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Council discusses potential conflict as councilor writes for Plain Talk; agrees to separate invoice items
Summary
Councilors raised an appearance-of-conflict concern because a councilor freelances for the Plain Talk, which receives monthly city invoices; staff and the city attorney cited statute barring voting when a direct financial interest exists and recommended pulling potentially affected line items from consent so the councilor can recuse.
Councilors questioned whether a council member who writes for the Plain Talk should participate in votes that financially involve that newspaper. Mike Brewer raised the issue after noting the paper publishes the city's legal notices and receives monthly invoices. Councilor Elias was not present; staff said Elias works as a per-article stringer rather than a full-time employee.
The city attorney clarified the statute: "If you have a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest, you can't participate in the discussion and you can't vote," he said, and noted that a vote cast by someone with a prohibited interest could be invalid. Councilors agreed to a practice of pulling items that might present a conflict from the consent agenda and listing them separately so the affected member may recuse. The council then voted to approve invoices payable for the meeting after the discussion.
