Los Alamitos residents who would like to speak publicly to their City Council will have to wait a little longer after they get the urge to speak. For the next six month, the Los Alamitos City Council will meet just once a month, after the Council approved reducing the meetings from every first and third Monday, to just the third Monday of every month.
The council voted unanimously to reduce the meetings as a cost savings measure and to allow city staff to have more time to prepare reports for city business.
“Preparing for and conducting City Council Meetings twice per month keeps staff and the City Council on a continuous City Council agenda and meeting cycle,” the staff report reads.
The reduction would allow staff members to catch up on backlogged staff reports and projects. The staff report also noted that the city could save about $20,400 per year in everything from city attorney fees to copying costs. But with bimonthly meetings already going regularly to 11 p.m. and sometimes later, there was also some concern that it would create more problems.
And with the election coming up in November, there will be fewer opportunities to address the council on issues during the campaign season. It also limits the transparency of city business and access to officials, resident JM Ivler said.
“I don’t see the upside outweighing the downside,” Ivler said.
Council member Warren Kusumoto agreed that the public probably should have the opportunity to address the council more than once a month. The council will retain the ability to call for special meetings and study sessions if needed.
In the end the council opted to revise the ordinance to meet once a month on a trial basis.
“I think it is certainly worth the effort of a six month trial,” Mayor Pro Tem Marilynn Poe said.
The ordinance passed 5-0.