The mayor alone in the town hall, the councilors at home on their screens.
In an emergency, it was decided in August, that a Wiesse municipal council meeting may look like this.
Mayor Robert Kühn thinks it has now entered.
Bad Wiessee -
Nowhere in Germany does Corona have events as firmly under control as in the Miesbach district. The sad top spot in the incidence ranking allows Wiessee's mayor Robert Kühn (SPD) to activate the emergency plan. The next meeting of the municipal council on Thursday, November 11th, will take place in hybrid form. Means: The elected representatives can also participate virtually. The municipal council decided in August that this should be possible in the event of a corresponding hazard. This required a change in the rules of procedure.
“In my opinion, we now have an emergency,” explains Kühn. The municipality of Bad Wiessee has taken precautions for this case. Thanks to modern technology, you can secure democratic processes and maintain the decision-making process at all times. “From one day to the next,” says Kühn. The community doesn't have to book a company or get a camera. “We are technically up to date.” According to Kühn, there are no additional costs for a hybrid session. The community made the conference room technically fit for around 8,000 euros and also bought a high-performance program.
The agenda for this first hybrid session will be short.
The public debate from 7 p.m. onwards will only focus on two points: the further development of Bad Wiessee into a bicycle location and the registration of the need for the urban development program in 2022.
No broadcast to the public
Speaking of the public: media representatives and listeners cannot participate virtually.
Otherwise, only the chairman of the meeting, i.e. the mayor or his deputy, has to be present in the room.
Kühn is currently unable to estimate how many local councils will use the offer to connect online.
The elected representatives do not have to make a decision until 3 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
Anyone who decides to participate virtually will receive an access link for the session.
The public could then follow the meeting online if the debate were broadcast in an accessible manner.
“I would like that,” says Kühn.
He submitted an application eleven years ago, but it was not approved.
But perhaps the hybrid session is the first step in this direction, says Kühn.
Tegernsee City Council meets in the Quirinal
The topic of hybrid sessions was discussed in the summer not only in Bad Wiessee, but around the lake.
The Tegernsee construction committee even undertook a test run.
Nevertheless, on Tuesday, November 9th, both the Tegernsee City Council and the Rottach-Egern and Gmund municipal councils will meet in attendance.
Tegernsee Mayor Johannes Hagn (CSU) explains that he has thought about a hybrid meeting.
Ultimately, however, given the size of the meeting room in the Quirinal parish center, there is no need to forego a meeting in attendance.
“We can ensure adequate ventilation and space in the Quirinal,” says Hagn.
A hybrid meeting would not even be possible at the Quirinal location.
"There is no sufficiently strong WiFi available there," reports Hagn.
Mayor Köck does not want experiments
In Rottach-Egern, too, the idea of a virtual meeting fails because of the equipment.
"Technically, we do not yet have the option of transporting hybrid vehicles in such a way that it is legally compliant," explains Mayor Christian Köck (CSU).
In the - well ventilated - Seeforum it is also easy to keep your distance.
Köck does not want to undertake experiments with hybrid meetings: "Our resolutions must also hold."
In Gmund's town hall, you don't have to think about whether a hybrid meeting would be better: The Gmund municipal council rejected this in principle, although there was a violent corona outbreak there in April.
Mayor Alfons Besel is not happy with this decision: "I find that very regrettable."