An amended rule of procedure that affects resident participation in West University Place City Council public meetings is one step closer to becoming an official ordinance, after council members approved modified changes during the Sept. 8 council meeting. Council members Kalie Rainsberger, John Bertini and Mayor Pro Tem John Barnes voted in favor.

Explained

Leading up to the September meeting, the agenda document listed the public participation rule as one of the five rules within the city’s rules of procedure that were up for modification. The proposed change would include all written comments submitted for City Council meetings only as an attachment to the meeting minutes, instead of being read aloud during the public comment portion of meetings, according to agenda documents.

Some council members argued that not reading comments would limit accessibility for residents who are unable to attend in person. Barnes said public comment sessions provide an opportunity for citizens to speak their minds.

“They have been an integral part of public meetings,” Barnes said. “Merely attaching them to the minutes is not allowing residents' comments to be made in the bright light of an open floor.”

Instead, Barnes suggested an amendment to the proposed changes, which he said would allow residents to ask that their written public comments be read during the related agenda item. It would also still allow written public comments to be read by the city secretary at City Council meetings, he said.

Those opposed

Mayor Susan Sample and council member Clay Brett cast the dissenting votes.

“Our meetings have become so long discussing matters of procedure that they become inaccessible to residents,” Brett said, “They become inaccessible to the residents who are most likely to be the sort of thought leaders ... deep experts, value contributors to our city that really stand out and really make us exceptional.”

Brett said that creating efficient and accessible meetings for everyone is part of good governance. He welcomed residents to contact him through multiple means of communication.

“When I send messages to my neighbors about the city, they can come knock on my door, because we’re a 2-by-2-square-mile city of 15,000 people,” Brett said. “If they don’t want to knock on my door or they can’t knock on my door, they can call me.”

Going forward

The ordinance changes will undergo several steps before going into effect, including processing for the second of two readings at the next City Council meeting Sept. 22 through the consent agenda, officials said.

City Council agreed to revisit the rule in three to six months to assess its impact on public participation.