Overview
As you are now aware, the Public Display is where most activity by Members will be viewed, real-time, by the public. There is one activity however, that allows the Clerk to publicly edit the Agenda Item Detail that is presented on the Public Display. The most common example of this is when a Resolution narrative is displayed, and the Members are discussing specific changes to the language of the item. When the Resolution narrative is showing on the Public Display, the Clerk may make changes in real-time as directed by the Chair. This allows all (Members and the Public) to see the requested changes in full context, with the existing language.
For purposes of illustration, we’ll assume that you are now well-versed in preparing and starting meetings and have already started a Meeting with the Public Display running in your meeting room. For more detail regarding the Public Display, please see the following document links.
Details / Sequence of Events
In this example, we’ll assume you have a meeting in progress and are in discussion of a key and important Resolution. Discussion by the Members is happening as shown below, where there is a motion, a second and speakers are actively in discussion.
Public Display – Showing Activity during Discussion
Public Display – Showing & Editing Resolution Detail
Showing Full Item Detail on the Public Display
First, the Full Resolution (Ordinance, Proclamation or other document) narrative will need to have been included as part of the Item Summary / Detail within this Agenda Item (when you created this Agenda). If you need to understand more about how to add Item Summaries & Detail to the Agenda, please review the following document link:
To display this detailed narrative on the Public Display, the Clerk will Select Maximize Summary on the Meeting Manager as shown below:
The following will display on the Public Display (note slider bar)
Select Edit Item on the Meeting Manager
The Agenda Item Editor will display on the Meeting Manager
In the Agenda Item Editor (on the Meeting Manager), the Clerk may make any changes to the narrative showing on the Public Display, as directed perhaps by the Chair or Members as discussion is taking place. You may want to put your edits in parenthesis or noted by name of member making the suggestions, to designate that these are “suggestions” and may need voting on during the Amendment process.
NOTE that making edits to Resolution language is often associated with the proposal of an Amendment. All of the above, may likely take place within the context of an Amendment, proposed by one of the Members. To understand more about how Amendments are handled within the Meeting Manger, please see the following link:
Select OK whenever you want the Public to see what you have keyed.
Use the Slider Bar in the window to move up and down the document.
The Public Display will show your changes each time you press OK as shown on the following screen. The YELLOW shading below is only for the sake of this documentation … the system does not currently allow color fonts or highlighting, but is being considered for a future release.
Finalizing the Edits
Pressing OK on the Meeting Manager Agenda Editor locks in the changes made during editing. Upon pressing OK, you are still in this Items Discussion Mode. When finished with discussion, and as directed by the Chair, you may move into Voting Mode, to vote on the amended language.
NOTE that your proposed language changes (that you’ve inserted into the Agenda Detail and perhaps noted who proposed these) will remain in the Agenda Detail for viewing and reference later, when you are preparing you Meeting Minutes for approval AND for finalizing the amended / approved language changes to the document (Resolution, Ordinance, Proclamation, etc…).
Notes / Special Situations
If you are having issues that are not successfully addressed above, or you are not been successful signing into the Meeting Manager, please call OpenMeeting Customer Support at 320.249.0555.
Transparency to the Public
It is often advantageous for the public to see the narrative of a Resolution being discussed on the Public Display. This feature can offer transparency and understanding as discussion is taking place and the language is finalized. This is a tool that is optional depending on the situation, the item, and druthers of the Chair and Members. This may be helpful to the public during contentious or difficult decision making.
Multiple Public Displays
You may wish to display the Public Display on multiple large monitors in the meeting room. For example, you can have the Public Display showing all the activity noted above in this document, but also intermix those displays by showing .PDF documents, Word Documents, Photos, Internet Pages, and Videos during your meetings. OpenMeeting will be happy to discuss this with you and your IT and A/V support team should you wish to understand how this can be set up. Feel free to call us and we’ll book a time to discuss these details.
