A Tale of Two Consent Calendars

This chart I've made compares the Consent Calendar (CC) with the newly passed Consent Agenda Resolution from October. I hope it clarifies the debate.

According to Ordinance 214	According to the October 22 Resolution
On record since January 28,1993	Proposed since October 8, 2024
Mayor builds the CC	Mayor builds the CC
All items should be routine and/or non-controversial	All items should be routine and/or non-controversial
Item removal by any member upon request.	Item removal requires majority of council vote
Remaining items pass by unanimous consent	Can be passed with a majority vote.
Conforms to standard practice of a CC	Does not conform to any standard practice that I’m aware of.
Intended to shorten meeting time	Would likely lengthen meeting times
No debate allowed on CC items, therefore contested items are removed.	Debate is necessary on CC items if contested.
All Council Members should agree	Allowance of disunity
Members are equal	Members are unequal

Ordinance 214 and the new resolution are conflicting, so the current procedure involves voting to repeal Ordinance 214 at the upcoming City Council Meeting on December 10. If this occurs, it could potentially impede any Council member who wishes to remove an item from the Consent Agenda for any reason in the future. In previous meetings, I've called this new process a rubber stamp calendar because once an item is on the consent calendar, removing it requires a majority vote, which almost ensures its approval.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and be involved.

Sandy White

Sandy4Hayden@gmail.com

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