On the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council’s October 2 agenda, the following motion
states:
Old Business. (g) (Reimagining Public Safety) Motion to have the SLNC refrain from
having on-duty police-officer presence during meetings of the Governing Board
unless specifically invited to address a specific motion on the agenda, and to instead
maintain a relationship where our LAPD sergeant provides the SLNC with a monthly
update to be read by the co-chairs, and to relay stakeholder questions back to the
department.”
If this motion passes, it will be a flagrant violation of the Brown Act, which is a legal document covering all aspects of city/county meetings open to the public. Per the Open Meeting policy, it is a violation to restrict entrance or the participation of anyone with regard to public meetings. ALL NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND ALL ATTENDEES HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK DURING PUBLIC COMMENT AND ON ANY MOTION LISTED ON THE AGENDA.
The governing board co-chairs are required to rule this motion out of order to avoid a Brown Act violation. It has been brought to SLT’s attention that SLNC board members have informed the LAPD, on several occasions via email, that the LAPD are not welcome to board and/or committee meetings. Any statements made by members of the SLNC that the LAPD has ignored or has dropped the ball with regard to attending meetings are far from accurate.
SLT will follow-up and keep our readers informed.
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