On Tuesday, February 4th, the Board unanimously voted to make Prince William government a little more accountable, transparent, accessible and inclusive for the people it serves. A series of resolutions introduced by Supervisor Kenny Boddye will institute changes to the Rules of Procedure that accomplish the following:
- Add a second Public Budget Hearing, allowing more opportunity for public input
- Make it easier to learn about changes or cancellations of BOCS meetings, requiring public notice via email and social media in addition to posting on the County website
- *Prevents the BOCS from making residential land use decisions (Special Use Permits, Rezonings, Comprehensive Plan Amendments, etc) during the intervening period between a BOCS election and the new Board taking office (*when legally able, based on application deadlines)
- Add moment of silence and quiet meditation to the acceptable forms of invocation at the beginning of meetings
- Change all instances of “Chairman” in our rules to “Chair,” replaces gendered pronouns with “them/their/they”
- Change “Citizens Time” to “Public Comment Period,” acknowledging that not all of our residents with legal presence are full-fledged US citizens (DACA, TPS, Green Card, etc.), while also not limiting comments to County residents
- Provide two Public Comment sign in sheets, one for County residents and another for non-residents, prioritizing input from residents
- Encourage civil discourse by codifying proper decorum for Public Comment
Additionally, Supervisors directed staff to research methods for making Board meetings more accessible to all residents, including those commuting outside of the County. Possibilities include adding more night meetings and periodic weekend meetings. Boddye wrote in a Facebook post, “Every single one of these changes was approved unanimously on a bipartisan basis. I took input from colleagues on both sides of the aisle as we discussed the changes to the Rules of Procedure, and the end product was better for it.”