Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Homelessness Camping Ordinance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Advocates press Joplin council to review camping ordinance, demand transparency from city-funded groups
Summary
Amanda Bearden asked the council to review, refine, or eliminate the city's camping ordinance, accused the policy of harming unsheltered residents, and requested the council require city-funded organizations to publish agendas and minutes; council members scheduled follow-up meetings but did not change policy at the session.
Amanda Bearden, identifying herself as part of the Advocates for the Under Resourced, told the Joplin City Council that the camping ordinance enacted earlier this year is causing harm to unsheltered residents and that enforcement has proceeded without the homeless coordinator position in place.
"People are being cited. People are being arrested," Bearden said, and she argued that housing-voucher holders face barriers finding landlords because of the policy’s consequences. She asked the full council whether any review of the camping ordinance has begun, whether it has been placed on an agenda, or whether it has been assigned to a work group.
Bearden also asked the council to require that city-funded organizations publish agendas and minutes; she said the Joplin Regional Commission on Homelessness — which receives city funding — did not post agendas or minutes and initially denied her requests for membership information. "The public has a right to know how those decisions are being made," she said.
Council members and staff responded that many commission agendas and minutes are posted if requested and that staff would follow up; the mayor and other members said they expected to meet with Bearden later in the week to discuss next steps. The council did not adopt immediate changes to the camping ordinance or new transparency requirements during the May 2 meeting.
What happens next: Bearden said she has meetings scheduled with the mayor and council staff this week; council members indicated they would discuss her requests in that follow-up but made no formal commitment on ordinance revision at the meeting.
