Anacortes council debates tighter meeting procedures, remote comment rules

Anacortes — The City Council on Dec. 1 reviewed a redlined update to its meeting procedures that would formalize parliamentary practice, restrict some public‑comment behaviors and add new rules for committee membership and council communications.

City staff attorney Miss Swetnam told the council the draft replaces an older attachment with a straight reference to Robert's Rules of Order: "we changed the language to say that debate has to follow Robert's rules of order," she said, noting the city will add the edition and method of adoption in the next draft. The update also would rotate the clerk treasurer's order of calling roll during roll‑call votes and replace code language requiring fees to be set by ordinance with a unified fee schedule adopted by resolution.

Why it matters: the package aims to make meetings more predictable and to give the mayor and chair clearer tools to manage disorderly conduct while preserving public access. That balance underpinned most of the evening's debate.

Council discussed several high‑profile changes. The draft would require two readings at separate meetings for regulatory, nonemergency ordinances, though the council can waive the two‑read rule. On public comment, the draft adds that applause or cheering is prohibited except during announcements, and that councilmembers should not respond to questions during the general public‑comment period to avoid on‑the‑dias back‑and‑forth.

A contentious proposal would have required remote commenters to keep their camera on during their remarks; staff said the rule was intended to reduce incidents of anonymous abuse and 'Zoom bombing.' "This provision was intended to try to have somebody have to show their face before they provide those comments," Miss Swetnam said, adding the change followed examples used by other agencies. Councilmember Walters said he was "dubious about subsection 4 and its requirement to have commenters use their camera" and urged caution because the city still offers a phone‑in option. Councilmember Young and others cited previous episodes of abusive anonymous comments in other jurisdictions and said some safeguard was needed to prevent disruption.

The council settled on a compromise in the discussion: striking the blanket camera‑on requirement while adding a neutral‑background expectation for commenters who do use video and retaining phone‑in access. Staff signaled it will consolidate applause, cheering and disruption rules into a single section for the chair to reference quickly.

The disruption section was also rewritten to focus on conduct that interrupts proceedings rather than topics of speech. The draft lists examples of disruptive behavior—threats, personal attacks, racist or misogynistic slurs, abusive language, failure to comply with a speaker's allotted time, and other disorderly conduct that impedes orderly business—and makes those grounds for the chair to interrupt or disconnect participants.

Committee composition and turnover drew sustained attention. The draft said no councilmember may be appointed to a standing committee for more than two consecutive terms. Councilmembers debated softer language to preserve institutional knowledge—several favored staggered rotation or phrasing that the composition of a committee "should" change over time rather than a hard limit. Staff said it would return proposed language that gives the mayor pro tem discretion, subject to council confirmation, and suggested using "should" instead of "must" to preserve flexibility.

The reworked procedures also add a new section on council communications and records. The draft reiterates that council members must communicate in ways that comply with the Open Public Meetings Act, may send emails to all colleagues with instructions not to "reply all," and must retain records related to city business in their native format for public‑records requests.

Staff said it will incorporate council feedback and circulate an updated draft for final consideration and expected adoption before the end of the year.

Next steps: staff will prepare a revised procedures document that incorporates council edits and proposed compromise language for remote participation and committee rotation. The council signaled broad support for returning the item for final action before year‑end.