Spokane council compromises on public testimony, approves other procedural changes

Each year, the Spokane City Council makes tweaks to the public rules for its meetings, making adjustments in the hopes of streamlining the most prominent aspect of its legislative work.

The debate has stretched into March this year, but after months of back and forth about how to manage public testimony and how to make the amendment process more transparent, the new rules were approved unanimously on Monday. However, they won’t take effect until July, and several council members reiterated Monday that the public still has the opportunity to comment.

The council had considered a number of changes to public testimony to make it easier for people to speak without waiting hours for the opportunity, including by placing significant limits on testimony or by creating a priority system.

Councilwomen Kate Telis, Kitty Klitzke and Councilman Zack Zappone argued that the average resident often isn’t able to testify on major items during meetings that stretch late into the night, in large part because a small number of people speak throughout the night. Limiting the testimony of chronic speakers would shorten the meetings, making it more likely that someone could speak earlier in the night.

Instead, the council has created a sort of express lane for testimony, allowing people to sign up for a single speaking slot early in the meeting, which they would have to opt for in lieu of the standard lengthier – and slower – speaking opportunities. In most cases, testimony has also been limited to two minutes, down from three.

While testimony made up the lion’s share of debate in recent weeks, Monday’s vote made many changes to how the council conducts its business.

Applicants to temporarily fill a vacant council seat will now face additional public scrutiny, with the top two candidates required to face questions from the public at an open meeting. This reform was proposed by Councilman Michael Cathcart, whose seat could be vacant next year as he’s currently running for Spokane County Auditor. He has long raised concerns that the public had relatively little involvement in the selection of an appointed council member who could represent them for years before an election.

The council’s amendment process has also been changed, providing more opportunities for the public to weigh in as legislation gets modified.

Previously, amendments were typically adopted ahead of the evening meetings where most public attention is focused, meaning that the general public tends to see items only after they have been amended. Legislation typically goes to those evening meetings twice: once for public consideration, and then again for a vote.

Cathcart pushed for items with amendments to instead go to the evening meetings three times. The first time, the clean bill would be presented to the public along with all of the proposed amendments in a bid to increase transparency and public engagement in the amendment process. Amendments could then be adopted between meetings. At the second evening meeting, the amended legislation would once again receive public testimony, and only at a third meeting would the ordinance be adopted.

Paired with a vote last week changing the council’s legislative meeting day to Wednesdays starting in July, Monday’s rule vote finalizes a major change to the council schedule. Historically, the council has held three meetings on Mondays: rotating committee meetings where legislation is first introduced, a preliminary meeting that sets the agenda for the night and where amendments are approved, and then the evening meeting where votes happen.

While there are usually weeks between the legislation being introduced and when it is voted on, the council can fast track legislation and amendments, and at times a law introduced before lunch is amended hours later and voted on the same evening.

Committees and preliminary meetings will now be held on Tuesdays, providing at minimum a full day for the public to digest the council’s actions before a vote is held on a given Wednesday.