The San Benito County Board of Supervisors as a whole had an attendance rate of 97 percent for the past year, according to meeting agenda minutes from Oct. 9 of last year until Oct. 7 of this year.
Over that period of time, 32 regular meetings were held and there were just six absences among the five supervisors - or 96 percent attendance. There also were nine special meetings, and board members had perfect attendance at those.
Supervisor Pat Loe missed no meetings throughout the year; Supervisors Anthony Botelho and Jaime De La Cruz missed one meeting; and Supervisors Reb Monaco and Don Marcus missed two.
Monaco said he missed the two meetings due to an emergency and a pre-planned family vacation. He also added that he missed the most recent board meeting, not calculated in the attendance rate, due to him being at a board-related conference in San Diego.
Marcus missed two meetings, one in November 2007 and the other in May 2008. He said he missed those meetings due to a hunting trip to Colorado and a funeral for a family friend. He noted how he believes those two meetings are the only ones he missed in his four-year tenure on the board.
Marcus said he could be at so many meetings because he owns his own construction company that allows flexibility.
"All of our personal situations are very different," said Marcus, when asked why he thought attendance was so high. He added that when members are elected to the county board, they are sure to mark that Tuesday of every meeting off on their calendars.
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz, the board chairman, missed one meeting in December 2007 after his father had passed away. He said the overall attendance is a "clear indication" of how well supervisors get along, despite differences.
"Barring any major incident, I will continue to be at every meeting," he said.
Even with flexibility in a work schedule, Supervisor Pat Loe said that, "It would be extremely hard to be on the board of supervisors and be employed" somewhere else.
Loe said the supervisors are "outstanding" regarding their attendance and everyone has taken it seriously.
"It's my job - it's what I do for a living and I take it very seriously."
According to meetings minutes, Supervisor Anthony Botelho missed a February 2008 meeting and he attributed it to attending an AMBAG - Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments - conference in Washington D.C.
Perfect special meeting attendance
During the same period, the board of supervisors held nine special meetings. The board had 100 percent attendance for those meetings. Many of these meetings are at different times than the regular Tuesday meetings and they often come up with little notice. Loe credited it to the "board working very hard trying to accommodate everyone's schedules."
Colin McConville Colin McConville is a reporter with the Hollister Free Lance. You can reach him by email or at (831) 637-5566.
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