Anacortes City Council spent much of its Dec. 1 meeting debating proposed changes to its meeting procedures intended to modernize operations and limit disruptions. City staff presented a red‑line draft of Resolution 31‑88 covering rules of debate, public‑comment protocols, committee appointments and record‑keeping.

City staff proposed replacing the council’s custom attachment with Robert's Rules of Order, formalizing a rotation of the order of roll‑call votes and a two‑reading requirement for nonemergency regulatory ordinances. "We changed the language to say that debate has to follow Robert's rules of order," staff said during the presentation.

More contested were proposed public‑comment rules. The draft would prohibit applause or cheering during meetings, bar councilmembers from engaging in back‑and‑forth during general public comment, and require commenters to provide a name and city or ward of residence. Staff also proposed that remote commenters be recognized only if their camera remains on for the entirety of their comment, and that the chair may disconnect any remote commenter who turns their camera off.

Councilmembers voiced privacy and access concerns. "I am dubious about subsection 4 and its requirement to have commenters use their camera because we don't even require that of council members," Councilmember Walters said during debate, warning the policy could exclude people who lack video capability or who need privacy. Other members argued anonymity has enabled abusive behavior in other jurisdictions and that some safeguard was needed.

After discussion, council signaled a consensus to strike the strict 'camera‑on' requirement while adding language requiring a neutral background for commenters who do use video and preserving phone‑in participation. Staff also said they would consolidate disruption‑related rules (applause, abusive language, timing violations) into a single section for the chair to enforce.

Council debated limits on standing‑committee service. The draft originally barred more than two consecutive two‑year terms on a given standing committee; members discussed retroactivity, staggering to preserve institutional knowledge, and whether to prefer flexible guidance rather than a prescriptive limit. Staff agreed to draft hybrid language that aims to encourage rotation while allowing the mayor pro tem discretion in assignments, subject to council confirmation.

The council also accepted additions about email communications and public‑records retention to align practices with the Open Public Meetings Act and the Public Records Act.

Staff said an updated draft that incorporates tonight’s comments will be returned to council for formal adoption before the end of the year.