City Of Roseville: City Returns To In-Person Public Meetings

Press release from the City of Roseville:

October 04, 2021

Starting with the October 6 City Council meeting, all council, board and commission meetings will be in person, with in-person-only public comment. This option complies with the provisions of AB 361, a Brown Act Urgency Measure, which took effect October 1.

The Roseville Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC), which is independent of the City Council, will make its own determinations about how to comply with the provisions of AB 361. To learn about how to participate in IRC meetings, you can view their agendas here.

Roseville Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC)

The switch to in-person-only public-comment period adheres to options provided within the requirements of the new law. If the City were to allow call-in public comment, AB 361 requires the City to leave the public comment period open for the entire duration of a timed general public comment period if the City has one. The City of Roseville’s general public comment period is 25 minutes, so this would require leaving phone lines open for that length of time, whether or not anyone has called to provide comment, at both general public comment periods during City Council meetings. This would add nearly an hour to those meetings.

“We’re trying to balance public engagement with timeliness and efficiency under the requirements of the new law,” said Mayor Krista Bernasconi. “The concern is that since this new law essentially extends the length of meetings that offer call-in public comment by nearly an hour, the public might lose interest or have a hard time following and participating in meetings. That’s the opposite of what we’re after.”

This press release was produced by the City of Roseville. The views expressed here are the author’s own.