Andover and other Massachusetts municipalities will likely be able to continue holding remote and hybrid meetings beyond Friday.
An authorization born in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic allowing government meetings to be held remotely was set to expire Friday. Municipal leaders across the state have been pushing for an extension as residents praised the convenience of the meetings. Both the state Senate and House of Representatives have passed bills extending the authorization and are expected to reconcile the legislation before Friday’s deadline.
The House version extends the authorization to April 1, 2023. The Senate version extends the mandate to Dec. 15, 2023.
Some towns, like Peabody, have already made remote and hybrid participation permanent, according to a report by Government Technology. While some boards in Andover resumed meeting in person, they continued to allow remote participation by residents. Other boards, like the planning board, have continued fully-remote meetings.
The Massachusetts Municipal Association warned the House version puts a financial burden on towns that are less “tech savvy” and urged reconciliation in favor of the Senate bill, which sets aside state money to offset those costs.
“Municipalities have been dedicated to continuing this access and MMA recognizes the intent and goal of virtual access and participation by the public, yet the path to achieving the House’s goal is steep and complex. An expansive and expensive mandate at this time is not realistic and would undermine the thoughtful work by municipalities to propel this essential work forward,” the group said in a statement.
At Wednesday morning’s Andover High School Building Committee meeting, committee member and Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said he expected the state to continue to allow remote meetings beyond Friday’s deadline, allowing the committee to schedule its next meeting as a virtual one.
“There are a number of bills to extend virtual meetings, but they have not been enacted yet,” Flanagan said. “If they’re not enacted, we’ll be required to meet in person. I expect them to be enacted, but if they’re not enacted before the legislature breaks, [remote meetings] will not continue.”
Even if the bills are not reconciled, committees and boards could continue to meet in a hybrid format as long as the chair and a majority of the board met in person, Flanagan said.