Hello wonderful broadband supporters! We need your help contacting the COB once again. Specifically your council members and mayor. We need  you to tell them that you expect them to create a proper broadband committee. As usual, they are trying to make one in name only as I'll explain. At first when I saw the recent press release for a committee I was excited. Finally, they're going to create a broadband committee, but as I looked into the details in the resolution I found out that our Public Works and IT Directors made sure that the committee would literally not be allowed to discuss most broadband issues. I'll put the link to the full resolution below, but here is a highlight from the resolution showing what the committee will NOT be allowed to discuss. Does anyone else see how undemocratic this is? 

“The Workgroup and Consultant shall focus on broadband and fiber optic networks and the use of the city’s fiber optic network to potentially expand quality, access, equity, and affordability and shall not investigate other forms of telecommunication services providing broadband including cellular, cable, digital subscriber line, or satellite services, except insofar as they directly relate to fiber optic networks.  Work shall also exclude consideration of programs to directly subsidize consumer costs for existing internet services offered by private providers and exclude changes to existing telecommunications franchises.  A review of the climate impacts of options shall be also excluded from the work of this workgroup.  Review of climate impacts of a recommended policy should be considered by the Council with a separate process prior to the adoption of any policy recommendation of the Workgroup.”

Basically, the workgroup is only allowed to discuss the existing network. Not even Open Access, Dig Once, the environmental impact of technology, and more. If we let them do this in this manner, they'll form this committee, pretend they talked about it, and drag this out for another 4 years. They will also use the application process to make sure only people with ties to big telecom are on the committee.