San Benito LAFCO approves annual rotation of meeting locations, adds reimbursement for host clerks

The San Benito Local Agency Formation Commission voted 3-2 on May 8 to amend its administrative policy to place regular meetings on an annual rotating schedule among the county Board of Supervisors chambers, the City of Hollister and the City of San Juan Bautista, and to reimburse host clerks for meeting-related work.

The motion, as read during the meeting, requested approval of an amendment to the commission's administrative policy to reflect an annual rotation of meeting locations, to approve the proposed rotation plan and schedule, and to include reimbursement for clerk time for host jurisdictions. The roll-call vote was: Commissioner Kozmicki Yes; Commissioner Zenger No; Commissioner Stevens Yes; Commissioner Rodriguez No; Commissioner Jordan Yes. The motion passed 3-2.

Commissioners debated the proposal before the vote. Executive Officer Jennifer Stevenson said she had discussed logistics with the county clerk and the clerks of Hollister and San Juan Bautista and proposed keeping the county responsible for assembling and distributing agendas while having each host clerk run the meeting and take minutes. Stevenson said the recommended rotation schedule in the packet would have 2025 meetings remain at the county location, 2026 at Hollister and 2027 at San Juan Bautista to avoid simultaneous hosting conflicts with other intergovernmental meetings.

Commissioner Jordan, who initially requested the item, said the rotation was intended to reduce any perception that the commission is a county-only body. "This is not a San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors-sanctioned commission. This is an actual stand-alone entity," Jordan said during the discussion.

Other commissioners expressed practical concerns. One commissioner said the change could initially confuse the public but conceded consistency over time should reduce confusion. Several commissioners requested clarity on whether the cities' clerks would be reimbursed for their additional time when hosting longer meetings; Stevenson said the county would continue to bear primary responsibility for agenda preparation but that reimbursement arrangements with the cities could be developed. A motion was amended (and carried in the final motion language) to include reimbursement for host jurisdictions' clerks.

The commission will publish the adopted rotation schedule and bring related administrative-policy language forward for the next formal adoption step. The schedule included in the meeting packet shows the county hosting the remainder of 2025, Hollister in 2026 and San Juan Bautista in 2027.