Virtual council brings strange sounds, unflattering angles and an inability to unmute

Unmuted microphones picking up barking dogs, ringing phones and what could be someone hammering.

The silence when someone tries to speak, but forgets to unmute their microphone. Deeply unflattering camera angles.

They're among the sometimes awkward moments municipal councils face while holding virtual meetings because of the pandemic.

One technical snafu involving a looping echo left Saint John's deputy mayor unable to weigh in on proposed cuts to city spending. Shirley McAlary said she's not sure exactly what caused the issue.

"I'm not a techie, I didn't sign on to be a techie," McAlary said in an interview. She said there was no one she could turn to at that moment to seek help and she didn't want to drop out of the meeting.

Across the province, municipal staff and council members were forced to rapidly adapt to virtual meetings as the pandemic led to a ban on public gatherings.

"Every municipality has tackled this in its own way," Steven Hart, Oromocto's chief administrative officer, said in an interview. Hart is also president of the Association of Municipal Administrators of New Brunswick.

Alma, one of the province's smallest municipalities, now uses the video conference application Zoom to hold its meetings. Members of the public can request the conference call details to observe the meeting.

Some municipalities are broadcasting meetings live on Facebook, allowing residents to ask questions as the meeting takes place.

A key element of council meetings are that they're open to the public so residents can see elected officials transacting official business.

Cities like Saint John, Dieppe and Moncton already broadcast their meetings online or on local Rogers television channels before the pandemic.

Dieppe's meeting is now run through Zoom with Mayor Yvon Lapierre at the controls. He and a handful of staff are the only people still in the council chamber for meetings.

"You often end up paying more attention to the technology than the actual conversations because you're always looking for the next person to speak," Lapierre said.

While the video conferencing tools allow council to carry out city business, he said it's a "colder" and less efficient format than in-person meetings where visual and verbal cues add to the discussion.

Dieppe already had cameras installed in its council chambers for broadcasting meetings, something Lapierre noted smaller municipalities may not have or be able to afford to set up.

Riverview recently added microphones and the ability to stream its meetings. A recent meeting stream shows an empty council table below a screen showing the councillors and staff.

But the switch raises questions about access to public meetings.

Patchy internet service in rural parts of the province, or those who can't afford internet access, can leave people without the ability to view meetings they may have been able to watch in person.

'It has to be a public meeting'

"It's a concern," Lapierre said. "It has to be a public meeting, so you kind of have to redefine what's a public meeting."

Technical snafus can result in councillors dropped from meetings or, like McAlary, unable to weigh in on significant issues.

Several residents in Moncton took part in a recent multi-hour zoning hearing by phone.

Lapierre said Dieppe is encouraging residents who may want to raise questions to submit them in advance of a meeting.

The ability to take part in council meetings electronically wasn't allowed until the province passed the Local Governance Act in 2017.

But the law only allows councillors to take part in up to 25 per cent of regular meetings or four special meetings electronically per year. The only exception is for reasons of disability.

Premier Blaine Higgs announced Thursday the section is being waived using the province's state of emergency declaration.

Unclear how long it will last

It's unclear how long it will be before in-person council meetings resume.

The province's guidelines for easing measures to control the pandemic suggest gatherings of up to 10 people could be allowed as early as mid-May if there aren't more cases. A later phase may allow for gatherings of up to 50 people.

Councils in the province can range from a minimum of four members up to 13 in Fredericton. A municipal clerk, chief administrative officer and other staff often attend depending on what's on an agenda.

That pushes many council meetings above a 10-person limit, especially if members of the public turn out in droves to show support or opposition for a contentious issue.