Supervisors Move to Make Secret Meetings Public 

County Supervisor Joel Anderson successfully pushed a trio of transparency measures on Wednesday. 

The county Board of Supervisors unanimously passed each of his proposals to explore ways to make secret board subcommittees public, set guardrails for county-funded polling and improve the county’s response to records requests. 

The board’s decision follows reporting by Voice of San Diego on board subcommittees being held behind closed doors, board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer’s county-backed poll-testing of potential ballot measures and the county’s slow-rolling and denials of public records releases. 

County staff will need to report back to the board before policy changes.  

Anderson proposed the county throw more sunlight on board subcommittees after months of behind-the-scenes meetings where supervisors have discussed topics such as ways the county can respond to the fiscal challenges it predicts ahead – and a controversial bidding process.  

On Wednesday, supervisors approved Anderson’s motion to direct the clerk of the board to return to the board within 30 days with options to amend county policy so officials must publicly post recordings, agendas and materials associated with board subcommittees – and ensure information on consultants including costs and contracts are made public. 

Before the vote, Lawson-Remer – who leads multiple subcommittees that have met behind the scenes – said she appreciated the proposal and acknowledged some subcommittees should probably be standing committees that would be subject to the state open meetings law. 

Attorney David Loy of the First Amendment Coalition previously told Voice that he thinks the county’s ad-hoc subcommittees should be subject to the open meetings law – and thus include more public participation – because they are focused on ongoing county issues. 

Lawson-Remer also praised Anderson’s push to set rules governing the use of county funds for polls.  

He proposed that county lawyers review and approve proposed questions, plus the scope of work and compensation for polling firms hired by county leaders. It also called for poll questions, results, participant demographics and contract details to be posted publicly online within 30 days after the poll is completed. 

On Wednesday, Anderson clarified that the policy would only apply to polls and surveys involving outside contractors after questions from other supervisors. 

“I really want these guidelines,” said Lawson-Remer, who has recently spent $89,000 in taxpayer funds on polls. 

She previously told Voice she has already followed the rules Anderson sought but thinks a clear process would be helpful. 

County lawyers will now work on proposed guidelines and return to the board once they’re ready. 

Anderson’s third proposal called for the county to rework its records review process for Public Records Act requests in hopes of creating more consistency and efficiency. 

He wants the county to create a standardized records process that requires all requests to go through the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and County Technology Office, which would then search and compile electronic records rather than have supervisors’ offices or county departments handle those. 

“Right now, the chicken hawks – us – are looking through our own documents to give to the public,” Anderson said. “I want a third party looking at our documents to make sure we are clean as a whistle, and we are handing over all the documents that make sense.” 

Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe proposed amendments to get feedback from county records coordinators about issues with the current process and to analyze cost and staffing needs tied to Anderson’s pitch. Montgomery Steppe said she was concerned there could be unexpected costs tied to software to do records searches and that the technology office doesn’t have the sufficient staffing. 

Anderson accepted Montgomery Steppe’s additions and the board agreed that county staff should return to the board within 120 days with updates. 

The post Supervisors Move to Make Secret Meetings Public  appeared first on Voice of San Diego.