Unless we run into another protest in chambers, this week’s Tustin City Council meeting should be fairly short. In fact, the Closed Session, which starts at 5:30  may be longer than the public forum.

The Closed Session has the usual items on it including multiple litigation issues. Two new claims from Russell Taitz and Southern California Edison will also be considered. Surprisingly, there are no real estate issues to bother them tonight. That’s because they completed multiple deals with developers and the Army Reserve for a land swap at their last meeting.

The Regular Session Agenda is headed up by presentations to students and teachers alike. Shelby Van Raes will be recognized for the Student Writing Contest while Joy Wardlaw and Jennifer Morrow will be recognized as Teachers of the Year. Congratulations to all.

One noteworthy item on the consent calendar is the purchase of electronic citation devices for the police department. Reading the staff report, it appears the department is being forced into the program due to changes in the court system. Cost is $110,000 that will be pulled from appropriate funding. Although the cost is substantial, this project is long overdue. To date, only three cities use electronic citations in a pilot project. The courts are forcing the issue but cities will benefit in a variety of ways in eliminating manual processing and more accurate ticketing. It will also make for efficiency in the police ranks, most of whom have better things to do than spend their time writing tickets.

Another issue on the Consent Calendar that begs discussion is the contracting out of processing and collecting administrative citations. It’s unfortunate the Republican hand has convinced everyone that contracting services is the best way to run city government. Judging from the cost, an in-house staff could probably handle this part-time at less cost. We can’t ascertain that for sure as staff have conveniently left off the amount of revenue realized from administrative citations. As with the business license issue awhile back, however, Community Development Director Elizabeth Binsack doesn’t appear interested in having her staff do grunt work.

The sole item under Regular Business is the second reading of an ordinance that would keep keep some Tustin codes relating to construction consistent with  California Green Building Standards Codes by incorporating them through reference. The ordinance will lessen the need for repeated changes caused by changes in California law.

That’s the end of the council’s regular business. Unfortunately, at the last meeting, nearly all of the councilmembers delayed the requisite reading of their community activities due to the protesters. That means an inordinate amount of time may be spent listening to the combined diatribe. The good news? The Podiatrist Councilman did get to list his off last meeting. So, his list may not be as long. I did notice he looks up occasionally from his notes nowadays. Perhaps he took a few public speaking lessons.