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Virtual Meetings & Public Comment

The guidance below provides useful information for accessing Township meetings remotely and establishing best practices for productive meetings. Links for the Board of Supervisors and Committee meetings will be posted on the Township website and provided via email.  The Public may comment on agenda items or other matters of interest.  As with our traditional, in-person meetings, there will be periods of public comment at all virtual meetings. The public is encouraged to participate during these electronic meetings. 

HOW TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT AT A VIRTUAL MEETING

  • The Township will be accepting public comment up to 3 p.m. the day of the meeting. Comments will be read into the record by the Chairman.
  •  To make a live comment during a virtual meeting you can:  
    • Sign-up prior to the meeting: Click here to email your comment to the appropriate committee by 3 p.m. the day of the meeting. The Meeting Monitor will announce the speaker by name and then the resident will be given the opportunity to state their comment.
    • Sign-up while in the Zoom meeting: Indicate interest by pressing the “Raise Hand” Raise Hand Icon  icon (under the “Participants” option at the bottom of the Zoom screen.  It then appears to the far right of the screen). You will be asked to announce your full name and then be given the opportunity to state your comment.  See more information below.
  • Individual comment limited to 3 minutes each.
  • Total time allotted for Early Public Comment period is 15 minutes.

Live public comments will be accepted during the comment period at virtual meetings, and commenters are asked to maintain the same rules of decorum as they would at a traditional public meeting. More information on setting up Zoom can be found below.

All live public comments will be recorded as audio and video. When the public comment period arrives on the agenda, please use the “Raise Hand” Raise Hand Icon feature and wait to be recognized. When the Chairperson calls your name and invites you to begin your public comment, the host will unmute your microphone. You will see a button pop-up that says the host wants to unmute you – accept the unmute prompt to activate your microphone. You will be asked to provide your name and address for the record. Persons joining the meeting via phone can use the virtual “Raise Hand” Raise Hand Icon feature by pressing *9 on their phone’s keypad.

Solebury Township reserves the right to mute or disconnect virtual meeting participants for:

  • Profanity
  • Hate speech - Promoting, fostering or perpetuating discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation
  • Sexual content or links to sexual content
  • Solicitations of commerce
  • Conducting or encouraging illegal activity
  • Possibly compromising safety or security of public or private entities

DOCUMENTATION OF PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM VIRTUAL MEETINGS

Public comments will be heard, read, or summarized during the meeting. All comments will be included in the meeting minutes, which serve as the official record which will specify the commenter’s name, address and by which method the comment was received.

HOW TO JOIN A PUBLIC MEETING

The Zoom app is available for IOS or Android smartphones, and for computer download.  It is free to the public.  Additional information can be found on the Zoom website: https://zoom.us/

The public can join and view the meeting via Zoom utilizing the information provided for each event. Use the Township Calendar to view all upcoming meetings. Click on the Event's name to view the Zoom details for the meeting, including the Meeting ID and Password which are required to join. If no credentials are listed, the meeting has either been changed to a canceled status, or the meeting is happening in person. 

All Attendees will be muted when entering the Zoom meeting. The Meeting Monitor will unmute one speaker at a time to help prevent background noise.

Some meetings may be recorded (both audio and video) and accessible on the Township's website to allow those members of the public that cannot participate to review the proceeding at a later time. If you do not wish to be video recorded, you may turn off the video function in Zoom.