CEC testimony - Saeed on training accessibility and future initiatives

We work to make training more accessible and responsive to board members'needs and interests.

We offer workshops at different times and days to meet members'busy schedules.

We also provide more personalized service for individual boards, including parliamentary procedure topics of their choosing and exclusively for their own members.

We're in regular communication with the Future of Community Boards Working Group, discussing ways to improve services to boards, including exploring approaches to the upcoming member term limits.

At the request of Brooklyn Community Board 4 and Councilmember Gutierrez's office, we are in the process of organizing a workshop on how boards deal with liquor licenses that will consist of a panel of board members who have expertise in that area.

We expect that to occur in the fall of 2026.

Lastly, in February, we began a partnership with the National Civic League and Perfect City called Better Public Meetings NYC.

This has included conducting surveys and interviews at six community boards, including Brooklyn 4, Queens 6, Manhattan 3 and 11, and Bronx 7 and 9.

Working with the borough president's offices, we are conducting a survey of all boards asking for their best practices and policies on public meetings.

This coming July, we'll be hosting a public forum to discuss what we've learned so far and how we can implement the learnings.

We will also work to form peer learning groups with community board members and staff.

We look forward to reporting back on that work in the future.

Thank you so much for your attention, and we're happy to answer any questions.

Thank you very much, Council Member Wilson.