pages: OpenGovernmentCommission/2021-07-19.pdf, 14
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OpenGovernmentCommission | 2021-07-19 | 14 | Vice Chair Shabazz stated that when reviewing other Sunshine Ordinances, an OGC member could monitor what other Commissions are doing to see if there are any challenges; someone could monitor public meetings; the needs of the different Commissions should be considered. The City Clerk clarified that the Sunshine Ordinance only requires broadcast of the City Council, Planning Board, Transportation Commission, Historical Advisory Board, Recreation and Park Commission and OGC. Commissioner LoPilato stated it would be a good idea to have a discussion about prioritizing the issues the Commission will actually make a recommendation on once the report is brought back; these would be items that are high impact and would really bring as big of a change as possible, in terms of transparency improvements; other concerns can be listed or flagged, but not go in-depth; from the standpoint of institutional credibility to be of service to the Council and the community, the Commission should focus on true hot spots and substantive issues that lots of people are raising or see as extremely problematic. Vice Chair Shabazz stated utilizing time more effectively by de-prioritizing or not duplicating efforts would be helpful. Commissioner Chen stated that she wanted to clarify that she understands the conflicts between the OGC and the City Attorney's office are not personal; it is about the systems; the OGC is supposed to look at complaints against City government and the City Attorney's office represents City government; there is a built-in conflict; open government is like internal affairs on the government; depending on people's personalities and different things, there might be greater or lesser conflicts; the conflict is built into the nature of the relationship; the email received from the Chief Assistant City Attorney was a good explanation of a really great starting point for conversations; she wants to make it clear it is a systemic conflict and not personal; a systemic issue should be approached systemically and lay aside any personal feelings; she would like to figure out a way to work together and understand the underlying conflict to do what is necessary to reduce the conflict. Commissioner LoPilato expressed support for Commissioner Chen's comments as the best framework for putting forth a lot of the challenges within the structure of the OGC; stated it is inherent in the system that was created in 2011 and 2012; it is beneficial context for Council and the public and furthers the institutional credibility; perhaps there could be ways to work within in or make changes to it at some point. Vice Chair Shabazz summarized the comments and recommendations; stated the subcommittee will take the feedback and information received and work to prioritize some of the things to bring forward in a report; regarding comments made about capacity, staff may be able to assist in some ways with a multi-year process; considering how the Commission may want to operate over the next two years is important; this is one of the first reports that is trying to look at the system and address some of the recurring Meeting of the Open Government Commission 14 July 19, 2021 | OpenGovernmentCommission/2021-07-19.pdf |