CC 4-2-19 Oral CommunicationsTO: City of Cupertino Council Members and Staff
From: Cathy Helgerson -408-253-0490 -cathyhelger@gmail.com
Subject: Agenda Item 20 -Change to the Order of Oral Communication
I would first like to mention what happened at the last City Council Meeting when this item the Order of
Oral Communication was also left to the last item on the agenda. The Council Meeting lasted until
around 12:00 o'clock midnight in which most of the public had left the meeting and so the council
decided to postpone the item for the April 2, 2019 council meeting. I left early and I was upset as it was
to see this item left last on the agenda and could not wait until that hour to speak on the subject. There
are many elderly people, people that work, children that attend school that cannot stay till late hours.
I am now very upset about this April 2, 2019 council meeting that has again left the Change to the Order
of Oral Communication until item 20 on the agenda second from the last. What is the public supposed to
do about this lack of consideration I can only imagine what the public felt when the item was postponed
after they waited all night to speak on the subject. The public should be outraged by this behavior and
the disregard for the public's views on subjects that are not on the agenda and mentioned at Oral
Communication that can have great value, and should be put on the agenda for future study and review
but they are never considered. It is extremely difficult to get items put on the agenda so Oral
Communication gives the public a chance to at least voice they views. I ask the Council why take this
privilege away from the public moving the time is unfair the public only gets 3 minutes and sometimes
less to address you.
It seems that the City is more concerned about reducing staff overtime and consultant time and they
seem to think that moving Oral Communication will extend courtesy and respect to other applicants
already scheduled. I am sure that the people that were fortunate enough to get their item put on the
agenda need to consider how lucky they really are, and they should be willing to give others who cannot
get their items on the agenda heard. The City Council needs to hear what the public thinks not just on
agenda items and there is a great deal of information that the City could benefit from. I would like to
remind them that the public the people that voted them into office should all be respected.
I would like to make a suggestion to the City Council that maybe Oral Communication can be heard at
the beginning of the meeting and also at the end this would give everyone a chance to speak. I would
further like to suggest that there are meetings that can be conducted as open forum so that there can
be an open exchange of information. The public would like their suggestions used and their questions
answered and it seems many times this is not taking place. The way the meetings are conducted seems
limited, unfair and very old fashion it is time for change the public wants change but not at the expense
of the Oral Communication's agenda slot asking us to wait till the end of long Reports by Council and
Staff is counterproductive and many people come to the meetings for Oral Communication only.
I ask that the Cupertino City Council to please leave Oral Communication as is like so many other Cities
and Santa Clara County conduct their business.
CC 4-2-19
#20