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**VILLAGE OF RED HOOK RESOLUTION #___ – 2026 DATED: APRIL 1327, 2026**
## **RESOLUTION TO REQUIREUPDATE VIDEOCONFERENCE ACCESS AND SECURITY FOR ALL PUBLIC MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES**
**WHEREAS,** the Board ofadopted Trustees is committed to ensuring public access to all its meetings, a principle reinforced by the Open Meetings Law and by our ownvideoconferencing procedures adoptedon April 10, 2023 (asResolutions Resolution #7-2023 and #8-2023), which requirerequiring that the public be able to observe and participate in Board meetings by video; and
**WHEREAS,** unauthorizeda individualsdisruption interruptedat the ZoomMarch videoconference of a recent2026 Board meeting, broadcasting offensive content, and said disruption overrode the security settings reported to be in place at the time, demonstrating that standardthe Village’s Zoom meetingaccount controlsconfiguration arerequires insufficientcontrol toat preventthe suchadmin attackslevel; and
**WHEREAS,** the appropriateVillage responseClerk must have admin access to athe disruptionvideoconference ofaccount publicin access isorder to strengthenverify security,and notmaintain tothose restrict or eliminate the public’s ability to attend remotelysettings; and
**WHEREAS,** a Zoom Webinar license is available at approximately $34 per month under the nonprofit discount for which the Village qualifies, and provides the security controls necessary to prevent the type of disruption experienced; and
**WHEREAS,** there is no fiscal or technical justification for curtailing public videoconference access tois currently offered only at monthly Board meetings, excluding workshops and special meetings; and
**WHEREAS,** this Resolution addresses public access onlyworkshops and doesspecial notmeetings alterare the requirements for Board member attendance or the quorum rules established underwhere the Board conducts substantive deliberation and regularly takes binding votes; and
**WHEREAS,** Board members and residents may have caregiving responsibilities, work schedules, or disabilities that make attending evening meetings in person difficult, and the current Board — four of five of whom have minor children at home — can appreciate this need; and
**WHEREAS,** extending videoconference access to all public meetings advances the Village’s videoconferencingstated procedurescommitment adoptedto Aprilimproving 10communications with the public; and
**WHEREAS,** 2023the current practice of requiring the public to contact the Village Clerk in advance to obtain a meeting link might create a barrier to attendance;
**NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED** by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Red Hook as follows:
**1. Account access.** The Village Clerk shall obtainbe the primary administrator of the Village’s Zoom account. The current account holder shall provide full admin credentials to the Clerk immediately following adoption of this Resolution. The Clerk shall verify and maintainlock athe security settings described in the attached Zoom WebinarSecurity license for public meetingsGuide, atand approximatelyremain $34primary peradministrator monthgoing with nonprofit pricingforward.
**2. All public meetings.** Every meeting of the Board of Trustees at which a quorum is present shall provide a virtual attendance option for the public via the selected platform. This includes regular meetings, special meetings, workshops, public hearings, and informational sessions. This amends the current practice of offering videoconference access only at monthly Board meetings.
**3. Public link.** The videoconference link shall be posted on the Village website, and included in the meeting agenda. Any policy, andpractice, inor allposting videoconferencing-relatedrequiring communications of the Board. No member of the public shall be required toadvance contact any Village official in advance to obtain the link is hereby rescinded and shall be removed from all Village communications, agendas, and web pages prior to the next noticed public meeting.
**4. New link per meeting.** The Village Clerk shall establishgenerate a processnew meeting link for receivingeach meeting. Meeting links from prior meetings shall not be reused.
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**5. Public comment.** During public comment fromperiods, members of the public attending by videoconference, ensuringshall they arebe afforded the same opportunity to speak as those attending in person.
**5.** TheAll Boardpersons herebywishing authorizesto expenditurespeak fromshall make themselves known to the Generalmeeting Fund for the selected videoconference platform. The Chief Budget Officer is directed to include this appropriation in the currenthost and subsequentstate fiscaltheir yearname budgetsand, if a Village resident, their address.
**6. Recording.** TheAll Village’smeetings ITconducted consultantusing videoconferencing shall be responsible for platform setup, security configuration,recorded and trainingshall thefollow Villageall Clerk on the operationstipulations of the selected platform. The Village Clerk shall be responsible for posting the videoconference link on the Village website and including it in meeting agendas and allBoard’s videoconferencing-related Boardprocedures communicationsadopted April 10, 2023.
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**7.** Nothing in thisThis Resolution modifiesgoverns public access to meetings and does not alter quorum requirements. The Board may revisit the Board’s adopted procedures governing Trustee remote attendance byseparately, videoconferencein orlight of pending state legislation and the requirementsexpiration forof establishingPOL §103-a quorumon July 1, 2026.
**8. Severability.** If any provision of this Resolution is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
**9.** This Resolution shall take effect immediately.
Motion by: ____________________
Seconded by: __________________
The foregoing resolution was duly put to a vote, which resulted as follows:
|Mayor Smythe|□Aye|□Nay|□Abstain|□Recuse|□Absent/Excused|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|DeputyMayor Kjarval|□Aye|□Nay|□Abstain|□Recuse|□Absent/Excused|
|Trustee Uku|□Aye|□Nay|□Abstain|□Recuse|□Absent/Excused|
|Trustee Allen|□Aye|□Nay|□Abstain|□Recuse|□Absent/Excused|
|Trustee Rothstein|□Aye|□Nay|□Abstain|□Recuse|□Absent/Excused|
|Vote Total||||||
|Result|Motion:|||||
I hereby attest that the above Resolution was approved by the Board of Trustees at its April 1327, 2026 meeting, and that I have been authorized to sign this Resolution by decision of the Board of Trustees.
Jennifer Cavanaugh, Clerk
Date Date: _______________
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