Council promises to keep its meetings short and sweet
Residents may be able to get a good night sleep now that the city council promises to wrap up the public’s business before midnight.
Two city councilmen — Bob Holbrook and Herb Katz — have dropped their threat to sue the city over council meetings that run into early morning hours, which they felt prevented public participation, said local attorney Rosario Perry.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday night to make sure the meetings end by 11 p.m., which is mandated by the city charter. However, there have been numerous occasions in past months when the council has voted to go past the 11 p.m. deadline.
“I think the city council is somewhat embarrassed that they go so late,” Perry said. “I think they will behave themselves now.”
Holbrook and Perry announced more than a week ago they intended to file suit against the city, arguing late meetings are a violation of the state’s open meetings law. As meetings regularly began to stretch beyond midnight, they said the public wasn’t getting fair access to council meetings. The suit, which was later backed by Katz, would have asked a judge to prohibit the council from conducting public business beyond 11 p.m.
Some speculate that the lawsuit threat boils down to simple politics and is just an attempt by a group of people who are not represented by the majority to gain recognition.
Holbrook and Katz are the only two council members who are not part of the Santa Monicans for Renters Rights slate and an election season has just begun.
“I think the indication that there are some politics behind this is the way they are going to make a point,” Councilman Richard Bloom said. “That’s not to say that there isn’t a problem... I think everybody takes it seriously. I know I do. We have been talking about this privately but it’s kind of disingenuous to say that ‘I had to sue to get it changed.’”
But apparently the threat of a lawsuit was enough to wake up the city’s elected officials.
Bloom put the issue on Tuesday’s agenda so the council could come up with a solution and avoid a lawsuit. Tuesday’s meeting was a continuation of the council’s Jan. 29 public hearing that lasted until 3 a.m. and left about 140 people waiting for hours to speak on the civic center redevelopment plan.
After about an hour of conversation on the issue, which took the meeting beyond the 11 p.m. deadline, council members came up with a few solutions to keep themselves on track.
But council member Ken Genser pointed out that during the hour of discussion, council members basically said the same points they had made previously, which didn’t help move the discussion forward.
“I have met the enemy and it is us,” he quipped, adding he is in favor of more meetings.
“I have met the enemy and it is us.” — — KEN GENSER Santa Monica city councilman
Many council members believe meeting every Tuesday would require a larger time investment for themselves and city staff, as well as prevent them from attending important community meetings that may conflict with weekly meetings.
Mayor Mike Feinstein said he would do a better job limiting the public’s comments to three minutes, which is a rule he admits he has slacked on in an effort to let people finish their points when testifying in front of council.
That was proven Tuesday when community activist Jerry Rubin gave suggestions to the council on how to shorten the meetings, one of which was to curtail public comment to a one-minute limit. However, he went over his three-minute limit and Feinstein allowed him to continue.
Feinstein suggested during certain discussions the council should save comments directed to the public as a way of debating an issue or making a point. He said now that meeting agendas are in the hands of council members a full week prior to the meetings, city council members should have fewer questions for city staff.
Bloom said the council knows the long meetings have been an issue for years, but rather than filing a lawsuit against themselves, he wished Holbrook and Katz would have tried a more solution-oriented approach first. That’s why he brought it up as a discussion item on Tuesday.
“Given the fact that neither Bob nor Herb brought this up amongst any of their colleagues, I thought someone should,” he said. “As a lawyer, as a member of the council and as a member of the community, I don’t think filing a lawsuit against the city is the first course of action.”
“As a lawyer, as a member of the council and as a member of the community, I don’t think filing a lawsuit against the city is the first course of action.” — — RICHARD BLOOM Santa Monica city councilman
He added that starting the meetings at 6:45 p.m. was a concession made by the council to accommodate Holbrook and Katz’s work schedules, which makes the meetings run later into the night.
“This is all a matter of balance,” he said. “All of these things we do have consequences.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 7, 2002. Read the original PDF.