The County of San Luis Obispo does not know how to regulate public comment at meetings.
Section 54954.3 of the California Brown Act allows the public to speak on items on the agenda and items within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body, but it’s up to chairman or board president to determine how public comment is managed. However, the Brown Act doesn’t address the application of public comment. Instead, that act simply sets forth a mandate of implementation.
For the past year, I spoke to members of the Board of Supervisors and the LOCSD regarding their management of public comment. The head of each of those legislative bodies talked about how they have their own style and approach, but most importantly, they prioritized public policy over public consideration. In other words, they feel that public comment and one’s public testimony rights impede board business to a point that brings exasperation and distraction to members of the board.
Continue reading Public Comment: A Good Investment for Public Policy →
Here’s The Triple Whammy
The ROCK delivers the goods. Hot off the digital presses!
County Counsel Tries to Bury Schicker’s MWH/Ogren Complaint
Warren Jensen’s belated response to Lisa Schicker’s MWH/Ogren complaint paves the way for MWH to move forward, without legal impediments, in the design-build phase of the wastewater project as No. 1 contractor on the County’s handpicked short lists for both collection and treatment. At the same time, Counsel’s disclaimer shields the board. Schicker’s reaction…
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Next Speaker… Shut Up! The Los Osos Public Comment Scandal
It’s not sexy like the Edge/Wilcox scandal, but the Los Osos Public Comment scandal and coverup will cost Los Osos and County taxpayers millions of dollars more in rigged contracts, costs increases, more fees and charges, further damage to the threatened drinking water supply and probable litigation. The man pulling the strings behind the scenes of both scandals could pay at the polls in 2010, if voters take a deeper look…
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Best of Summer Public Comment: Los Osos Residents Fight Back Against Gibson Gag With Wit, Knowledge and Advice
Public comment on the Los Osos wastewater project at Board of Supervisors’ monthly updates is the time when no good deed goes unpunished, as Supervisor Gibson and idling board sidekicks turn the vice tighter and tighter on critics of the County’s town-sweeping $200-million megasewer built on the flimsiest foundation of lies and fraud. Following is a just a sampling of the vital public comment from Los Osos residents at monthly project updates on July 14 and August 4—ignored or dismissed by a board that almost never responds. We bring back some folks for an encore because public comment passes too quickly and should not be so quickly forgotten…
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Continue reading Here’s The Triple Whammy →