(Snippets from the frontline)
COVID-19: Serving the community from home, at any age
If you live in California and serve on a city council, county board, commission, or non-profit organization especially where taxpayer money is doled out, transparency is mandatory.
Generally, there are two laws these bodies adhere to: The Brown Act and the Bagley-Keene Act. They guarantee the public a right to participate in potential legislation.
If you serve as a member and can’t be at a meeting, there are provisions allowing you to be online or phone-in. Rarely are they utilized as they are not easy to achieve. Because of the pandemic, these laws have been relaxed.
Almost all bodies I attend have a majority of members who are seniors. We all struggle to get to meetings, but online or by phone is easier. Eventually for many of us, medical problems, hospitalization, recuperation from illness, or caregiving for a loved one will effect our health and mobility.
Once the pandemic resolves and the laws are re-instated, hopefully there will be plans allowing continued flexibility in online or phone attendance.
It is extremely important to maintain transparency in government. Allowing those with experience and background to serve is also important, at any age.
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
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