ORD2025-1 Remote Meeting Attendance

Adopted 8/25/25 1 ORD2025-1 Remote Meeting Attendance Town of Sun Prairie Ordinance 2025-1 An Ordinance to Adopt Remote Meeting Attendance Town of Sun Prairie, Dane County, Wisconsin The Town Board of the Town of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, do ordain as follows: Section 1. Remote attendance permitted. When a meeting is held in person, the Town Chair or designee(s) may allow one or more members of the body, or any Town employee, officer, consultant, contractor or any other person, to appear at the meeting, as defined in Section 19.82 of the Wisconsin Statutes, by telephone, video conference, or other remote methods of participation. Section 2. Upon direction of the Town Chair or designee(s), the body may on a case-by- case basis conduct an entirely virtual meeting, in which no member of the body is present at the Town Hall, subject to the requirements of this section. This includes a state of emergency or public health emergency being proclaimed by a federal, state, or local authority; a lack of quorum being able to be physically present at a Town owned building; or other unique circumstances. Section 3. Notice Required. Any member who is unable to be physically present at an in-person meeting of the Board may notify the Town Clerk/Deputy Clerk no later than two (2) hours before the meeting that he or she intends to participate in a meeting by telephone or electronic means unless advance notice is impractical due to an emergency. If the Town Clerk receives the member’s request in a timely manner, he or she shall attempt to facilitate the request by contacting the member in a manner during the Board meeting that allows the member to participate in the proceedings. The member shall be entitled to participate and vote and shall count toward a quorum. Section 4. Virtual Meeting. The public shall be given access to the system implementing the virtual meeting platform. Information about access to the meeting shall be provided to citizens in a timely manner as part of the meeting agenda notice in a specific and conspicuous manner. Best efforts should be used to ensure that members of the public lacking access to the virtual meeting platform are provided with alternative reasonable methods to attend. Section 5. Technical Requirements and Malfunctions. Each person attending remotely is responsible for his or her audio and internet connection; no action shall be invalidated on the grounds that the loss of, or poor quality of, a member’s individual connection prevented participation in the meeting. Section 6. Forced Disconnections. The Town Chair may cause or direct the disconnecting or muting of a member’s connection if it is causing undue interference with the meeting. The Chair’s decision to do so, which is subject to debatable appeal that can be made by any member, should be announced during the meeting and recorded in the minutes. Section 7. Proper Equipment. Appropriate equipment should be used so that the attending public can readily observe or hear such person’s participation in the meeting. Adopted 8/25/25 2 ORD2025-1 Remote Meeting Attendance Section 8. References. This subsection shall also apply to other Town committees and commissions as defined and outlined in their respective resolutions. Section 9. Severability. The several sections of this subsection are declared to be severable. If any section or portion thereof shall be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable, such decision shall apply only to the specific section or portion thereof directly specified in the decision and shall not affect the validity of any other provisions, sections or portions thereof of the subsection. The remainder of the subsection shall remain in full force and effect. Any other ordinances whose terms conflict with the provisions of this subsection are hereby repealed as to those terms that conflict. Section 10. This ordinance shall take effect upon passage by a majority vote of the members-elect of the Town Board and publication/posting as required by law. Adopted this 25th day of August, 2025 ___________________________________________ Lyle Updike, Town Board Chairman Attest: ____________________________________________ Rhonda Wiedenbeck, Town Clerk Ayes_____ Nays_____ Absent_____ Published/Posted: ____________________