Manhattan Beach City Council discusses meeting management
In the wake of a Manhattan Beach City Council meeting ran until 2 a.m. two weeks ago, the council had a discussion last night about meeting management. The item was agendized after council members began questioning whether late-running meetings alienated the public and therefore violated The Brown Act. “We’ve gone so far off the rails it’s really frustrating,” Council member David Lesser said during the last meeting. “It’s just not fair. It’s not right to them [the community].” The council decided to make adjustments to its meetings to make them more efficient. Changes include a hard 11 p.m. end time for meetings (with exceptions) and ceremonial items (mayoral and city staff awards) beginning at 6 p.m.—a half hour earlier than the 6:30 p.m. meeting time. The council will also approve the agenda at the beginning of each meeting and take that time to re-order or possibly postpone items to later meetings. Because council meetings are held twice a month, the council also decided to open up the option to hold extra meetings on off-weeks to allow more time to discuss controversial matters with the public. Mayor Wayne Powell will also allow council members the opportunity to comment on…
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