Monthly meetings for the board of supervisors might be reduced
from three per month to just two, after supervisors Tuesday agreed
to modify the county’s code in regard to the meetings.
Monthly meetings for the board of supervisors might be reduced from three per month to just two, after supervisors Tuesday agreed to modify the county’s code in regard to the meetings.
The code change will give the board more “flexibility” in modifying its schedule of meetings, according to officials. During the Tuesday meeting, supervisors acknowledged the code change was a possible precursor to a meeting frequency reduction. With fewer meetings a month, the board hopes it could increase the county employees’ efficiency.
“We are looking at increasing staff efficiency,” Supervisor Anthony Botelho said. “We are trying to reduce the staff’s time at the meetings, and there is no getting around that.”
Botelho admitted he was worried about losing the “flow” between meetings and keeping ahead of issues, but increasing staff efficiency is important, he said.
“I want to keep abreast of issues and keep the flow of these meetings,” he said. “But we need to improve staff efficiency.”
The board unanimously approved the code change.
Also during Tuesday’s meeting, the board approved changing the county code in regard to appointing commissioners. After hearing complaints that new planning Commissioner Ignacio Velazquez did not live in the district he now represents, the board agreed to make it a requirement that a commissioner must to live in his of her respective district.
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz, who appointed Velazquez, disagreed with the change.
“I tried to find the best person for the job in the whole county,” he said.
De La Cruz explained he talked with residents inside his district, but they all turned him down before he appointed Velazquez.
“Ninety-nine percent of the people declined because of the B.S. involved with the position,” he said.
The rest of the supervisors agreed with the rule change, believing that each district needs to be represented.
Botelho said it was important that each district was represented individually to help fight apathy among the district’s citizens.
“How do we stop apathy? It’s through inclusiveness,” he said. “People need to feel like they are being listened to.”
Supervisors approved the change in a 4-1 vote, with De La Cruz dissenting.
In a unanimous vote, the board also agreed to extend the temporary moratorium on marijuana dispensaries, as the county’s staff investigates how to regulate or ban the pot shops.
