Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Open Government topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves resolution urging full online publication of city ordinances after procedural dispute
Summary
Councilwoman Martin’s walk-on resolution asking the city to publish full ordinance text online was added to the agenda and approved after debate about whether materials were distributed in time to the public and council; the mayor said the muni code work is already underway.
Councilwoman Monica Martin walked a resolution onto the agenda asking the city to publish the full text of all city ordinances online in a complete, searchable, printable format indexed by charter and section. The council approved the resolution after an exchange about whether residents and council members had received adequate notice and time to review the proposal.
Martin read the resolution into the record, saying the city must ensure citizens can view the "full legal text" of ordinances that are enforced administratively. "Whereas the citizens of Highland Park have the right to know and understand the laws and the ordinance that they are governed by in the city where they live in and work," the resolution read in part. The resolution called on city departments to publish full ordinance text and to distribute copies of the resolution to the mayor, city administrator, building department, community and economic development department, city clerk and city website immediately.
Council discussion included a procedural dispute about when the materials were provided to council and whether presentation items should follow public comment. Council Pro Tem Robinson and others said the Third Judicial Circuit Court presentation had been added late and residents should have the opportunity to ask questions; council leadership said the presentation was a courtesy and not designed as a Q&A. Councilwoman Manuka moved to table the resolution so members could review it; that motion failed. A subsequent motion to approve the resolution carried.
Mayor McDonald responded during the meeting that ordinances are on the city's website and that a project to put the municipal code into an organized "muni code" format is already underway with funding and that when completed "every ordinance that has been written will be in that book." The mayor also said there is a "quick link" on the website that displays ordinances and that the municipal code work had been budgeted and was moving forward.
Supporters framed the resolution as a transparency and due-process issue. Martin's text said failure to publish full ordinance text "denies citizens access and understanding of the enforced rules and regulations" and could lead to "unnecessary lawsuits." The resolution also stated that the council would note any failure of officials to comply in the public record as a denial of transparency.
The motion passed on the council floor; roll-call results recorded on the meeting record show mixed positions during votes on related procedural motions. Council members debated whether the request added new content beyond what was already online or instead required better indexing and visibility so residents could find full texts; the mayor and staff said some ordinances and the municipal code are already on the website but that work to consolidate and format them was ongoing.
