Council moves to overhaul public-safety advisory structure; directs staff to craft ordinance changes

The Redondo Beach City Council debated the role and future of the Public Safety Commission on July 1 and voted to pursue changes to the city’s advisory structure for public safety. Council members and public speakers disagreed over the commission’s value, workload and overlap with other advisory bodies; the council ultimately accepted staff’s recommendation to move forward with an ordinance amendment to change or eliminate the commission and to update the youth commission’s composition.

Mayor Light told the council he had reviewed the commission’s output and concluded it had not provided “meaningful advice” to the council in recent years. Police Chief Joe Hoffman and Fire Chief Butler both told the council the commission’s work often duplicated other departments’ responsibilities, consumed staff time and could…