How to show up in Santa Cruz County

Bodies in this county

• Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors

  Watch this one

  This Board approved the Sheriff's Cellebrite phone extraction device in December 2022 and the county's alarm registry contract in 2021, both documented by the 2023 civil grand jury. It also created the county's Office of Inspector General.

  When

  Tuesdays at 9:00 AM, on the dates listed in the meeting portal.

  Where

  Board Chambers, Governmental Center Building, 701 Ocean Street, Room 525, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Some meetings are held in other rooms in the building or at the South County Government Center in Watsonville, so the agenda for a given meeting is where to check.

  Remote

  Meetings are streamed on the county's meeting portal, on the county's Facebook page, and on Community Television of Santa Cruz County. The Board runs a Zoom webinar with a call-in number, both printed at the top of every agenda, and takes spoken comment from people joining that way. Spanish translation can be arranged in advance through the Clerk of the Board.

  Public comment

  Two minutes per speaker, or whatever limit the Chair sets, and one comment per agenda item. Someone commenting in the room forms a line down the centre of the Chambers and approaches the podium when the Chair calls for it.

  Written comment

  By email to BoardOfSupervisors@santacruzcountyca.gov, through the comment tool on the meeting portal, or by mail to 701 Ocean Street, Room 500, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. To appear with the online materials before the meeting, comment has to arrive by 5:00 PM the Monday before. Comment arriving after noon on the Tuesday before a meeting goes into the written correspondence packet for the following meeting instead.

  Who to ask

  Clerk of the Board, 831-454-2323, COBStaff@santacruzcountyca.gov (checked 28 Aug 2026)

  The county moved its meeting portal to PrimeGov in January 2025. The IQM2 portal that search engines and older documents still point at now holds meetings from February 2016 to December 2024, and meetings from January 1997 to January 2016 are in a third archive.

  Their agendas and schedule ↗ Their meetings page ↗

  Confirmed · 28 Aug 2026

• Santa Cruz City Council

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  In January 2026 this council voted 6-1 to terminate the city's Flock Safety contract and stop using plate readers immediately, and set conditions for any future system. Two months earlier it had been briefed on pausing the city's participation in statewide plate data sharing.

  When

  Tuesdays, with closed session at 1:00 PM and the open session at 2:30 PM. The city publishes an annual council meeting calendar with the dates.

  Where

  Council Chambers, 809 Center Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

  Remote

  Meetings are carried on Zoom with no time delay, by phone, and on local television. Someone on the phone presses star 9 to raise a hand and star 6 to unmute.

  Public comment

  Thirty minutes in total is set aside for oral communications, the period for matters not on the agenda. Extra time to speak on behalf of a group on a specific item has to be requested from the Mayor and the City Clerk by 5:00 PM on the Sunday before the meeting, and is not granted until they confirm it.

  Written comment

  Correspondence has to reach the City Clerk by 5:00 PM the day before the meeting to go into the agenda packet.

  Who to ask

  City Clerk's Office, 831-420-5030 (checked 28 Aug 2026)

  The city moved from cityofsantacruz.com to santacruzca.gov, and older links redirect or fail. Agendas and staff reports are published no later than 72 hours before a regular meeting and 24 hours before a special one. The agenda's boilerplate does not print a per-speaker time limit, so we do not list one. The city's minutes name individual public speakers; we do not republish those names.

  Their agendas and schedule ↗ Their meetings page ↗

  Confirmed · 28 Aug 2026

• Watsonville City Council

  Watch this one

  In September 2025 this council adopted Resolution 241-25 on a 5-2 vote, leasing 37 Flock Safety plate readers for up to $251,000 over two years. The item had been placed on the consent calendar and was pulled off it at the mayor's request so it could be heard on its own.

  When

  The second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 4:30 PM.

  Where

  City Council Chambers, 275 Main Street, Top Floor, Watsonville, CA 95076

  Remote

  Meetings are hybrid. The city runs a Zoom webinar whose link is published with each meeting, and streams from the agendas page about 15 minutes before the start. The city says remote attendees get the same opportunity to comment as people in the room, on the same time limits. Someone on Zoom uses the raise-hand button; someone on the phone presses star 9.

  Public comment

  Comment is taken from people in the room and from people joining remotely, under the same limits. The city does not publish the number of minutes on its council pages, so the agenda for a given meeting is where to check it.

  Written comment

  By email to citycouncil@watsonville.gov with "Public Comment" in the subject line and the agenda item number and title in the message, or by using the Leave Comment button on the item in the HTML version of the agenda. No deadline is published.

  Who to ask

  City Clerk's Office, 831-768-3010 (checked 28 Aug 2026)

  The city's own agendas page gives the Council Chambers address as 250 Main Street. Every council meeting listed on the city's eScribe portal gives it as 275 Main Street, Top Floor, which is the address printed on the meetings themselves and the one used here. Accommodation requests go to the City Clerk's Office at least three business days ahead. The city moved from cityofwatsonville.org to watsonville.gov.

  Their agendas and schedule ↗ Their meetings page ↗

  Confirmed · 28 Aug 2026