SPOKANE, Wash. — In Monday's Spokane City Council meeting, council members discussed making changes to its rules for the open forum portion of meetings, which faces the most criticism from the public.
Council considered the following changes:
- Moving the open forum portion to the end of the council meeting
- Increasing the number of speakers to 20, which is up from 15
- Speakers can only discuss topics specific to city business
Members of the audience would not be allowed to stand during council meetings, including during the open forum. This is a measure the proposal said aims to prevent disruption and visual obstruction during proceedings.
The proposal also asserts a rule that, if it is approved, council is not required to hold an open forum and council can end the meeting at 10 p.m. even if that leaves no time for open forum.
Some Spokane activist groups oppose these rules because they believe the changes silence the public.
“What they're trying to do is make it so that outlet for the people of Spokane is no longer accessible because they don't want us to have that power over them," said Zach McGukin, member of Party for Socialism and Liberation. "They're supposed to be public servants. They're supposed to be accountable to us.”
But, Spokane City Council President Betsy Wilkerson doesn’t see these changes as silencing, but rather guidelines for a more structured open forum and overall meeting.
“So, the overall intent is, again, to expand public input, but also get the business of the city done in a timely manner," Wilkerson said.
In November, dozens of Pro-Palestinian protestors stood and chanted at council members during a Monday night meeting. Interim Council President Lori Kinnear ended the meeting via zoom. Wilkerson said the disruptions during that meeting identified gaps in council’s rules.
"We learned from it, we pivoted and we put it in the rules," Wilkersons aid. "So, if something like that happens again we know the path forward."
City council makes changes to it rules and procedures every year. In fact, it’s not entirely new for the open forum portion of the meeting to happen at the end of the council meeting. It was only moved to the beginning of the council meetings just a couple of years ago.
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