Responding to the complaints of Houston residents who find the rules for speaking at council meetings confining, Mayor John Whitmire says he will revamp those rules.
However, the changes he proposes will likely do little to change the wait time for residents to have their moment at the podium to speak directly to council members, which sometimes measures multiple hours.
Whitmire is pushing to change the rule that requires residents to sign up to speak at least 23 hours before the council meets. He advocates a day of public comment session sign-ups.
“I just can’t believe the way we all talk about involvement, inclusion, and you can’t get up and read something in the paper … you can’t come down and testify because you didn’t sign up the day before. So, that’s the direction we’re going in terms of the rules,” he said during a recent council meeting.
Additionally, Whitmire is floating the idea of allowing public comments at night and taking council meetings on the road to different H-Town neighborhoods.
Speakers who have not commented at any of the prior four meetings can choose to talk between one and three minutes. However, if the scheduled time for speakers goes over 2.5 hours (150 minutes) all speakers are confined to one minute.
During sessions, the mayor and council members have the leeway to grant speakers more time.
Whitmire has also appointed District G Councilmember Mary Nan Huffman to oversee a new committee (Proposition A committee) to vet council ordinances now that council members have the added power to place items on the agenda.
Whitmire has stated he wants to give council members more opportunities to engage in debates on issues in a way that mirrors the workings of the Texas Legislature. (470)
Though the Prop A charter amendment went into effect months ago, no rules exist to guide the process. The Whitmire administration expects Proposition A committee members to change that reality by drafting rules outlining the process for council-proposed ordinances. Those specifics were not spelled out in the charter amendment.
“We wanted to create a path that lets them have a more robust discussion about the policy itself,” said Deputy Chief of Staff Steven David.
The ability for council members to place items on the council agenda may not sound groundbreaking, especially since the practice is common in several other cities across the country. However, in Houston, the change is a big deal because it provides a change from the city’s traditional “strong Mayor” system that places all agenda-setting power with the sitting mayor.
