How to Encourage Participation While Running Lawful, Effective Meetings

By Amber Eisenschenk

Government meetings and public discourse have changed over the past five years. Your city may be benefiting from more public participation in city decisions, more volunteers, and expanded access to the decision-making process through technology. Other cities have found that this increased participation can make it difficult just to get through the normal council agenda.

Every community has a unique culture, but the rise of social discourse can make having lawful, effective meetings challenging for even the most experienced city officials.

Keeping meetings open and transparent

In the 1950s, Minnesota enacted the statutory framework for its Open Meeting Law. Most states have a version of what are sometimes called “sunshine” laws. These laws were created to give the public access to elected officials as they receive information, have deliberations, and take actions. Transparency and openness of government have long been foundational to the Open Meeting Law; however, as technology has changed the ways we do many things, the law’s language hasn’t adapted as fast.

Law changes allow for remote meetings

During the pandemic, many cities explored using technology to run their meetings for the first time. While there was some flexibility for this to happen, drafters of the law likely didn’t consider the technology capabilities of our time or the nature of a prolonged pandemic. This has led to recent technology-related legislative changes to the Open Meeting Law.

In 2020, the Minnesota Legislature passed provisions allowing for council members, who were advised by a health care professional against being in a public place for personal or family medical reasons, to still be present for the meeting through technology from a nonpublic location up to three times in a year. At that time, the provisions only applied during a state of emergency. In 2023, the Legislature removed the state of emergency stipulation, giving greater flexibility to those with health conditions.

Legislative changes also were made to expand what constitutes acceptable technology for hosting meetings. In 2021, the statute that mentioned “interactive TV” was changed to “interactive technology” to reflect the technology capabilities of platforms like Zoom and the reality that this was more accessible to users. It also required councils to allow for public comment if holding a remote meeting.

In the coming years, many cities would like additional flexibility in statute to have remote meeting options, especially for their nonelected boards and commissions. They suggest this will attract participation in city government from underrepresented groups of residents.

Encouraging participation

With the advent of remote meetings, some communities found that technology enabled more people to participate because of increased access and flexibility. As in-person meetings have resumed, maintaining that participation can be difficult. Here are some tips to run effective meetings and keep community members engaged.

Prepare before each meeting

Council meetings can be more efficient if city officials and staff are prepared. Wyoming Mayor Lisa Iverson reads the Council packet and reaches out to staff before each meeting. “No council member likes to pull into a full parking lot and not know why it’s full” she says.

Public perception isn’t great when everyone can tell that a council member is reading the packet for the first time during the meeting. It’s a better practice to read it as soon as possible. This gives time to ask questions from city staff prior to the meeting. By taking this step, staff can brief the council with the additional information that may be necessary to make a decision, which can reduce the number of items that will have to be postponed to a future council meeting agenda.

Know what matters to your community

While not directly related to meetings, it’s crucial to know what’s important to residents, since council members are elected to make good decisions for the community. That means being aware of what’s important to your residents, understanding what your business community needs to thrive, and appreciating your regional community’s interests.

If you aren’t talking to your community, you’re missing opportunities to understand how they view your city. What do they think you are doing great? What could the city do better? If it’s hard for you to get your grocery shopping done in a timely manner or eat a hot meal at the local restaurant because people are chatting your ear off, you probably already have this step mastered.

Identify your city’s short- and long-term goals

When new council members are taking in all this information from the community, it’s often normal to want to fix all the problems. But keep in mind, these problems didn’t all develop overnight, so it’ll likely take time to develop and implement solutions.

Make sure to understand the city’s short- and long-term goals. If you don’t know what they are, ask staff if there are plans. If your council hasn’t had a conversation about that recently, set aside some time in a work session when you can have informal conversations about priorities. City staff likely have ideas, too. Ask for their input and advice.

Understand the process

Having lawful, effective meetings doesn’t usually happen by accident. Once the council has established routines for preparation, the council’s rules of procedure, bylaws, and customs take over to establish the process of doing business.

New members of the council and staff who participate in meetings should be provided some orientation to feel confident stepping into their first meeting. Have you adopted formal rules of procedure? In what order do council members vote? Having a process for the little things aids in transparency for all.

The mayor usually serves as the presiding officer during council meetings. They are responsible for maintaining the order of business during the meeting, which can be a challenging task. Having all the council members knowledgeable of the requirements of the Open Meeting Law and the operation of a governmental unit will certainly aid the presiding officer in good governance, but this also takes time.

Meetings can get off track, but creating a culture that relies on formal processes can aid in getting them back on track quickly, Iverson says. “With council members, they know what standard we adhere to, so I very simply gavel and say, “point of order,” reminding council what the topic is and should be going forward. If this agenda item has been discussed at a work session, I will remind them of the work session, and only allow new questions.”

Council members should learn by reading about the laws, attending training on the core topics, finding ways to advance advocacy and leadership skills, and connecting with mentors outside the council who can provide advice. While opinions will be different, a council united with respect for each other will encourage courteous participation from all sides.

Encourage involvement

To operate a well-functioning government, cities also need participation from their stakeholders. Becker Mayor Tracy Bertram arrives early so she’s first to greet attendees.

“I try to connect with them prior to the start of the meeting with a warm welcome and answering any logistical questions they might have,” she said.

Many cities have some form of public comment period or “open forum” at regular meetings. This allows the public to address the council with their concerns. It is common for the council to have an adopted policy that sets a limited time for each person who wishes to speak. Speakers may bring up topics that city officials don’t have authority over, but general First Amendment protections will usually give them the opportunity to speak.

When the council is going to discuss a major public issue, the council may decide to limit the amount of time for each side to express its views.

Council members should also consider how they want informal communication to occur with residents. Most cities establish email addresses for council members, but providing a phone number for residents to contact can also be helpful.

Be a leader

Your community selected you to lead. Listen, learn, and prepare for your role. And have some fun, Bertram says. “If the meeting is fun and energetic, the time goes by quickly and keeps people in a good mood and you’re able to get through a lot of topics with ease. It also helps with getting people to come back to a meeting versus dreading the unwanted time spent at a government meeting.”

Amber Eisenschenk is the research manager at the League of Minnesota Cities.