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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 03141995 - I.O-04 F: TO: • BOARD OF SUPERVISORS I .O.-4 Contra �. ' FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE •.'1Costa - .is County DATE: March 6, 1995 rr�coiie+� SUBJECT: REPORT ON WHEN AND WHERE MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS SHOULD BE HELD AND RELATED BOARD PROCEDURES SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . AGREE, on a pilot basis, to hold one Board of Supervisors ' meeting a month in the afternoon and evening in order to provide better access to the Board by the general public, particularly on subjects which have generated a great deal of interest. 2 . AUTHORIZE the County Administrator to schedule the afternoon- evening Board of Supervisors ' meeting based on which Tuesday will conflict with the fewest city council meetings and which will not conflict with the Planning Commission, which already meets in the Board Chambers on the first and third Tuesday evenings of the month. 3 . For the monthly afternoon-evening Board of Supervisors ' meetings, DIRECT staff to schedule items as follows : ❑ Convene the meeting at 12 :00 Noon in closed session on items which involve private attorneys where it is expensive to keep them waiting. ❑ Convene the regular Board of Supervisors ' meeting at 1 : 00 P.M. with Consent and Determination Calendars, and non- land use public hearings or presentations as are otherwise scheduled in the morning on other Tuesdays . ❑ Recess again into closed session at 5 : 00 P.M. , if necessary, for items which involve the presence of County staff, or use the time to complete items from the afternoon which are running longer than expected, or simply to provide the staff and Board members with a brief break before the evening session. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE t` OTHER SIGNATURE(S): MARK BeSA ACTION OF BOARD ON MarcAPPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ATTESTED MAR 14 1995 Contact: PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF cc: See Page 2 SUPERVISORS NDCOUNTY DMINISTRATOR s BY J DEPUTY s • I .O.-4 1 -2- ❑ Convene in public session again promptly at 6 : 00 P.M. to conduct public hearings on land use or other planning- related issues, particularly those which are expected to generate a good deal of public interest and testimony. ❑ Agree to adjourn the meeting at 10 : 00 P.M. , even if not all items are completed or not all individuals have been heard, unless by a 4/5 vote the Board agrees to continue the meeting beyond 10: 00 P.M. 4 . DIRECT the County Administrator to begin to schedule the afternoon-evening Board meetings as soon as hearing schedules can be adjusted to accommodate the new schedule. 5 . MOVE the closed session on other Tuesdays to 8 : 30 A.M. , convening the regular Board of Supervisors ' meeting as soon as closed session is over,, generally at 10 : 00 A.M. 6 . DIRECT the County Administrator to work with the individual Board members to schedule Board meetings in communities outside Martinez when items of special local interest are involved in order to make the Board meeting as accessible to the general public in that community as possible and tailor the agendas for those meetings so it is not necessary for large numbers of County staff to attend the meeting. BACKGROUND: On February 14, 1995, at the request of Supervisor Rogers, the Board of Supervisors referred to our Committee the issue of when and where Board meetings should be held. The thought here was to determine whether some change should be made in order to improve the opportunities for public participation and input to the Board' s deliberations, particularly on subjects which evoke substantial public interest. The County Administrator suggested that the Board of Supervisors try a schedule change on a pilot basis on one Tuesday a month and schedule only land use hearings after 5 :00 P.M. so staff from multiple departments do not have to be kept after their normal working hours . On March 6, 1995, we met with the County Administrator, County Counsel and Chief Clerk to the Board of Supervisors and discussed this issue in some detail . The recommendations we have made above are the result of our discussions and will, we believe, provide an opportunity for more complete input from the general public to the Board' s deliberations . cc: County Administrator County Counsel Director, GMEDA Community Development Director All other Department Heads (Via CAO)