Detroit rules committee approves procedural changes for petitions to speak, annual calendar timing and clerk application requirements

The Detroit Rules Committee approved a package of changes and directions to the City Council’s rules Thursday, adopting new procedures for how petitions to speak are processed and for scheduling the council’s annual calendar, and directing staff to add information to the clerk’s petition application.

The changes matter because they alter when and how members of the public can be scheduled to speak before either the full council or a standing committee, set an earlier deadline for the council’s annual calendar, and require the clerk to provide councillors with background about repeat petitioners and the relief being sought.

During the meeting Dr. Powers of the Legislative Policy Division read proposed language meant to clarify the petition process, saying: "After the request has been processed by the Clerk's Office, it shall appear as a line item on a formal session agenda. The request shall then be voted upon by the whole body. A majority of the body must approve the request for the petitioner to present to the whole body at a formal session. Approval by the whole body is also required for a presentation of a standing committee meeting." Dr. Powers also read the rule that "The chair of the formal session or of the standing committee shall determine when the petitioner shall be heard and shall also have the…