I wonder if this is relevant to the “dispensation”:
“Likewise, it is permitted to attend to affairs of the public on Shabbos, such as going to the governor or to the meeting hall of the government officials, to speak on behalf [of the community], because affairs of the public are considered mitzvah necessities.”
Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 90:5
That seems to be based on Shabbos 113a: “‘From seeking your wants.’ [Isaiah 58:13] [This teaches that] your wants are forbidden [on the Sabbath, i.e. one must refrain from activities that further his own financial affairs], but the wants of Heaven[, that is, things involving a mitzvah,] are permitted.”