Local Residents Criticize City Council Over Late Starts, Canceled Committee Meetings

In correspondence to the City Council, several local residents are calling on the City Council to address what is described as a pattern of late-starting council meetings and canceled City Council committee meetings.

“The City Council has been failing to conduct its duties with repeated and habitual cancellation of public meetings and grossly late starts,” according to District 5 resident Daniel James. “This conduct is disrupting the city’s ability to act on a wide range of matters and is wildly disrespectful to the public that the council is formed to serve.”

Unless it is a special meeting, City Council meetings are comprised of closed and open session meetings with a meeting start time of 5 p.m.

Litigation and employment matters are discussed in closed session,

According to James, the late starts are disrupting city business and disrespecting residents who plan to participate. Several other residents sent identical letters or letters similar in nature to the City Council.

According to the letter, City Council meetings over the past 20 months have started an average of 30 minutes late. He compared the delays to Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) attendance standards, noting that students can be considered truant under state law after repeated absences or tardiness of more than 30 minutes.

The letter also criticized the frequency of canceled City Council committee meetings, including the Public Safety Committees.

Last year, eight of the 14 Public Safety Committee meetings were canceled. However, some of those cancellations are in line with holidays like MLK Day, the emergency caused by the Eaton Fire and canceled City Council meetings.

Although there is no set rule, generally City Council committees don’t meet on weeks when there is not a City Council meetings.

So far, three of nine meetings were canceled this year, with the Jan. 21 cancellation coinciding with MLK Day which was celebrated on Jan. 20.

Also, elected bodies cannot conduct business without a quorum, and many Councilmembers have employment outside of Pasadena.

“Please honor your commitments and our time, and figure out a way to start City Council meetings on time and to stop canceling Committee meetings,” said Jennifer Collins, who also lives in District 5.

According to the letter, two of the canceled meetings were scheduled to include discussions of Flock Safety technology and were expected to draw significant public attendance.

Another Public Safety Committee meeting involving Flock was adjourned early after the committee lost its quorum, according to the letter.

Flock Safety’s automated license plate reader technology has drawn significant public interest as Pasadena officials have considered its use and related privacy and public safety issues.

James also cited the recent cancellation of a Municipal Services Committee meeting shortly before its scheduled start and the cancellation of a July Housing, Homelessness and Planning Committee meeting only hours before it was scheduled to begin.

The letter did not provide documentation establishing the stated average delay for council meetings.

“This is a pattern that has pervaded for far too long,” James wrote.

James urged Councilmembers to find a way to begin meetings at their scheduled times and reduce committee cancellations.

“This is abysmal,” James wrote. “Our elected Councilmembers must actually show up to do the work they have been elected to do. And community members should not be left waiting way past the start time for meetings to begin.”