Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Civility Public Spending topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Speaker criticizes supervisor remark, urges review of police administrative-leave spending
Summary
A public speaker said a supervisor dismissed another attendee’s reallocation idea as "dumb," called for professional conduct by supervisors and urged reconsideration of using taxpayer funds to pay officers on administrative leave.
Monica Mejia used the public presentations period to raise two concerns about conduct and county spending.
Mejia told the board that during the morning session another speaker, Anna Madel, had her idea called "dumb" by a supervisor (the speaker said the comment came from a person she identified in the meeting), and that such dismissive language by an elected official is unacceptable. "As someone in a position of power, mister Flores, it is unacceptable to respond aggressively to speakers," Mejia said, calling for professionalism and for officials to ask clarifying questions instead of dismissing policy ideas.
Mejia also urged the board to consider reallocating funds — an idea sometimes framed as "defunding" — and specifically criticized use of taxpayer funds to pay officers on administrative leave while they are under investigation. "Using taxpayer funds to pay administrative leave for officers accused of serious offenses is what I believe is truly dumb," she said, and argued the county should evaluate whether those funds could instead better serve community needs.
The board made no immediate changes to policy or spending during the Jan. 14 meeting in response to Mejia’s remarks; her comments were made during the public presentations period and were entered into the meeting record.
