San Diego County Modernizes Public Meetings While Cutting Staff Processing Time by 26%
A Case Study on Modernizing Access, Streamlining Operations, and Ensuring Compliance in Public Meetings
As a leader in public meeting innovation and collaboration, San Diego County has been recognized with the Leader of Innovation Award for advancing more accessible, efficient, and compliant public meetings. This case study explores how San Diego County helped shape and refine the public meeting experience—delivering community-centered improvements that streamline operations, support stakeholders, and expand public access.
"Since switching to PublicInput's Meetings product, we've cut meeting prep and post-processing time by 26% — eliminating hours of manual agenda updates, spreadsheet tracking, and caller management that used to bog down our entire team."
Community Profile
San Diego County, home to over 3 million residents, is California’s second-most populous county and one of its most diverse.
With nearly 35% of residents identifying as Hispanic or Latino and over 20% speaking a language other than English at home, accessibility and inclusion are central to effective governance.
Overcoming Fragmented Outdated Public Comment Process
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors serves as a vital platform for residents to share their perspectives. Hosting frequent, high-volume meetings, the Board helps to shape regional policies on housing, health, transportation, and the environment.
However, maintaining meaningful public access at this scale posed serious operational challenges, especially as community expectations and legal requirements for digital accessibility evolved.
Meetings often stretched six to eight hours and drew hundreds of participants. And, behind the scenes, staff were managing comments and speaker lists through two separate systems:
In-Person Speakers | Virtual (Call-In) Speakers |
| Filled out individual paper slips for each agenda item | Submitted separate online forms |
| Required manual entry and organization by staff | Lacked technical redundancy or automated support |
| Provided no visibility into registration status | Offered no way to track speaking order |
This dual process was time-consuming and error-prone. Without integrated workflows, staff were burdened by manual tracking, and residents faced unnecessary barriers to participation. The system’s lack of accessibility and redundancy also left the County at risk of compliance gaps with the Brown Act and the recently passed SB 707.
Recognizing the need for modernization, San Diego County sought a unified, cloud-based solution that could streamline every phase of the meeting process—from agenda creation through post-meeting reporting—while ensuring full compliance with California’s SB 707.
26% reduction in meeting prep and post-processing time
The Result: San Diego County Manages Public Meetings More Effectively
PublicInput Meetings unified San Diego County’s entire meeting workflow across three phases:
1. Pre-Meeting (Preparation)
Through a seamless integration with Legistar, PublicInput Meetings automatically generates draft agendas and meeting workflows as soon as new items are scheduled.
Constituents can now register to speak via a custom Request to Speak form, receiving automated confirmations and reminders—eliminating manual coordination for staff.
2. During the Meeting (Real-Time Engagement)
County staff manages both phone and in-person speakers through the Speaker Management Dashboard, which displays live queues by agenda item and supports up to 250 concurrent calls.
Residents experience an accessible process, whether joining in person, by browser, or through a toll-free number.
3. Post-Meeting (Analysis and Reporting)
After each meeting, the system automatically generates transcripts, audio records, and engagement reports. Staff can now export these directly to prepare official minutes or analyze participation trends.
Post meeting enhancements include AI-powered transcription and automated minutes generation, reducing hours of manual staff work to just minutes.
By connecting every phase of the meeting workflow, PublicInput Meetings replaces fragmented manual tasks with automation—saving time, improving reliability, and strengthening transparency.
A Model for Modern Compliance: California’s SB 707 Mandates
PublicInput positioned San Diego County at the forefront of compliance with California Senate Bill 707, which enforced strict standards for accessibility and hybrid participation in public meetings.
How PublicInput Supports SB 707 Compliance
| SB 707 Requirement | How PublicInput Meets It |
| Accessible, Translated Public Portal | The Public Engagement Hub synchronizes with Legistar to publish machine-readable, ADA-compliant HTML agendas translatable into 100+ languages. |
| Hybrid Public Access | Built-in browser-based and toll-free dial-in participation ensures equal access for all attendees. |
| Equal Comment Parity | Identical time presets for in-person and remote speakers ensure fairness. |
| Captioning and Redundancy | Live multilingual captions and redundant livestream/phone feeds prevent disruptions. |
| Agenda Posting Standards | One-click publishing ensures timely, compliant posting of digital agendas. |
| Outreach to Diverse Communities | Multilingual email tools support outreach to underrepresented and non-English-speaking groups. |
These turnkey capabilities distinguish PublicInput Meetings from limited point solutions—offering agencies a fully integrated, compliance-ready platform purpose-built for transparency and accessibility.
Build Your Own Model for Accessible, Compliant Engagement
San Diego County’s success shows how technology can simplify complex operations while strengthening the principles of open, accessible governance.
If your agency is ready to save time, ensure compliance, and make participation more accessible for every resident, let us show you PublicInput Meetings—the complete toolkit for modern, transparent, and inclusive public meetings.
