While most members of the Englewood City Council expressed a preference for in-person attendance to city meetings during a June 20 discussion, Councilmember Cheryl Wink — who has faced scrutiny for her attendance record through an ongoing recall effort — defended virtual attendance.
Councilmember Rita Russell raised the topic during the June 20 city council meeting, sharing her desire for in-person attendance rather than virtual or hybrid, which means the option for virtual or in-person attendance.
“COVID-19 is over and we need to get back to in-person meetings. I think all boards and commission meetings need to be in person. I think we need to move forward with that soon,” Russell said.
“And I also think that we need to go to in-person city council meetings and no hybrid meetings,” she continued. “The public wants us to be back in person, and I think that we do need to be back in person.”
Several other members of the council explained they prefer in-person attendance but think a hybrid option should be available in case someone is unable to attend in person.
Wink, who was attending the meeting virtually for the third time in a row, did not express a preference for in-person attendance over virtual.
“I have a job that asks me to travel a lot. So, I don’t know. I mean, I — I’m not gonna quit my job to make $900 a month, $800 a month (the amount the city pays councilmembers), just so I can go in person every day, every week,” Wink said. “It’s just a little bit unrealistic.
“And maybe council should move to a type of thing where people don’t have careers that may ask them, you know, to miss some meetings,” she added. “Things to consider — I mean, what are we really, what are we winning and what are we losing in what we’re saying here?”
How often do councilmembers attend meetings virtually?
Virtual attendance to city council meetings is allowed but in-person attendance is preferred, according to the City of Englewood City Council Policies manual.
It states, in part, “Electronic participation is intended to be an infrequent or occasional substitution for physical attendance by members of the city council.”
The Englewood Herald reviewed the seven councilmembers’ attendance at regular city council meetings between Jan. 18, 2022, (the date when the Wink recall petition states she began missing excessive meetings) and June 20, 2023.
There have been 36 meetings in that time period, and all the councilmembers except for Wink have attended in person the large majority of the time.
Of the 36 meetings, Wink attended 13 meetings virtually, attended 12 meetings in person, and was absent for 11 meetings.
Councilmember Chelsea Nunnenkamp held a distant second place for virtual attendance, attending two of the 36 meetings virtually. She was absent for one meeting and attended the other 33 meetings in person.
Three other members of the council — Mayor Othoniel Sierra, Councilmember Joe Anderson and Mayor Pro Tem Steven Ward — virtually attended a regular city council meeting just once in that time period.
Sierra was absent for three of the 36 meetings and attended the other 32 meetings in person.
Anderson was absent for one meeting and was in person for the other 34 meetings.
Ward, with a perfect attendance record including his single virtual meeting, was in person at the other 35 meetings.
Councilmember Jim Woodward also had a perfect attendance record, attending all 36 meetings in person.
Russell was absent for one of the 36 meetings and attended the other 35 in person.
Councilmembers discuss offering hybrid option but prefer in-person attendance
Following Russell’s comment, Woodward expressed support for boards and commissions meetings being primarily in person.
“I would be in favor of that,” he said. “I think there’s certain things that happen, or whatever emergencies or whatever, where people might have to go hybrid or go online.”
Anderson said he supported moving to in-person or hybrid meetings for boards and commissions.
Nunnenkamp said being in person is “fantastic” and that she tries to be in person for meetings.
“The boards and commissions I’m on are almost exclusively in person,” she said. “I will say, as someone with a job that requires them to travel, I have made it work in other countries, in other cities, to still be at these meetings because it’s incredibly important to me.”
“On the rare occasions that I have to do that, I like the opportunity to not miss a meeting and to still fully participate. And so I would be disappointed if we said there’s no hybrid option ever, but … as our policy manual states, the preference is to be in person,” she added.
Sierra said he prefers the in-person option but would still like the hybrid component to be available for both the council as well as for the city’s boards and commissions.
“Can city staff reach out to the boards and commissions and just state that, you know, we would like to have a hybrid model … at least in place, where you should be in person or at least get a room scheduled for each of these board or commission meetings (but) also provide a hybrid option?” Sierra asked City Manager Shawn Lewis.
Anderson said he thinks the city may need to update its policy manual for the boards and commissions.
“I think, now, they’re allowed to be virtual meetings, in the policy manual,” he said. “I would just suggest changing that to require them to be in person with a hybrid option, for the boards and commissions.”
Sharing a different perspective, Wink said her job as a software architect requires frequent travel.
“This has been the case since before COVID, right? It’s not, like, a COVID thing,” she said. “For someone to say, ‘Oh, you must be in person now,’ like, I work in a world that’s just very different than that.”
“For people who don’t work or — I get it … the not understanding it,” Wink added. “For you to demand that we must be in person, I think is — it’s gonna be tough on people that have certain careers that are active and that require them.
“I mean, loads of young professionals work remotely (and) won’t apply for our boards and commissions if there’s no virtual option,” she continued. “There are loads of young families that rely on these options.”
“So, for boards and commissions and for council, in consideration of those policy changes, you know — I mean, obviously … I understand your opinions,” she said.
Following Wink’s comments, Sierra said that from what he heard during the council discussion, there is a preference among the council to move boards and commissions to be in person but also provide a hybrid option.
“I think the same is true of city councilmembers as well,” he said. “It does sound like, as Member Anderson stated, there is a need to update our … manuals to properly reflect what’s the expectation.”
Nunnenkamp added, “I agree with what you just said, mayor, but would like to be clear that I think the virtual option should be the exception and not the rule. There should be an effort to be in person.”
Keywords
Englewood,
Attendance,
Englewood City Council,
Virtual attendance,
Hybrid attendance
