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Resident Haren Hers alleges board suppressed public testimony, raises concerns about Alameda homeless-services funds
Summary
Resident Haren Hers told the board she was cut off at a prior meeting, that her public comments were omitted from the official minutes and that she has raised concerns about “millions of dollars” unaccounted for in homeless services contracts; the board ended her three-minute statement and did not ask follow-up questions.
Haren Hers, a longtime Alameda resident who identified herself at the meeting as a former educator and a person who has experienced homelessness, used the public-comment period to accuse the Social Service & Human Relations Board of cutting off her remarks at a prior meeting and omitting her comments from the official minutes.
"When a board omits public testimony from the official record, it effectively erases a resident's attempt to alert a city advisory body to potential harm occurring under municipal contracts," Hers said, adding she had raised "documented concerns about the well‑being of unhoused individuals and the integrity of public oversight" and alleging "millions of dollars in unaccounted public funds" designated for vulnerable residents.
The chair interrupted after Hers reached the three‑minute limit, saying, "I want to thank you for your comments. We have hit the three minute mark," and the meeting moved on to the next agenda item without further questions from board members. No board member asked for additional information, and Hers said in her remarks that a follow-up had not occurred and that her prior comments had been omitted from the minutes.
Hers framed her complaint in legal terms, referencing the California Brown Act's requirement that public bodies provide meaningful opportunities for public comment and maintain accurate meeting records. The speaker said omission of testimony from minutes amounts to "suppression of public record." The board did not make a formal response to the allegations during the meeting.
Context: the board's stated duties include identifying social-service needs, promoting social-welfare initiatives and advising city council on homelessness. Hers said she brought specific concerns about service-provider practices and oversight to the board but received no substantive engagement. The board proceeded with its agenda after the three‑minute public comment period ended; no motion or action addressing Hers’s allegations was proposed during the meeting.
What’s next: Hers’s allegations were made in the public‑comment period and were not taken up as a formal item at the meeting. The board did not announce a follow‑up or a request for documentation during the session. A resident who raised procedural concerns could pursue follow‑up in writing to staff or request that the item be placed on a future agenda for formal consideration.
