Title
Consideration of Citizen Petition Regarding Council Meeting Times
Description
This report provides the Land Use and Livability Subcommittee with additional information regarding Council meeting times and information related to public participation in City Council meetings, in response to a citizen petition submitted by Ms. Christina S. Eichelkraut (Attachment A).
THIS ITEM IS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
Report
Summary
When staff discussed Ms. Eichelkraut's citizen petition at the Jan. 15, 2020 Land Use and Livability Subcommittee, the Subcommittee asked staff to research meeting times and options for increasing public participation in City Council Formal agenda deliberations, including exploring the practices and systems used in other communities and at the State legislature. Since then and in response to social distancing requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public participation in City Council Meetings has expanded and changed significantly.
Meeting Times
The petitioner proposed that the City Council change its meeting times and split council meetings into "administrative" and "constituent-focused" sessions. "Administrative" meetings would address consent and "routine" items, including uncontested zoning hearings, and would continue to occur in the afternoon. "Constituent-focused" meetings would be reserved for contested zoning matters and other items such as utility rates, park improvements, budget items, major infrastructure projects, police and fire department administration and public transit, and would occur in the evening.
Staff met with Ms. Eichelkraut to discuss her citizen petition. Staff discussed the challenges with scheduling meeting items based on interest (contested vs. uncontested) or potential impact (population or geographic area), including logistical issues in attempting to determine interest prior to scheduling an item onto an agenda, and the potential for inconsistency, reduced transparency, and possible inequity. Staff noted that splitting meetings by type (i.e.: formal, policy, subcommittee) or topic (i.e.: zoning) instead, and potentially changing their start times is feasible, however, as noted in staff’s prior report to the Subcommittee, the Council has tried this in the past. The Council has adjusted its meeting times in response to stakeholder input over the years, including holding separate Zoning meetings in the evenings and starting Formal Council meetings at 5 p.m. However, the diversity of stakeholder needs in a large city is so great that finding a single time that works for everyone is challenging. After making several adjustments over the years, in 2015 the Council consolidated all items onto its Formal meeting agenda with the current start time of 2:30 p.m. to be consistent with Policy meetings that also start at 2:30 p.m., and with zoning items at the end of the Formal agenda.
With the current start time of 2:30 p.m. for Formal Meetings, there has been active public participation at each meeting. In a 12 month period from February 2019 through February 2020, more than 2,200 items were considered by the Council, more than 300 items were pulled for individual vote and/or discussion, and nearly 1,500 individuals submitted cards requesting to speak or provide comment. Additionally, due to the large number of agenda items and extensive public input and discussion, Formal meetings often have gone later than 5 p.m. and staffing has been planned accordingly. If meetings were to run (or start) later in the evening, the primary cost to the City would be additional costs associated with extended staffing, as needed.
Historically, there have also been a variety of other meetings and opportunities for public participation to meet the diverse needs of stakeholders. Examples include community budget hearings, village planning committee meetings, community listening sessions, and ad hoc advisory groups, among others. Council members also regularly have held events in their districts to engage and solicit feedback from their constituents. Residents are also encouraged to contact City staff and elected officials directly, and they are able to provide information prior to any meeting via telephone, letter, email, and social media.
For comparison, in February, City Clerk staff contacted representatives from the State of Arizona legislative council and 28 other cities. Staff found that meeting times varied significantly by jurisdiction. In general, the nation’s largest cities tend to have longer agendas and daytime meetings. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Dallas all schedule their meetings during the day. Peer cities in Arizona typically host evening meetings. However, their agendas are substantially shorter than Phoenix, averaging 25-30 items, compared to 90-110 for Phoenix.
Public Participation
The City of Phoenix strives to make information about City Council deliberations widely available and accessible by publishing Policy, Formal and Subcommittee meeting agendas online the week prior to the meetings, well in advance of the 24-hour deadline required by State law. All meetings are televised live and streamed live on phoenix.gov, and links to videos are posted on phoenix.gov after the meetings as well.
As requested by the Subcommittee, in February staff researched the possibility of acquiring and implementing the Request to Speak System (RTS) used by the Arizona State Legislature. The State’s system allows members of the public to sign-up to speak in person at meetings as well as register their positions and make comments on bills electronically (e-Comments). Phoenix Information Technology Services (ITS) staff consulted with the State and confirmed that the system is a custom-built system that was designed in-house by State Information Technology staff. The system is not portable, and the code is not available for duplication by the City.
Shortly after initiating research related to alternatives for public participation in Council meetings, the COVID-19 pandemic began and federal and state guidelines were issued requiring the implementation of social distancing practices and restrictions on in-person gatherings. The City declared a Local Emergency, residents were no longer allowed in the Council Chambers per CDC guidelines, and the City Council began meeting virtually. Technology options became available to facilitate virtual communication under these extraordinary circumstances. Staff from numerous departments worked quickly to respond to the immediate need of implementing public participation in meetings in a virtual environment. Different options to access and participate in Council Meetings were implemented, including:
- A phone number for members of the public to call and submit requests to speak on Council Meeting agenda items.
- A system for persons that registered to speak on a Council Meeting item, to then join and speak during the meeting remotely using Webex and/or a dial-in phone number.
- A system to allow persons only wishing to listen to the meeting, to do so through Webex or using the dial-in phone number.
- The expansion of the City's current electronic agenda management system to allow residents to login electronically and submit Requests to Speak and eComments on meeting agenda items online.
All of these systems are currently in place and being used by the public to participate in meetings remotely.
Information on the options to access and participate in Council Meetings has been incorporated into meeting agendas, provided online on the main City Council Meetings page, have been publicized through the City's social media pages, PHX Channel 11, PHX YouTube, and the PHX Newsroom. An instructional info graphic and English and Spanish video was created and provided to the public describing how to use the new public participation systems, as well.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Subcommittee initially considered the citizen petition submitted by Ms. Eichelkraut at its meeting on Jan. 15, 2020. Subcommittee members asked staff to research and return on March 18, 2020 with information regarding Council meeting times and options related to increasing public participation.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Toni Maccarone and the City Clerk Department.