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Oklahoma City Council rescinds older hearing rules after debate over economic-development timing
Summary
The council voted 7-2 to rescind two prior council resolutions that had required certain matters — including ordinance changes and some economic-development items — to appear on two meeting agendas. A proposed amendment to preserve the 2018 economic-incentives requirement failed 2-7.
The Oklahoma City Council voted 7-2 on Jan. 14 to rescind two council resolutions adopted in 2010 and 2018 that had required selected items — such as ordinance changes and some economic-development actions — to appear on two separate council meeting agendas.
Mayor David Holt said the city charter already requires ordinances to appear on two agendas and that the older council resolutions had become duplicative since the council’s meeting schedule changed from weekly to biweekly.
Supporters of the rescission argued the two-meeting requirement now creates a longer public-notice period than originally intended. “At that time the council was meeting weekly and an ordinance change that would appear on two agendas would be in the public domain for 12 days,” Holt said. “Since we now meet biweekly that becomes 32 days with the 2010 resolution, and I don’t believe that was the intent.”
Councilwoman Hammond disagreed about eliminating the extra time for some economic-development allocations and moved to amend the resolution to exclude the Sept. 28, 2018 resolution relating to economic-development incentives from rescission. She said constituents and even some council members rely on the extra two-week window to gather information and engage, and that the Economic Development Trust is not widely known to the public.
City staff and other council members replied that economic-development items typically also pass through the Economic Development Trust and that council deferrals and emergency provisions already enable the body to add time if concerns arise. The motion to amend — to keep the 2018 rule in place for economic-incentive allocations — failed by a 2-7 tally. The council then voted 7-2 to adopt the original rescission as proposed.
The council’s discussion distinguished between the formal legal requirement (the city charter’s two-reading rule for ordinances) and internal council practice created by the earlier resolutions. The final resolution removes the additional council-layer requirement while leaving the charter and any state or federal grant timing requirements intact.
Councilmembers did not adopt any new limits on the council’s ability to defer items; several members pointed out that deferrals remain available and that emergency processes exist to lengthen public notice when needed.
The resolution passed without further amendments.
