Public Comment Correspondence – Steven Hansen
From: Steven Hansen <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 3, 2023 11:57 AM
To: CityClerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Comment on Zoom meetings | Oct 3 2023 meeting | non agendized matter comment
-EXTERNAL-
Dear clerk:
Please add my name to the list of those who will speak via zoom at tonight's meeting on non agendized matters. The process to get this accomplished is not made clear at all and discourages public participation.
I have been advised that tonight's meeting is the last city council meeting that will be accessible via zoom and the last meeting at which people participating on zoom will be able to comment via zoom "hand raising" method at the meetings
If that is in fact the case I would like to know what the rationale is behind discontinuing public participation via zoom. I know it can't be due to cost because just looking at tonight's consent agenda it's obvious that the city could care less about costs for frivolous items. Millions spent on things MUCH less important than public participation, which is the most important thing in our system of government.
The city should be doing everything in its power to encourage transparency and to make ALL official city meetings (including all boards and commissions) available online and also to allow public participation online in the same way that people can participate by driving to downtown Long Beach. Be that via
zoom or some other platform that the city runs. e comments are not enough for some. It also needs to be made very clear how people can comment using all these various in person and "online" methods (for agendized and no agendized matters) and the dates and times by which they must submit comments. this is not sufficient
https://longbeach.gov/cityclerk/services/public-comment-sign- up/
I think you need to realize that the vast majority of residents in the city work long hours and don't have the time to drive to downtown Long Beach which could be more than 45 minutes away from their home and to sit around for three or four hours while the city council rambles on about things they dont care about in order for them to make a small 3 min. comment on an agendized or non-agendized matter. People have to eat dinner, get ready for work the next day, they have child/elder care issues, they probably have transportation issues, parking issues, (not to mention those people with disabilities) and many other barriers to in person public participation that zoom
participation eliminates. It makes public participation more likely when they can be heard easily and barriers are removed.
The city needs to do everything in its power to make sure that zoom and zoom video commenting processes continue to go forward as they have been during the pandemic for 3 years and not doing so will send a message to all voters that the city does not want to hear from them or wants to make it as difficult as
possible for them to publicly participate in their local government which we the voters pay for.
Steve Hansen (5th dist 90808)