On Tuesday, the Clayton City Council agreed to change how agendas are set, did away with hybrid meetings and justified actions citing better “efficiency” over transparency.
The main focus Tuesday with council guidelines being changed was giving the mayor full authority on agenda setting and when/if future agenda item requests, no longer verbal during meetings, but rather in writing, would be placed on an agenda. It would prevent the public and other council members from knowing what has been requested or the status of a request.
What to know:
- Mayor Now has full control over agenda setting — some items likley will be ignored or never brought forward
- All future agenda item requests must be done in writing — public will likley not be aware of requests nor status
- Council did away with hybrid meeting — only viewing meetings, no more public participation online
- Council admitted they wanted more items written into agendas to ensure “efficient” and faster meetings.
- Majority council fine with limiting public access, stating community could write to them before meetings.
- Have done away with verbal reporting out by councilmember committees
- Have adjusted the order of city council agendas
- Mayor can now limit public comments to 20-minutes, move the rest to the end of the meeting
By agreeing to changes in council guidelines, under the proposal of Mayor Kim Trupiano and Vice Mayor Jeff Wan, it ensures likely future Brown Act Violations will occur – given more than two council members cannot discuss an item prior to a public meeting…