[Board] FW: Attending Meetings Electronically, Posting Meeting Notices Online, and Other Helpful Info

Mon Mar 23 19:01:11 EDT 2020

From: Ann Terry <noreply at sdaco.org> 
Sent: 03/20/2020 11:32 AM
To: Darcy Beard <darcybeardcpa at comcast.net>
Subject: Attending Meetings Electronically, Posting Meeting Notices Online,
and Other Helpful Info

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Reminders for your consideration . . . Practice tips in these strange days

A number of statutory items are at your disposal that should make things a
little easier for you as we all work to balance day-to-day operations with
the need to be keep the public, staff, and Directors safe and healthy.

Attending Meetings by Telephone, Skype, Zoom, WebEx, etc.:

Our guidance to members to regarding hosting and attending meetings remotely
is found in the SDA Board Member Manual: "A Director is required to attend
Board meetings. Attendance may be made via telephone conference as long as
the Director is able to hear and be heard, telephonic attendance satisfies
the attendance requirement. §24-6-402(1)(b), C.R.S. Any absences should be
noted and excused (where appropriate) in the minutes of the meeting."

In this period of social distancing this is a prudent step to protect all
participants in the meeting. If you have questions about this procedure, we
strongly suggest that you consult your legal counsel. Remember, if the
meeting is conducted by telephone or other remote technological means you
must make public access available.

Posting Meeting Notices Online:

In 2019, the Colorado legislature passed a bill that allows local
governments, special districts included, to post meeting notices online
instead of the physical posting as has been required in the past. This is
particularly helpful as regular physical locations for postings may be
closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

As before, the Board must designate and post the time and place for all
Board meetings, and also designate a place to post the required 24-hour
agenda notices of the meetings. §§32-1-903(1)(2) and 24-6-402(2)(c), C.R.S.

Electronic Notice:

On or after August 2, 2019, a district shall be deemed to have given full
and timely notice of a public meeting if the district posts the notice, with
specific agenda information if available, no less than 24 hours prior to
holding the meeting on a public website of the district. The notice must be
accessible at no charge to the public. The district shall, to the extent
feasible, make the notices searchable by type of meeting, date and time of
meeting, agenda contents, and any other category deemed appropriate by the
district, and shall consider linking the notices to any appropriate social
media accounts of the district. A district that provides notice on a website
shall provide the address of the website to the Department of Local Affairs.
A district that posts notices on a public website may in its discretion also
post a notice by any other means but is not required to do so. If a district
is unable to post a notice on a public website pursuant to this section, the
district shall post its meeting notices in compliance with paragraph
(A)(1)(b). §24-6-402(2)(c)(III), C.R.S.

SDA suggests adopting a resolution that future meeting notices will be
posted online.  

Filing Emergency Orders:

We have received questions regarding the ability of a special district to
declare a local disaster. To assist you, we have gathered some relevant
information for special districts to consider in declaring a local disaster.

A special district can declare a local disaster pursuant to §24-33.5-709,
C.R.S. This could potentially make federal funding available and allow the
district to implement emergency rules and procedures. Here's what the
statute states:

1.     A local disaster may be declared only by the principal executive
officer of a political subdivision. It shall not be continued or renewed for
a period in excess of seven days except by or with the consent of the
governing Board of the political subdivision. Any order or proclamation
declaring, continuing, or terminating a local disaster emergency shall be
given prompt and general publicity and shall be filed promptly with the
county clerk and recorder, city clerk, or other authorized record-keeping
agency and with the office of emergency management.

2.     The effect of a declaration of a local disaster emergency is to
activate the response and recovery aspects of any and all applicable local
and interjurisdictional disaster emergency plans and to authorize the
furnishing of aid and assistance under such plans.

3.     No interjurisdictional emergency management agency or official
thereof may declare a local disaster emergency unless expressly authorized
by the agreement pursuant to which the agency functions. An
interjurisdictional emergency management agency shall provide aid and
services in accordance with the agreement pursuant to which it functions.

It is important to have a good emergency plan in place for your district
that will promote public safety and give people confidence in their local
government. SDA always encourages districts to work with their own legal
counsel and human resource professionals, including with matters pertaining
to your emergency response protocols and operations.

For additional information please
<http://link.agtownmarketing.com/ls/click?upn=UaN1OH1vv462Xm8mq26u2BJBbOEWe4
9EIQAsZPstvutxcTkikdLdRtGo2-2BWU-2FGNd37PA_uujwFm8dKE442RxIN3Nln4wWAkRQnqof4
nNeowaAF0K0wK-2Bw7NFzjzbANmCtjtPViKpZL9W1BUAmhQSJln-2Fvw0B-2B8Kjz0P-2FfNTU8G
-2BA6wGcG8j9JyqQZPKitZLPlNhmkiK1rKVYc5ZJxBUce69DAB1KFNdOIuc0AY1qQhh8DfTI2AxS
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hm6cvbDteBI> click here to access the SDA COVID-19 Resource Page. We strive
to keep this page updated on alerts, emergency orders, announcements, and
other rapidly changing circumstances.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Ann Terry
Executive Director

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225 East 16th Ave Suite 1000

Denver, CO 80203

United States

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