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Board debates evening meetings and public engagement; agrees to trial evening CDBG hearing
Summary
Supervisors weighed staff costs and accessibility trade‑offs for evening board meetings. The board agreed to treat the March 17 CDBG community hearing as a trial evening engagement and to explore a limited schedule of topic‑specific evening town halls with cost estimates and improved audiovisual access.
The board discussed whether to shift regular board meetings to evening hours, hold quarterly district meetings or schedule periodic evening town halls to increase access for working residents.
Staff noted that most California counties begin meetings between 8–10 a.m. and that evening meetings increase overtime costs, staff fatigue and scheduling complexity. Several supervisors said technology and remote access options developed during the pandemic provide alternate routes for public participation.
The board settled on a pragmatic approach: use the March 17 CDBG community hearing (5:30 p.m.) as an evening pilot for public engagement, instruct staff to evaluate costs and operational impacts for a limited number of evening or district meetings, and consider topic‑specific town halls rather than moving the entire regular schedule to evenings.
Supervisors also urged improvements to audio and video systems to make remote participation reliable. Staff will return with cost estimates and a proposed schedule based on board direction.
