“It’s our understanding that there is a 21- day period to appeal the state Supreme Court’s decision from the time it was made until it goes into effect,” Gacioch said. “But we’ll repurpose our systems to accommodate in-person meetings in the near future.”

Officials from different cities have been in contact with each other as they try to gain clarity on the legality of conducting remote meetings.

Gov. Whitmer has asked the state Supreme Court to extend the date its ruling goes into effect until Oct. 30

The nonprofit Michigan Municipal League, an advocacy group for hundreds of cities statewide, published a blog post for member communities on the court’s ruling.

“The League, working with bipartisan support in both the state Senate and House, is happy to announce the introduction of Senate Bill 1108 and House Bill 6207,” wrote Matt Bach, the MML’s communications director. “The legislation would amend the Open Meetings Act to allow for electronic ‘virtual’ meeting to take place without an executive order suspending some requirements, under specific circumstances.”

Changes under the bills would allow remote meetings during a state or local state of emergency, such as when a public body member has a medical condition. Inperson meetings and a combination of virtual and inperson meetings would also be allowed under the proposed bills.

Royal Oak has already scheduled and given public notice of several upcoming remote meetings, Brake said.

“We could attempt to convert those to in-person meetings, or evento some kind of hybrid meeting with at least a quorum of the members present,” he said.

However, converting those meetings will bring a number of practical problems while the city is working out technical issues that remain from recently opening Royal Oak’s new City Hall, Brake said.

“We’re continuing to monitor the litigation anda ny related activity in the Legislature,” he said.

Most other communities in the Royal Oak area will likely continue with remote virtual meetings on Zoom meetings for councils and commissions, said Royal Oak City Attorney David Gillam.

“What happens at the end of this month or early November could be a different story,” he said. “We’re all looking for more guidance.”