Title
Chief Administrative Office and Clerk of the Board recommending the Board:
1) Receive a presentation evaluating the effectiveness of the Board’s revised public comment procedure after nearly six months of implementation;
2) Discuss potential adjustments to the public comment procedure and direct staff to implement the changes, if necessary;
3) Direct staff to make necessary changes to Board Policy H-1 - Communications to the Board from a Member of the Public and Board Policy H-2 - Communications from a Member of the Public for the Public Record, based on the Board’s direction on public comment procedure and to align with current practice; and
4) Approve and adopt Board Policy H-4 - Teleconference Disruption Response Policy, as required by Senate Bill 707, to establish procedures for addressing remote access interruptions during public meetings.
FUNDING: N/A
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
At the Board’s Good Governance Workshop on September 26, 2025 (Legistar file 25-0795), the Board directed staff to return with a discussion to include evaluating the meeting structure and identifying opportunities to enhance efficiency, transparency, and public engagement at regular Board meetings. Staff returned to the Board on November 18, 2025 (Legistar file 25-1864) to have that discussion. Following the discussion, the Board implemented the following public comment-related procedural changes to regular Board meetings to begin in calendar year 2026:
1) Public comment on Closed Session items will be taken at the same time as public comment on the Consent Calendar; and
2) Public comment on all Agenda items (excluding Public Hearings) will be taken following consideration of the Consent Calendar.
The Board agreed to allow approximately six months of implementation before considering any further revisions. This item is being presented within the six-month evaluation period. For the Board to evaluate the effectiveness of the change in procedure, staff have collected data from 12 regular Board meetings between January 6, 2026, and May 12, 2026, and compared it to the overall meeting length from the 12 Board meetings prior to the change in procedure. A total of 374 public comments were received in the 12 meetings in 2026. The average meeting length for the 12 meetings held in 2026 was six hours and 53 minutes, which is an increase of 10 minutes (2.5%) from the average length for the prior 12 meetings in 2025 (six hours and 43 minutes). It is important to note, however, that the Board also reduced its total number of annual meetings from 33 in 2025 to 28 in 2026, a reduction of approximately 15%. Because the Board reduced its total number of meetings by 15%, individual meetings were expected to become longer as more agenda items were consolidated into fewer sessions.
Following the change, the average public comment length across all public comment periods was two minutes and 6 seconds, with 25.1% of commenters utilizing within five seconds of the full three-minute time limit. For the consolidated Consent Calendar/Closed Session comment period, the average commenter commented on 1.8 items for an average of two minutes and seven seconds, with 22% of speakers utilizing within five seconds of the full three-minute time limit. For the consolidated comment period for all non-hearing items, the average commenter commented on 1.3 items for an average of two minutes and 19 seconds, with 29% of speakers utilizing within five seconds of the full three-minute time limit.
Because the revised public comment procedure is still in its trial phase, staff have not made minor updates to Board Policy H-1 - Communications to the Board from a Member of the Public or Board Policy H-2 - Communications from a member of the Public for the Public Record. Depending on the Board’s direction regarding the public comment procedure, staff recommend receiving direction to return at a future meeting with minor policy revisions to align these policies with current practice.
In addition, staff recommend that the Board adopt Board Policy H-4 - Teleconference Disruption Response Policy to be in compliance with Senate Bill 707 (SB 707). This policy outlines the procedures the Board will follow in the event of a remote access disruption. Effective January 1, 2026, SB 707 amends the Ralph M. Brown Act to require enhanced public access and participation standards for eligible legislative bodies, including County Boards of Supervisors in jurisdictions with populations exceeding 30,000. As El Dorado County meets this threshold, the Board is required by July 1, 2026, to adopt a formal disruption response policy to address interruptions in remote access during public meetings.
Under SB 707, if a disruption occurs that prevents the public from participating remotely (via telephonic or audiovisual means), the eligible legislative body must:
1) Recess the meeting for at least one hour;
2) Make a good faith effort to restore the disrupted service (such as contacting information technologies (IT) support, restarting the platform, or switching to a backup system); and
3) Resume the meeting only after a roll-call vote confirming that efforts were made and that resuming the meeting serves the public interest.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could choose not to have a discussion regarding the public comment procedure.
SB 707 requires Counties to adopt a disruption policy to address remote access interruptions during public meetings. The Board may choose to modify the proposed draft policy before adoption, but a policy must be in place before July 1, 2026, to be in compliance.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
Legistar file 25-0795 - September 26, 2025 - Good Governance Workshop
Legistar file 25-1864 - November 18, 2025 - The Board discussed and made adjustments to the regular Board meeting format, including public comment procedure.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
County Counsel
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact regarding the public comment procedure discussion. Implementation of Policy H-4 is expected to have minimal, if any, fiscal impact. Existing staff and technology resources will be utilized to monitor and restore remote access. Potential minor costs may include staff time for training and implementation and IT support or service troubleshooting.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Update the Board of Supervisors website with the Board Policy H-4 and send it to all Department Heads.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
N/A
CONTACT
Grant Webber, Principal Management Analyst, Chief Administrative Office
Kim Dawson, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors