Council to discuss meeting rules during study session

Apr. 3—When is it too late to remove an item from the Norman City Council agenda before the scheduled meeting starts?

That's the question council members will tackle during Tuesday's study session starting at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 201 W. Gray St.

The question surfaced after Kelly Lynn, councilor for Ward 3, removed an item on the consent docket five minutes before the start of the March 28 meeting.

The item Lynn removed was a contract amendment between the city and Food & Shelter, Inc. to extend an agreement to operate the city's shelter by 90 days.

Consent docket items are passed by a single vote of council and not up for discussion or vote unless pulled at the request of a council member.

Council members who bristled at the last-minute change said it did not give them or residents enough time to prepare to speak about the contract.

Mayor Larry Heikkila suggested the council consider a rule to prevent last minute changes to the consent agenda and asked staff to prepare an agenda to consider it at the next study session.

"For council to best serve citizens we need to give citizens the time to prepare their comments to us," Heikkila told The Transcript on Monday. "Pulling an item off a consent agenda minutes before we vote doesn't give citizens time to react.

"I propose that we impose a deadline of 4:00 on the Monday prior to the meeting to change the agenda."

There will also be discussion on behavior towards fellow council members, Heikkila said.

"I would also like to find agreement that we don't criticize other council members or staff from the dais, or allow the public to do so," he said. "It's an effort to make rules for ourselves that help council project our best selves to the citizens."

Another matter that will come up for discussion is related the rules for public speaking. The rules require the public to sign up prior to a meeting with three minutes per speaker and 30 minutes set aside for all those who are for the item and 30 minutes against.

Some residents have said during meetings that it was unfair to expect them to choose a side before a meeting because they had not heard the arguments and presentation on a matter.

Stephen T. Holman, council member for Ward 7, has said he does not like the rules and told The Transcript he plans to address that issue Tuesday.

Holman said he often hears from people who are undecided about an issue until they attend the meeting and from people who plan to speak during a meeting, but could not because they were unaware they had to sign up.

"I could go on an on about why I don't like it but, in the end, it has shown to create more animosity towards the council, has reduced transparency, and has reduced the opportunity for the public to participate," he said Monday.

Holman recalled the new rules went into effect following the June 2020 meetings, which stretched until the wee hours of the morning.

At the time, the council attempted to adopt the budget and for several hours heard from dozens of residents and those outside the city that it should cut the police department's budget to fund community and mental health programs.

The rules went into effect during former Mayor Breea Clark's term, but the rules intended to limit speaking times has seemed unnecessary, Holman said.

"We don't generally have many people at all come to City Council to speak on a regular basis so, drastically changing the format in an attempt to address the very rare occasion of a late meeting has seemed like a solution in search of a problem," he said.

Holman suggested the mayor could simply require a time limit for items that might prove too time consuming.

"The Chair can control the flow of the meetings without forcing people to sign up in advance, too," Holman said. "If we know an item is going to be contentious, then the chair can set a time limit for how long we will take public comment or we can do an in meeting sign up for that item just to keep the line of speakers more organized."

Heikkila said discussion on those rules is reasonable, especially when it comes to asking a resident to pick a side before hearing discussion.

"Logically how can one be open-minded if they don't hear both sides before they make a determination?" Heikkila asked. "I'd like to discuss this further."

While study sessions are open to the public, seating is limited and public comment is not allowed.

Mindy Wood covers City and County government news and notable lawsuits for The Transcript. Reach her at mwood@normantranscript.com or 405-416-4420.