Someone remind me: what does the Police Services Board do again?

So the cops are going to keep their sound cannons. The deal is done.

Let's just leave aside the fact that they can cause intense pain and permanent hearing damage. Apparently the members of Toronto's Police Services Board arrived at their last meeting expecting to be able to debate about whether to keep them, only to discover that the decision had already been made. No clear indication when or by whom.

And apparently they were shocked. I'd like to think that means "shocked" in the way that Claude Rains was "shocked" in Casablanca ...



... but I don't think they deserve that much credit.

So, could someone please remind me why we're paying them and what it is that they do? Because they certainly aren't providing policy direction, exercising civilian oversight, or making meaningful decisions about how police services are delivered.