OPEN MEETINGS — San Francisco political blogger Melissa Griffin notes that "(a)fter the tragic shooting of Oscar Grant III at the hands of a BART
police officer on New Years Day, the public rightfully demanded
answers.
The transit agencys board of directors sprang into action and
created a committee made up of four board members." But that committee has, she reports, stayed under the radar.
I called BART spokesman Linton Johnson to see if the Police Department Review Committee has held any public meetings.
Plenty, was his response. Really? I havent seen any meeting notices.
The law doesnt require meeting notices for this committee, I was
told. Sure, but the law doesnt prevent giving notice, either, I
pointed out.
Mr. Johnson explained that sometimes, at regular BART board
meetings, committee members will announce when the next committee
meeting will be held. You can learn when the next meeting is by
watching the previous board meeting on the Internet. (I checked, and
theres no such announcement in any of the posted clips.)
I asked if it is it fair to expect members of the public to figure that out. Apparently, it is.
I tried to get some clarification: Committee meetings are open to
the public, but no one is going to tell us where and when they are held?
Well, we dont want a crowd at every meeting sometimes the
committee needs to meet in a more intimate setting, he replied. When
the committee reports to the full BART board, people can comment, plus
committee members talk to community leaders and organizations all the
time.
CalAware has posted a comment, correcting the mistaken impression that no public notice of these meetings is required.
Alert credit: Kimo Crossman, San Francisco
Thank so much for the shout – and for pointing out that the Brown Act applies to these meetings! Much appreciated!