Hardin County has disabled its Zoom private chat during public meetings. | Pixabay
Hardin County has disabled its Zoom private chat during public meetings. | Pixabay
During the COVID-19 pandemic, small county governments like the one in Hardin County have been using Zoom to conduct meetings and remain accessible to the public but private direct messages among board members could be seen as infringement of open meeting laws.
A review of records show that 425 messages were sent during public meetings and 145 of those messages were "private," sent to or by the Hardin County account, according to KIFG.
The reaction from the county has been to disable these private chats to ensure a more open and accessible meeting for all attendees.
“I think the constructive solution to this is to disable the chat function,” Supervisor BJ Hoffman said. “Nobody can be tempted and it can’t be an issue if it’s not available."
The private chat function is no longer available on meetings conducted through Hardin County's Zoom account, County Attorney Darrell Meyer said. The public chat box is still an option and everyone can view the messages.
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