Size of Council Doesn’t Matter
A new study conducted by the League of California Cities (LoCC) put to bed the myth that citizens were only satisfied by the length of council meetings and not by the quality. They recommended an optimal session should last three to thirteen minutes, tops.
The long accepted notion that politicians must talk, debate and filibuster to be effective turns out to be just plain false. But there was a note of caution to governmental bodies thinking half-hearted efforts might pass muster: conducting just consent items was “too short.”
“We should be able to finish off all of our agenda items in the optimal amount of time stated in the study,” said LoCC director, Nora Campos. “Of course, this does not include rules committee meetings.”
But some politicians just don’t seem to believe the findings. Councilman Forest Williams says he has not been swayed. “I am running for county supervisor,” he stated, “based on my belief that if you really want to satisfy your constituents, you should last forever.”
Another well-established but misguided practice highlighted in the study is that of cities expanding their council representation to show power. “This is just civic insecurity,” said Jenna Jameson, adult film star. “If they could just understand that the quality of the discourse is much more important than the size of the council, it would go a long way to improving politics.”
It would be such a relief if this were to happen. Thanks for bringing up this idea. As for running for another office the candidate should have to resign their office to run for new one. Look at the presidential race all these Senators doing nothing but running for president and not doing their work in Senate, well maybe were better off if they just all stay away from Washington.
When I download the Council Meeting minutes and review them in the privacy of my own home, they last a minute or two tops.
Well John, the day you can get certain Council Members to limit their comments and discussions on one topic will be the day Pigs sprout wings and fly!
Getting it done in three to thirteen minutes may be the optimum, but we citizens mustn’t forget about the foreplay that precedes every council session, as it is during those days and weeks of foreplay where we seem to keep getting screwed.
And citizen comments should be limited to 10 seconds, or ten words maximum, with the final decision made by the Mayor on the night of the Council meeting. With one day prior notice, the Mayor should be able to entirely eliminate public comment, requesting all comments be made in writing though email instead. This would also save citizens’ valuable time currently wasted on preparing their public comment or waiting to speak the night of the Council meeting.
Additionally, a new policy of having a roving Phil Donahue style microphone meet the public commenter at their seat would eliminate the thumb twiddling period when citizens saunter down to the podium.
Clearly, all this public participation at Council meetings is very time consuming.