[OccupyCU] Public Participation at County Board Meetings

[Rachel Storm]

OccupyCU,

Below is the work of some CUCPJ members who compiled an understanding of
the workings
of a county board meeting. Here are a few rules governing PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION.

   - Individual speakers only get 5 MINUTES each.
   - Individual speakers must fill out a form in advance, found just to the
   left of the door as you come in.
   - Public Participation time is at 6:00 p.m.- 7:00 p.m.


Below is a few rules that govern Public Participation time:
*
Section 12, E, 2:* *Unless waived by majority vote of the Board members
present, the total time allotted for public participation shall not exceed
sixty (60) minutes.*

This means we can petition the Board to grant everyone the time they need
to speak instead of stifling public discourse.

*Section 12, E, 3:* *Members of the public wishing to speak at other times
on the agenda may do so only if recognized by the Chair or by majority vote
of the Board members present.*

This means that Pious Wiebel can actually call on whoever he wants to talk,
and that the Board can do the same with a majority vote.  Why doesn't this *
ever* happen?

Section 12, E, 5: *Board members shall not engage in dialogue with members
of the public during public participation.*

*WHEN YOU SPEAK AT A COUNTY BOARD MEETING:

YOU MAY WANT TO ADVISE THAT WHEN PEOPLE SPEAK FOR THE FIVE MINUTES,
AND PIUS WEIBEL SAYS, "5 MINUTES UP"

SPEAKER should RESPOND:
"MR. CHAIR, MAY I HAVE MORE TIME TO FINISH, ACCORDING TO COUNTY BOARD RULE
IN SECTION 12, E, 3?"

IF PIUS WEIBEL RESPONDS:
"NO"

SPEAKER SHOULD THEN RESPOND:
"I ASK THE CHAIR TO CALL A VOTE OF ALL BOARD MEMBERS AS TO WHETHER I SHOULD
BE GIVEN MORE TIME, ACCORDING TO COUNTY BOARD RULE IN SECTION 12, E, 3"

IF WEIBEL REFUSES, OR NO BOARD MEMBER MAKES A MOTION AND IT'S NOT SECONDED,
SPEAKER SHOULD POLITELY THANK
THE CHAIR AND WALK AWAY FROM PODIUM.

BUT EVERY SPEAKER CUT OFF SHOULD USE THIS PROCEDURE TO AT LEAST EXPOSE THE
CHAIR AND THE BOARD MEMBERS STIFLING DEBATE.

**BEATING THE 5-MINUTE TIME LINE:

If you type out the presentation in it's entirety,
and you read it in practice, time it.
Take the total time it took, divide by 5,
to determine how many readers in succession it would take to read it all.
Then,
when you go to the administrator at the county board to turn in your
participation sheet,
hand in two or three or four of the individuals who are the "succession
readers" STAPLED together so
the Chairman can't reshuffle you all out of order.
When the first person is called to start the presentation,
the other(s) to present should carefully follow along the script....
When the chairman says, "Time, 5 minutes is up...."
the next presenter can pick up where you left off to finish up the
presentation.

It doesn't have to be that strictly read. Timing it according to grouping
or having 4 or more people who know the
outline of the material can organize it like....
"I would also like to present about Restorative Circles as the last
speaker, now they told you about how Restorative
Circles work before someone is arrested...I would like to talk to you about
how Restorative Circles work inside the jail.."*

Thank you for your considerations,
Chris Evans- member of CUCPJ
research done by Jerehme Bamberger

Below is a matrix of what CUCPJ would consider a better use of the public
tax dollar toward addressing crime:


*REDUCING THE INCIDENTS OF CRIME*
*(the most inexpensive way
to maximize public safety)

Before An Arrest Occurs                   Intervention While In
Jail            Productive Life After Incarceration
*Education                                           Education- GED
classes                                 Housing

Substance Abuse Treatment                 NA and/or AA meetings
(everyday)                Job
Anger Management                             Restorative Circles, Mental
Health                  School
Job                                                    Resume writing, job
counselors                     Counseling (if needed)
Career Counseling                              Social workers, guidance
counselors               Substance Abuse Treatment (if needed)
Apprenticeships
Church                                                         Church
(optional)
Housing
Psychologists                                                 Community
Support
Money for School                                Community leaders,
EX-felons
*
THE CHALLENGE WILL BE* TO LIST THE SPECIFIC AGENCIES, PROGRAMS,
ORGANIZATIONS, CHURCHES, PEOPLE, ECT.
THAT ARE IN THE VARIOUS CATAGORIES...

...THEN INVITE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM EACH GROUP IDENTIFIED TO ADDRESS THE
COUNTY BOARD....

....AND MAKE THE COUNTY BOARD AWARE OF WHAT THE GROUPS PROVIDE, WHAT THEY
CAN PROVIDE TO AT-RISK/INMATES/EX-CONS
AND THEIR SUCCESS RATE TO *AVOID HAVING TO ARREST SOMEBODY*  and *HELP
SOMEONE TO CHANGE THEIR MIND WHILE INCARCERATED* and *HELP SOMEBODY FROM
RE-OFFENDING.
*
....ON A SINGLE NIGHT? TO FILIBUSTER AND PARADE 2 HOURS OF BETTER OPTIONS
BEFORE THE COUNTY BOARD FOR
A MORE EFFECTIVE USE OF THE (STOLEN) TAXPAYER MONEY.

The representatives should be prepared to outline their services for the
populations that are at-risk, in jail and are attempting to keep people
from re-offending, and how much money they run on per year, and panhandle
for some of the required 5% of the tax dollars that is allocated by law in
the quarter cent tax referendum.
The case for spending beyond the 5% of the quarter cent tax rates will
depend on the quality of the idea and presentation, and the county
board's willingness to spend less money on wild construction and more on
our RFP.
*


*
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