This is a short agenda with two items. One is a continuation, and the other promises to be impactful and significant for our progress as a city. The 6th Cycle Housing Element has been continued from the November 19th, December 3rd, and December 10th meetings. Minor changes were made from the last meeting, where there seemed to be general agreement about the final document.

Item #11: Board, Commission, and Committee reorganization. It addresses changes to half of the City’s 12 policy/advisory bodies. Most of the changes are of two sorts: reducing the size of committees and reducing the frequency of meetings. Both changes reduce transparency and effective citizen input into policy decisions.

• Active Transportation Committee (ATC) would have its monthly meetings reduced to quarterly meetings and lose two at-large seats.
• The Transportation & Circulation Commission (T&CC) would move to bi-monthly meetings and lose two at-large seats.
• Parks and Rec, the same as T&CC.
• Planning would increase by two seats to 9 members. It meets every two weeks.
• The Investment Advisory Committee would change from 5 large seats to direct appointments.
• The Cultural Arts Subcommittee would be disbanded, and duties would be moved to Parks and Rec.

There has been no public discussion, reorganization, ad hoc committee, or press releases.
The overall rationale is to “achieve greater resource efficiencies and increase legislative body effectiveness.” Seems counter-intuitive.  More meetings and more members would seem to lead to greater effectiveness.

Other rationales include staffing meetings taking too much employee time: up to 11 committee meetings plus two for Planning and two for Council for a maximum of 15. Second, reducing the number of meetings would “… increase Council Chamber availability for other events.” What these events are and why they have to meet in Chambers is not explained. Finally, it is suggested that there is a need for “consistency [in size] with a majority of commission and committee membership.” These reasons are strange: Will we gut our committees and commissions so staff has more time for other tasks? So, is the Chamber available for some unspecified events? And so that there is “consistency” in committee size?

Staffing public committees is a key part of public employees’ work; there are other places to meet in the City beyond the Council Chambers, and while consistency has its place, as Emerson pointed out, “…consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.”

The staff has canceled seven monthly ATC meetings and eight T&CC meetings for 2024. Although ATC has many tasks that could be addressed, making progress requires active interaction among committee members, commissioners, and staff. Instead of reducing the number of meetings, they need to increase them. In recent years, very little has been done to enhance safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Meetings are essential for staff accountability to the public and provide a platform for public input on policy decisions. When there are fewer meetings and fewer members, transparency decreases and public involvement in policymaking diminishes. Meeting just four times a year offers little value, as it lacks continuity and fails to provide genuine insight into the staff’s activities. Staffing public meetings is a crucial responsibility of City staff. They must engage with the public and interact with public bodies in a manner that emphasizes accountability.