Nearly half statewide believe going remote decreases overall quality of local government meetings ...
By jurisdiction type, county officials are by far the most enthusiastic about the impact of virtual meetings on citizen
engagement, with a majority (58%) saying it somewhat or significantly increased citizen engagement, and just
9% saying it decreased. City officials are also more likely to say virtual meetings had a positive (47%) rather than
negative (20%) impact on citizen attendance and engagement. Township and village officials are more likely to say
their citizens’ engagement decreased as a result of virtual meetings.
In terms of debate and discussion amongst board or council members, most local officials are substantially more
negative about the impact of virtual meetings. Only 8% statewide say the quality of discussion increased when
holding meetings via video or teleconference, compared to 43% who say the quality decreased. By region, over half
(53%) of local leaders from the West Central part of the state say virtual meetings hurt the quality of their Board/
Council discussions. And by urban-rural status, leaders from fully urban jurisdictions (48%) are particularly likely
to say Board/Council discussions were negatively impacted by virtual meetings.
When assessing the overall impact of virtual meetings, 47% think the quality of their public meetings declined,
while 41% say it did not change appreciably, and just 12% say it increased. Township officials report the most
negative assessments (52%), compared with 33% of county officials, 39% of city and village officials.
The report has a lot of information about government use of websites, what constituents use websites for, and issues related to broadband access. It likely will reinforce what you already know, but it's always handy to have someone other than the library saying it. :) Might also have some nuggets to illuminate how you strategize about your library's website, too. :)