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relatively minor, but would make a big difference, in my view, in 

 the smooth functioning of the councils. 



I have experienced the difficulty with which interested 

 parties can get items on the Council's agenda and observed the 

 manipulation of that agenda to the point where there is no 

 effective notice of what actions the Council is about to take or 

 when. The practical result is that everyone who has a potential 

 interest in Council action must plan to spend the entire week or 

 more that the Council is in session just to be able to 

 participate in a matter of importance to that person, even if it 

 is ultimately disposed of in a matter of minutes. This practice 

 leads to enormous wasted resources and makes it economically 

 impossible for many to participate who otherwise would if they 

 just knew in advance what the Council was up to. A simple 

 amendment to the Act could provide a mechanism for placing items 

 on the agenda and imposing some discipline on the agenda process. 



Other safeguards that I think would improve the council 

 process include requiring a written transcript to be made at 

 hearings and at council meetings similar to the practice observed 

 by your committee and by other legislative and judicial bodies. 

 This would help those who are unable to attend every day of these 

 long meetings and would assist in judicial review of council 

 action. 



