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Oak Harbor council debates commemorative flag policy; directs staff to split lowering authority from commemorative‑flag rules
Summary
Councilors agreed to give the mayor authority to lower U.S. and state flags for local events but expressed concern about expanding which commemorative flags may fly on city property. Staff will return with two separate proposals after direction from council.
The Oak Harbor City Council on Tuesday discussed a proposed resolution to clarify when flags may be displayed or lowered on city property and gave staff direction to return with separate proposals: one granting the mayor authority to lower flags and a second addressing commemorative flags.
Communications officer Maggie Aguilar told the council the city lacks a policy limiting the display of flags on municipal property and currently relies on declarations from the governor to lower flags. “The city of Oak Harbor does not have a policy on the display of flags on city property that limits the display to approve flags,” Aguilar said. She said staff reviewed other cities’ policies and guidance from the Association of Washington Cities and the Municipal Research Services Center in drafting the resolution.
Aguilar said the draft would allow the mayor, on behalf of the council, to raise commemorative flags and to direct lowering of federal and state flags to half staff; she described past delays when the city waited for gubernatorial authorization to honor local service members. “By passing this resolution, we are taking a small but meaningful step and making sure that our city can act quickly,” Aguilar said.
Nut graf: Councilors expressed broad support for giving the mayor authority to lower flags quickly for local tragedies or moments of reflection, but several raised objections to expanding the list of flags flown on city property. Several members said they believed municipal property should remain neutral and cautioned that adopting a commemorative‑flag policy could create divisive, subjective decisions about which groups or causes would receive recognition.
Councilor Marshall said she supported mayoral authority to lower flags but opposed expanding the list of flags flown on city property. “City property should remain a neutral space that does not promote or prioritize any particular group,” Marshall said. Councilor Arms, Councilor Merrill and Councilor Stuckey voiced similar positions in remarks recorded during the meeting. Other councilors supported broader discretion to display commemorative flags as a sign of inclusivity but agreed the two issues warranted separate resolutions.
No formal vote was taken on Resolution 25‑17. Instead, the council directed staff to return with a revised approach—separating the mayor’s authority to lower flags from policies governing commemorative flags—and to bring the revised proposals back at a subsequent meeting. Communications staff indicated they understood the direction and will prepare a revised resolution.
