City of Poughkeepsie Will Return to Virtual Meetings

POUGHKEEPSIE – Effective September 16, the City of Poughkeepsie will be holding virtual public meetings in order to continue government business while keeping the community safe.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature recently authorized the continuation of virtual meetings for government boards and committees. This decision was made as Coronavirus cases have been rising, largely due to the Delta variant.

“We think this is the prudent course of action at this time, but we will continue to evaluate the situation,” said Mayor Rob Rolison. “Public safety has to be of the utmost importance. We also urge people to get vaccinated, as is it the best method to fight this pandemic.”

Common Council Chair Sarah Salem said, “With the increase in the number of breakthrough COVID cases due to the contagious nature of the Delta variant, we’ve got to put public health and safety first. I want to thank Governor Hochul for authorizing the continuation of virtual meetings so that we can ensure the health of our community through this unpredictable time. We will continue to monitor the number of active cases and our vaccination rate but for right now the best line of defense for all of us is for folks to get vaccinated and to continue to mask up indoors in public places.”

The Common Council will conduct all council meetings – including special meetings and public hearings – using the Zoom platform.

The Administration also will be moving all board, committee, and commission meetings to virtual platforms starting September 16.