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LA County Supervisors are changing the way they do meetings, will it work to boost public input?
The Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration houses several L.A. County offices.
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The L.A. County Board of Supervisors is moving forward with a plan to run motions through smaller meetings before they come up for a vote.
The change aimed at increasing community input was unanimously approved as a pilot program Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors meeting. Supervisor Holly Mitchell presented the motion.
" In some cases, motions can be placed on board agenda on a Friday…with only a single business day before the Tuesday board meeting when the board votes on them," Mitchell said. "This leaves very little time for our county's residents to weigh in on the decisions we make."
Now, starting in January, supervisors' motions will first be heard at county "clusters," which are meetings that include county staff and Board of Supervisors staff to discuss issues including public safety and community services. Those meetings are open to the public, but don't include votes on county measures.
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Who is for this?
The change was backed at Tuesday’s meeting by groups representing landlords and low-income Angelenos, who both called in to support it.
" It's not often that we're on the same side of something as the Association of Apartment Owners, but we also support this effort to really expand the community's voice in decision making at the county level," said Roxana Tynan with the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy during the public comment period.
Eric Preven, a frequent voice at board meetings and a self-described local government watchdog, said the move will increase access for the county's interest groups, but not necessarily for the public.
" The public doesn't generally attend these meetings," Preven said. "The people who will benefit from this kind of cluster reorg are the not-for-profits and inside baseball players."
How can you attend a cluster meeting?
The meetings where motions will now be heard can be found on the county CEO's website.
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Jennifer Harkins with Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County said more could be done to make those meetings accessible.
" The board should find ways to better promote cluster meetings and get community feedback about what should be agendized at them," Harkins said at this week's meeting.
More change ahead for the Board of Supervisors
This procedural change comes as the L.A. County Board of Supervisors prepares for more change ahead.
Under Measure G, passed by voters this November, the board will expand from five to nine members, create an independent ethics commission and the county CEO will become an elected position.
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