Source: https://www.westerncity.com/article/get-your-public-meetings-back-track
Timestamp: 2020-04-07 22:39:06
Document Index: 671466949

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 54954', '§ 72121', '§ 54954', '§ 54954', '§1983', '§ 54957', '§ 54954']

Get Your Public Meetings Back on Track - Western City Magazine
A well-organized agenda, opportunities for public comment and following protocol among decision-makers are essential to an effective meeting. A successful meeting is one where everyone feels heard even if the outcome was not the one they wanted.
Meetings: An Endpoint or the Only Point in the Decision-Making Process?
The values of respect and responsibility can be good guideposts for everyone participating in public meetings, as discussed in a prior “Everyday Ethics” column on grandstanding (www.ca-ilg.org/document/dealing-grandstander).
Building Bridges in Deeply Divided Communities: Food for Thought
The most contentious and disruptive public meetings sometimes occur in communities that are deeply divided politically and culturally and/or undergoing social and economic change. In these cases, social conflict spills into public meetings but is not necessarily generated or confined there. Given that such problems tend to be larger than the local agency, the solutions need to be, too.
Notably, one part of this strategy carried over into the city’s public meetings. The council’s agenda always begins with one or two “feel-good” items, frequently involving children. These items are intended to remind attendees that they are part of a larger community. In addition, adults are generally more likely to conduct themselves appropriately when young people are present.
[1] John W. Gardner, On Leadership, The Free Press: 1990, at 97.
[3] For more information on parliamentary procedure, see www.ca-ilg.org/document/parliamentary-procedure-simplified.
[4] Based on the size of agency, staff and timing of meeting, there may be additional considerations for jurisdictions to consider.
[5] Cal. Gov’t Code § 54954.3(a); Cal. Educ. Code § 72121.5.
[6] Cal. Gov’t Code § 54954.3(a).
[7] Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 54954.3(c), 54957.9; Perry Educational Association v. Perry Local Educators’ Association, 460 U.S. 37, 46 (1983); Acosta v. City of Costa Mesa, 694 F.3d 960 (9th Cir. 2012).
[8] See 42 U.S.C. §§1983, 1988 (providing for attorneys’ fee awards if the suit is successful).
[9] Norse v. City of Santa Cruz, 629 F.3d 966, 976 (9th Cir. 2010).
[10] Cal. Gov’t Code § 54957.9.
[12] Cal. Gov’t Code § 54954.3(b); White v. City of Norwalk, 900 F.2d 1421, 1425 (9th Cir. 1990).
[13] For more information about open meeting requirements, see www.ca-ilg.org/transparency.