In 2006, Pittsburg City Commissioners voted down an ordinance that would have changed the commission’s quorum, allowing two commissioners to talk with each other about city business.
But shortly afterward, the Kansas Legislature modified the Kansas Open Meetings statute, allowing for two commissioners to discuss city business.
“We were having discussions with the (Kansas Press Association) about the way that the Open Meetings Act was applied,” said Kim Winn, League of Kansas Municipalities director of policy development and communications. “It was a little bit frustrating that city council members could get elected, then couldn’t talk to each other.”
Specifically, Winn said the situation had been frustrating for new council members.
“When you’re the new guy on the block, you should be able to speak with other council members to get up to speed,” Winn said. “They would come in for leadership-type trainings, and we would tell them the most important thing was to network ... and then we would tell them ‘oh, by the way, you can’t talk to each other.’”
The result was an edit to the statute, which allows two commissioners to talk city business. Those commissioners can then talk with other commissioners about the same issues, but only on a one-on-one basis. Winn said that the other restriction is that members are not allowed to discuss how they will vote.
“The one thing they can’t do is collect votes,” Winn said. “They can’t have an intent to reach an agreement outside of the meeting. We wanted it to be more agenda setting.
“They can have conversations, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Winn said. “But they can’t take binding action.”
Pittsburg City Commissioner Marty Beezley was on the commission before when commissioners weren’t allowed to speak about business outside of meetings. She said the rule had changed how the commission was able to communicate.
“The biggest benefit is that we can attend meetings with a fellow commissioner,” Beezley said. “Before, only one could go, and that person was most probably the mayor. So they then had all of the responsibility to share what had been said or what went on.”
Beezley said the same concept applied to the city’s committees. Only one member, for instance, could attend a Downtown Revitalization Committee meeting before.
“It has been very helpful,” Beezley said. “We can talk to one another about an interpretation of a particular action to come before the commission, or if a constituent visits with me on a concern, I can relay that to a fellow commissioner.”
Before, Beezley said the city manager acted as a go-between, calling and relaying messages between commissioners.
But Commissioner Bill Rushton, who was also on the commission when commissioners couldn’t speak outside of meetings, said he didn’t really utilize the statute change.
“To me, each person has their own views, and I typically make up my own mind without comparing notes,” Rushton said.
Rushton did say that the change would be important for new commissioners.
“Your first term in, it’s baptism by fire,” Rushton said. “Nobody wants to ask questions in meetings because you don’t want to look foolish if you don’t understand. So it could really help the new guy on the block. It’s always tough on them.”
Winn said that discussion could lead to better governing and decision-making, but said that commissioners needed to be vigilant and follow the statute’s restrictions. Beezley said she thought the Pittsburg City Commission did a strong job.
“When I’ve been talking to a commissioner out in public, almost every time somebody comes up and says ‘you can’t be talking to each other,’” Beezley said. “So I think it is still perceived as (being against the statute). I don’t know if they know it changed.
“It is something that I, and the commission, have worked really hard to be careful about. We don’t want there to be any violations,” Beezley said. “I think this has been really helpful, and none of the commissioners have violated any of the trust that this law puts out there.”
Kevin Flaherty can be reached at kevin.flaherty@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 Ext. 134
PITTSBURG —
