Hybrid municipal council meetings now also possible in Rottach-Egern - rules of procedure changed
Created: 01/27/2022, 10:28 am
By: Christina Jachert-Maier
In Bad Wiessee, the municipal council already meets in a hybrid form.
© tp
The format has already been tested in the neighboring towns, and the Rottach municipal council has now also created the legal basis for online meetings.
But not everyone was for it.
Rottach-Egern
– In an emergency situation, the Rottach municipal council should be able to make decisions in a hybrid form.
This means that only the leader of the session, i.e. the mayor or a representative, has to be present in the room.
The municipal councils can connect online.
In order to make this possible, a change in the Rules of Procedure is necessary.
The council approved the change by a vote of 16-5.
The committee had already made the fundamental decision on this in June 2021.
In the meantime, Greens parliamentary group spokesman Thomas Tomaschek, with a view to the Omicron wave, has repeatedly called for an emergency plan to be drawn up (we reported).
This was not without controversy in the municipal council.
Presence a “pillar of democracy”
Vice Mayor Josef Lang (CSU), for example, rejected the change in the rules of procedure.
For him, the fact that the municipal council meets “in parliament form” and discusses with one another in person is a cornerstone of democracy, Lang made clear: “I don’t want to deviate from that.”
But Mayor Christian Köck (CSU) also thinks it is important to discuss "eye to eye" at the council table.
However, he believes it is imperative that the community open itself to hybrid meetings when an emergency situation calls for it.
The decision as to when this occurs is up to the chair of the meeting, i.e. to him as the mayor.
The necessary technology is available in the Seeforum
While hybrid conferences are already taking place in Bad Wiessee, Gmund and Tegernsee, Köck currently sees no reason to do so.
"As long as we can, we will not use this option," Köck made clear.
The Seeforum puts the community in the fortunate position of being able to meet in compliance with the Corona requirements.
In addition, the members of the body are prepared to submit the relevant evidence of participation.
"A residual risk remains," says Köck.
However, he does not think it is appropriate to explicitly blame infections on the municipal council meetings.
"It could also come from somewhere else."
From a technical point of view, hybrid meetings can be held in the Seeforum, explained Köck.
And this, as managing director Gerhard Hofmann added, thanks to the good equipment even without additional costs.
