Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transparency Publication Requirements topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents warn renaming 'emergency' ordinances and dropping publication rules would reduce transparency
Summary
Multiple residents and commission participants told the Charter Review Commission that renaming 'emergency' ordinances to 'expedited' or removing publication requirements risks reducing transparency; speakers cited a recent audit and urged clearer definitions or keeping both terms. The commission noted packet excerpts and the schedule for submitting recommendations to council.
The Charter Review Commission heard sustained public concern about proposed charter changes that would rename "emergency" ordinances as "expedited" and remove certain publication requirements. Mary Price told the commission she opposed the name change, saying it would be "just changing the name" and could undercut public notice: "If the city changes this rule and they don't have to put a lot of public notice out, our transparency is gone."
Price and other speakers referenced a recent audit that identified a large number of emergency ordinances; Price said the audit showed about 162 such orders and that the number later fell by 31. She asked whether the name change would satisfy auditors or simply mask prior uses. The commission and staff replied that some council members proposed "expedited" to better reflect non-substantive, time-sensitive ordinances (for example, short-term contract signings), while preserving "emergency" for truly urgent hazards such as dangerous-building abatement.
Doris Carlin suggested keeping both terms and defining them: "Expedited could then solve your problems like we had last week with a contract that is due now ... whereas an emergency ordinance could be something like a dangerous building." Frank Thompson and other residents expressed broader concerns about transparency, internal audits, and whether charter changes were being proposed for convenience rather than public interest.
Commission members noted the packet provided excerpts of charter sections that contain publication requirements and encouraged the public to attend the council meeting where the commission's recommendations will be considered. The commission stressed that it must summarize recommendations for the council by Dec. 1 and that council action to put items on the April ballot must occur by the third week of January.
No decisions were taken at the hearing; commissioners will include the public testimony in their report to council and consider definitions or alternatives—such as keeping both "emergency" and "expedited"—when drafting recommendations.
