Public Safety Commission gets a new chair

It was the end of an era at the April 1 meeting of the Public Safety Commission. After serving four and a half years as chair, Rebecca Webber yielded the post to Ed Scruggs, the District 8 representative on the commission. Webber, whose term extends until 2021, will continue to serve as vice chair and parliamentarian simultaneously. With nine years of experience on the commission, Webber was the first woman to be appointed to the post back before Austin had a 10-1 Council and there were seven commission members. After a long career steering the ship, she noted that it was time to step down. After nominating Scruggs to take the position of chair, she sang the commissioner’s praises, saying that the commission would be in good hands going forward. The Public Safety Commission voted unanimously to appoint him. Scruggs reciprocated the niceties, saying that the advisory body had “come a long way” since Webber was appointed as chair. When no one volunteered to perform the role of parliamentarian, Webber volunteered for the task. In keeping with her ethos of smoothing waves and operating in a straightforward manner, she noted that it would take a bit of study on her part to be sure she could keep the commissioners in line with Robert’s Rules of Order when the occasion arises.