Every two weeks we try to review the Board’s agenda packet for interesting upcoming items. It’s not a particularly enjoyable task. But the entire point of the Brown Act’s requirement that agendas be posted in advance is to make the public aware of what the Board plans to discuss or decide before they discuss it, and, occasionally, make a decision or two.
As far as we can tell, very few people besides those directly involved in a particular agenda item take advantage of these notices.
Who can blame most members of the public? The County goes out of its way to clutter up the agenda with routine consent items (presumably, but often not routine, sometimes retroactive), and cryptic closed session items (often discussing lawsuits or personnel evaluations) along with a few possible item of interest. But even those are frequently larded with attachments and bureaucratese buried beneath layers of more bureaucratese that are hard to find much less understand or interpret.
We can’t think of any other local media regularly highlighting the board’s agenda or even linking to it or mentioning anything on it in advance.
The Board itself makes no effort to publicize their agenda besides the grudging, routine, obligatory postings of the agenda with its mind-numbing, eye-glazing detail.
During board meetings we seldom hear any public comment on agenda items from the public other than those who want to comment on a single item or issue.
The Brown Act is made nearly useless if nobody pays attention to it in advance of what the Board says they intend to discuss.
Yes, I do, repeatedly. My comprehension was never very good. Speed reading and review. I also read the agenda of a couple other boards and either attend in person or watch on U-Tube. Measure B and Coc for the most part.
The AGENDA LOL LOL LOL. Alrighty then… let us count some chronic issues.
#1 they rarely, if ever get an agenda out in time.
#2 Agendas frought with lack of transparency and real needs.
#3 Getting stuck on these empty agendas to swirl the cesspool incessantly, never doing any real work.
#4 Repeated Brown act violations without consequences.
#5 Drifting from the agenda without care or concern further delaying any functionality.
#6 Refusing to direct those they are to be the overseers of CEO, ETC.
#7 100% Disregard for knowledge or experience thus making blind non sensible response the norm.
It is a mess on a good day. A disaster as the norm.