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Residents urge Trinity County supervisors to increase transparency and agendize staffing and planning issues
Summary
Multiple public commenters asked the board to make hiring, land‑use findings, and cell‑tower review processes more transparent and to address staffing shortages that affect planning and permit reviews.
During the Feb. 17 public comment period, residents urged the Trinity County Board of Supervisors to increase transparency and publicly address staffing and process issues that affect land use and government accountability.
Bedette Vanderwey of Lewiston told the board that transparency is "absolutely essential" and asked supervisors to agendize repeatedly requested items: publicly identify ordinance authority and required findings for major land‑use approvals, explain hiring processes, and address planning staff capacity so applications (including cell‑tower permits) receive timely, thorough review. Vanderwey also called for a public forum where differing opinions can be expressed without dismissal.
Dan Trujillo of Weaverville said democratic legitimacy depends on visible deliberation, not only elections, and urged the board to make it clear how public input translates into decisions. At the closed‑session public comment period later in the meeting, Trujillo also criticized the agenda’s statutory citation for a personnel closed session as incomplete and urged the board to invoke the correct Brown Act personnel exception and provide public input on recruitment and compensation parameters.
Board members acknowledged the comments and encouraged staff to follow up where appropriate; no formal action was taken during the meeting to change closed‑session procedures.
