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Boulder oversight panel debates limits on special meetings, eyes role in 5-year ordinance review
Summary
Panel members and legal staff discussed whether the panel can meet outside regular meetings, how meetings with the chief should be characterized, and the timing and procedure for the city manager's statutorily required 5-year system review. Panel members agreed to keep the topic on the next agenda and requested more detail about the city manager's
Panel members debated whether three-panel-member requests to meet outside a regular meeting would be allowed under the ordinance and Colorado open meeting law, and discussed next steps for the city manager's five-year evaluation of the civilian oversight system.
"We got, the city manager is willing to meet either in groups of 2 or individually to discuss whatever," Chico, a panel member, said during the discussion about how to handle the special-meeting request. The panel had sought legal guidance after three members requested a special meeting; city staff told the co-chairs the request raised open-meetings issues.
Why it matters: the panel's ability to convene affects its internal governance and its capacity to respond quickly to member concerns about communication and process. The ordinance that created the oversight system also contemplates a five-year evaluation of that system, which the city manager controls.
What was discussed
- Legal advice and meeting types: Chris Reynolds of the Boulder City Attorney's Office told the panel that gatherings authorized by the ordinance include regular public meetings, training, community engagement functions and limited small-group meetings of up to two members to avoid Colorado open meeting law violations. "There are a few different contexts in which the panel is authorized to meet under the ordinance," he said.
- Meetings with the chief: The city attorney recommended framing regular meetings with the chief as educational so they fall within the ordinance's training or learning exceptions. "I would recommend... putting things on the agenda that you want to learn about, and then [it] can be characterized as training," Reynolds said.
- Panel independence and oversight structure: Panel members debated the panel's independence and where it sits in city government. "We're kind of buried within the bureaucracy, and we're, you know, we're a creature of the city manager's office," Alan, a panel member, said in a wider discussion about constraints and the panel's authority. Other members said that independence and the panel's dispute-resolution roles are core issues to address in the five-year review.
- Five-year system review: Chris Reynolds and co-chairs clarified the code provision that requires a system evaluation every five years. "Section 2-11-21 ... the city manager is the one who basically drives that process," Reynolds said. Panel members said they want to participate in the review and asked for a road map of how the city manager intends to run it.
Decisions and next steps
- The panel agreed to leave the topic on the next meeting agenda and requested more detailed information from the city manager about the planned five-year review process and timeline.
- Several panel members proposed forming a small ad hoc group to draft suggested ordinance edits and to prepare consolidated feedback for the city manager's review. Chris Reynolds advised keeping ad hoc or subcommittee meetings to two members unless the group is noticed as a public meeting.
Ending
Panel co-chairs said they will request additional information from the city manager about the five-year evaluation process, and the panel left the item on the agenda for its next meeting so members can review a road map and consider whether to form an ad hoc committee to draft proposed ordinance language.
