Council modifies Senior Advisory Committee rules after months of low participation

The Mountain View City Council debated the future of its Senior Advisory Committee on Dec. 10 and, after discussion and public comment, voted to keep the body but require structural changes intended to increase participation.

Staff had recommended dissolving the committee, citing chronic vacancies and the inability to meet because of quorum problems. Public commenters urged preservation; candidates said they had applied or were willing to serve. Councilmembers offered competing views: some argued the committee’s Brown Act status (requiring a majority of members to be physically present) and the burdens of formal agenda notices limited participation; others urged preserving a council‑appointed forum for senior issues.

The council rejected an initial motion to dissolve the committee (failed 4–3). Instead the council directed staff to prepare amendments to the creating resolution: reduce the committee size to five members (so three seated members constitute a quorum), require at least quarterly meetings, broaden eligibility so members need not be senior‑center users or professional senior‑service providers, and ask staff to report back in approximately nine months on whether these changes have increased participation or whether additional adjustments are needed.

Council members stressed alternatives including: holding focused topic meetings at the senior center, pilot non‑Brown Act staff‑led task forces, appointing alternates, and reviewing all advisory bodies' charters to align scope to capacity. Staff said the Senior Advisory Committee had struggled to fill vacancies for roughly 10 years and had only two current active members at the time of the report. The motion passed 4–3.