Munich’s district politicians had already dealt with the topic of hybrid meetings last early summer and also decided on appropriate preparatory measures in the event that the corona situation worsened. This is exactly what has happened: Since November 11th, the disaster has been in effect again in Bavaria, which is why the district council will change its rules of procedure accordingly at the meeting in Ismaning next Monday. In any case, the preliminary advisory district committee unanimously launched a new regulation on Monday.
Accordingly, meetings will initially be made possible for the period from January 1 to April 30, in which some of the committee members can take part in presence and others can join in via the Internet. Should the situation require it, this possibility could also apply longer, but only until 31 December next year at the latest; then the corresponding authorization expires.
In mid-November, the FDP group in the district council drew attention to the fact that due to the current infection situation, according to the decisions from July, hybrid meetings in the district committees should now be used. According to District Administrator Christoph Göbel (CSU), some details still had to be clarified. For example, that the regulation should be limited to those meetings that can take place in the ballroom of the Paulaner monastery on Mariahilfplatz, because only there is appropriate technical equipment available.
For the district council meetings with 70 local politicians, which take place in the large citizens’ halls of the municipalities, the prerequisites must first be created. The fact that a maximum of 50 percent of the committee members may connect to a meeting from outside was also specified. “Not that the district administrator will someday sit here alone and the rest of them join in from Mallorca, Crete or anywhere else,” as Göbel said.
The live broadcast of meetings for viewers on the Internet, which the FDP also called for, did not find a majority. Göbel said that the administration had dealt with the issue in detail, but suggested that a “streaming” should be rejected. Green district councilor Susanna Tausendfreund also argued in this direction: The district must respect data protection and also that individual district council members may not want to appear on the Internet. “And if not everyone agrees, it won’t do any good.”
The mayor of Brunnthal and CSU district councilor Stefan Kern fears that discussions could be less open in the event of a live broadcast. He noticed it in his local council, which was more controversial when there was little audience. Ultimately, streaming of the meetings was rejected by a large majority by the district committee.