County - 2 member supervisor advisory committees goodbye

The Daily Journal/Michelle Durand, 2/1/12, "Supervisor committees axed." With an eye on cost-savings and efficiency, the Board of Supervisors yesterday unanimously agreed to eliminate its slate of standing committees which they’ve used to vet issues before heading to a full vote.

Another redundant meeting, zzzzz.

 “Unfortunately, sometimes good ideas with good intentions find there are unintended consequences,” said Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson. Specifically, the committees could lead to supervisors risking Brown Act violations if they speak with a third member about a topic on which they’ve also discussed at a committee meeting with another member. The open meeting law forbids such conversation outside a public meeting.

Board President Adrienne Tissier suggested replacing the five committees with more town hall and ad hoc groups, saying it will save everybody involved time, promote wider discussions and could provide more direct contact with the public.

The two-member supervisor committees were established in 2007 — finance and operations; environmental quality; criminal justice; housing, health and human services; and legislative — with the hope they would provide focus. Instead, the supervisors said they often led to repeat presentations. Tissier said one example was the receipt of information about state prison and probation realignment which she heard in three different meetings. “I kind of got it after the third time, sure, but it also means staff had to come back three times,” Tissier said.

Supervisor Carole Groom was not “100 percent sure this is the best idea” but deferred to those with more board experience. Both she and Supervisor Dave Pine hoped that with the committees gone they will still receive memos and track data. Although not part of the original recommendation up for vote, County Manager John Maltbie suggested having department heads report to the Board of Supervisors at meetings about any matters going on. The items would be listed much as “county manager report” or “Board members’ committee reports” currently are placed on the agenda.

The committee elimination is the second major change in how the board conducts business since Tissier took over as board president in early January. She has already split meetings into two halves with the first focused on budget and policy issues and the second land issues."

Posted by Kathy Meeh