On Aug. 17, the City Council members voted 5-3 in favor of holding public comments until the end of its meetings. For the last three weeks, matters not found on the agenda have been addressed at the end of meetings for the last three weeks. However, the council’s rules of procedure were reversed last night after a number of advocacy groups publicly opposed the council’s decision. Council members passed the motion under the condition that commenting would not exceed 30 minutes and would allow each speaker a maximum of two minutes on the floor. If the allotted 30 minutes expire before a person is able to share, their comments are to be held until the end of the meeting. Prior to Tuesday’s

City officials and civil liberties advocates are taking opposite positions on the city’s plans to set up security cameras at several locations in Sacramento. The two sides are presenting opposing views on the effectiveness of surveillance systems. Mayor Kevin Johnson said in April that the surveillance system would help decrease crime in Sacramento. While locations for the cameras have not yet been selected, Johnson has said that K Street and Regional Transit stations are the kinds of high-traffic and high-crime sites that could be suitable for surveillance. The city intends to purchase a $615,000 surveillance package that includes 32 security cameras, four mobile surveillance trailers a

Civil liberties lawyers and advocates are objecting to the city of Sacramento’s plans to install new security cameras and related surveillance equipment at several locations in the city. Jim Updegraff, the chair of the Sacramento County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told the City Council Tuesday that the planned surveillance system would be “an affront to the privacy and civil liberties of the citizens of the City of Sacramento.” Mayor Kevin Johnson and Police Chief Rick Braziel last month publicized the city’s plan to use a pot of $615, 500 in Federal Homeland Security grant funds to fund a new surveillance system with 32 cameras, four mobile surveillance trailer