Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

Welcome to the New York City Council hearing for the Committee on Governmental Operations, State and Federal Legislation.

At this time, I'd like to remind everyone to please silence all devices and at no point during the hearing.

May you approach the dais.

If you wish to testify at today's hearing, please see a sergeant at the back of the room to fill out a testimony slip.

Even if you have already registered previously online.

Chair, we are ready to begin.

Thank you very much.

I am Gail Brewer.

I am the chair of the governmental operations, state and federal legislation.

I want to thank everyone who's here.

I know that there are those who are going to be speaking from campaign finance, borough president's office, civic engagement commission, conflicts of interest board, as well as members of the public who are very interested in community boards and other topics.

We're going to be talking about community boards.

I think you know they're the most local form of government.

I certainly know that.

They are intentionally designed to give people who live or work in the neighborhood a voice and governing.

They provide valuable feedback to agencies and other government bodies on how services are being delivered.

They also provide local policymakers with information on how their decisions could affect a local community district.

I think I know, I think I've been to more community board members than any other human being I know.

Borough presidents, and I was one of them, appoint all community board members.

Half of the members must come from nominations made by the local council member or members.

Each borough president has their own method for selecting members, but generally applicants must fill out an online application and appear for an interview by a representative from the borough president's office.

A 2018 ballot proposal imposed a requirement that borough presidents seek out community board applications from diverse backgrounds.

Council members do not directly appoint members, which I think is a good thing.

They can only nominate members who then may or may not be appointed by the borough president.

Actually, I think that's how it should stay.

Community board members are all volunteers, they are unpaid, they're expected to attend monthly board meetings.

I used to take people off who did not do that.

In addition to serving at least one committee, most of them meet monthly.

Board members serve two-year terms.

The 2018 ballot proposal also imposed term limits on board members.

I thought that was a terrible idea.

No members may serve more than four consecutive terms.

The first members subject to these new terms will be need to be replaced by 2020-17, which is a brain drain.

While this will create room for newer members, it will also mean the loss of long time members with significant knowledge about complex issues, particularly land use.

Their duties include processing complaints, presiding over the district service cabinet, and other duties assigned by the board.

District managers are responsible for organizing both committee and full board meetings.

The Civic Engagement Commission created by the 2018 Charter Revision Commission was formed to provide assistance to community boards.

That assistance seemed to come primarily in the form of Zoom trainings designed for community board members with some additional trainings that appear to be designed for the board's executive leadership.

There are past trainings that are available on the CEC's website, have included parliamentary proceedings, the budget, land use and equity planning.

As a board president, just so you know I did all that.

Just so you know.

In addition to doing oversight, we will also be hearing five pieces of legislation.

We'll be hearing proposed intro number 12A, sponsored by the Speaker, which would require the disclosure of digitally altered content in local elections.

Also, intro 320, sponsored by council member Morano, which would codify the official flag of Staten Island.

I think that's a good idea.

Introduction 322, sponsored by Council Member Morano, which would give council members the power to make appointments at community boards.

You know how I feel about that.

Intro 501A, sponsored by Councilmember Williams, which will alter the terms of appointment for district managers.

I don't like that one.

An intro 951, sponsored by Councilmember Thomas Henry, which will prevent policymakers and their relatives from trading on prediction markets using insider information.

Thank you.

I'd like to thank the following staff from the government operations committee to Hari Fraser, Erica Cohen, and Seymour Hamid, and everyone working in the background.

Thank you very much, Chair, for the opportunity to uh speak.

And as much as I would love to stay and devour every minute of today's testimony, I am uh chairing a meeting that began 10 minutes ago.

So I'm gonna run next door and then hopefully come back if this meeting goes on a bit.

Uh I appreciate the chair's generous introduction.

And I also appreciate the open-mindedness with which you're approaching all the pieces of legislation today, and uh I certainly concur that there is not a human being alive that has attended more community board meetings than uh Gail Brewer.

I do want to say um a bit about Intro 320, uh, which is my bill, which is sponsored by the entirety of the city council delegation from Staten Island and a good portion of the chunk of the city council as a whole, which would give Staten Island an official flag.

Currently, uh while every borough has at least an unofficial flag, there are only two boroughs that have official flags codified in the law.