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Colfax council to pilot smaller-format town halls to encourage open public dialogue
Summary
Council agreed to test a smaller-format town hall model—two rotating council members or a single council representative per session—to allow freer back-and-forth with residents while avoiding Brown Act quorum constraints; city attorney clarified legal limits on decision-making outside noticed meetings.
At the end of the meeting, council members discussed changing the format of the city’s town halls to encourage more open dialogue with residents. The proposal would run meetings with no quorum—either two council members rotating attendance or a single council representative—so discussions can be informal and conversational.
Supporters said smaller panels would allow citizens to speak more freely and create practical follow-ups that could be reported at the next formal council meeting. City Attorney David Rudman cautioned about Brown Act limits: while two council members do not constitute a quorum, topics that subsequently come before the full council still must be handled in properly noticed meetings. Rudman recommended that staff report out the town-hall conversation at the next council meeting to ensure transparency and avoid serial meetings that could violate open-meeting rules.
Council members volunteered to pilot the approach—two-members-per-session on a rotating basis—and staff said they would adjust notices and agendas accordingly for the upcoming town halls.
