Commissioners move to increase public access
Virtual meetings enable residents to participate
The Berks County commissioners have announced several changes in the way they do business in an effort to keep residents informed of the decisions being made during the coronavirus emergency while respecting the federal and state social distancing guidelines.
That will mean transitioning to a stronger digital presence.
The commissioners said transparency will be crucial as they begin to set their sights on the steps needed to reopen county government.
“While there is much that needs to be done, we believe the county and the commissioners need to make more changes to provide more access and visibility for the public into decisions that need to be made as we transition towards a new normal,” the board said in a press release.
This new normal will include greater access to the weekly board meetings, which will be held virtually as a Microsoft Teams live event and broadcast on BCTV.
Prior to the 10 a.m. Thursday meetings, the county will post a virtual meetings guide on its website telling residents how they can watch and participate in the public meetings.
The public will continue to be able to view the agendas, meeting minutes and other documents that already are available on the county website.
This is a departure from how the board had been meeting. For the past month, the board had been meeting at the Berks County Department of Emergency Services building in Bern Township on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.
The commissioners said they have not established any deadline for when public meetings will move back to being held in person. For now, they said neither the board nor the public will be meeting in the same room.
The board will also begin holding budget and operations meetings again each week to discuss business facing county government. Those meetings will be held virtually as a Microsoft Teams live event on Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. and later posted on the county website.
In addition to easing back into its weekly routine, the board announced that the Berks County COVID-19 Leadership Team would no longer be meeting unless an emergency arises related to the coronavirus. The team had been meeting daily under the rules set out in the emergency disaster declaration the board approved in March.
With the winding down of the leadership team, the commissioners said they will begin holding weekly meetings on Thursday afternoon to discuss the next steps in the recovery process.
The Recovery & Beyond Committee will meet each Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. virtually as a Microsoft Teams live event and later posted on the county website.
The committee includes the commissioners and their executive assistants, Chief Administrative Officer Ron Seaman, Solicitor Christine Sadler, Human Resources Director Jessica Weaknecht and Human Resources Deputy Director Kristen Scheffler.