Elected officials show concern that long meetings keep the public from participating
MAIN LIBRARY — In the interest of shortening the length of City Council meetings, the mayor may just have to look at his colleagues on the dais and tell them to shut up.
That’s one idea being floated around by elected officials who are concerned that the public is not being allowed to participate fully in the decision-making process because the meetings run well into the evening, sometimes stretching beyond midnight — and therefore, past many people’s bedtimes.
“I think we have to empower the mayor to say, ‘Sorry council member X, we have to move on,” said Councilman Ken Genser during a council study session on Saturday, during which elected officials and city staff mulled over topics ranging from the restruc-turing of City Hall to what to do with the Santa Monica Airport when an operating agreement with the FAA expires in eight years.
“What I think is the most important thing to help move meetings along is empowering the mayor to say, ‘Shut up,’”
Genser added. “We have to not get offended... We want the mayor as nicely and as diplomatically as he can tell us when we are off topic or are when we are repeating ourselves.
“If we are offended, we’ll just have to live with that.”
The length of the meetings, which routinely extend beyond 11 p.m., has continued to be a contentious issue with residents, business owners and elected officials alike complaining about the inability of the public to have input. There is also a concern about the ability of elected officials to do their jobs properly and not be hindered by fatigue, especially when they are making decisions that involve millions of dollars.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 8, 2007. Read the original PDF.