Lakewood council dinged on open meeting rules - #lakewoodnews

When it comes to city council, the topics that don't make it to discussion are just as important for the public to know as those that do.

Now Lakewood's city council is taking steps to ensure more items of local concern are brought forward for discussion and the public can be there for it all.

During the April 4 study session, council decided to look at options for adding items to the agenda for debate and discussion. Those options include workshops and "looks ahead" at the end of regular council meetings.

"This is an opportunity for this council to do things different," said Mayor Adam Paul during the meeting. "I really want to focus on the future of this council and move these ideas forward."

The discussion followed on the heels of a March 29 article by Jeffrey Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, which said Lakewood's city council had run afoul of Colorado's Open Meetings Law.

The article focused on an email sent from Ward 4 councilwoman Barb Franks to Ward 1 councilwoman Ramey Johnson that included a spreadsheet from Ward 3 councilwoman, and council president, Shakti. That spreadsheet showed how council members stood on two issues Johnson wanted discussed: police at a local Wal-Mart and shopping carts being left on private property.

Under state open meetings law, three or more elected members cannot share thoughts on policy matters via nonpublic means (email, text, or phone) unless the public is allowed to observe the process.

"The email raised some questions for me because on the surface, forwarding the views of councilors to a third person appears to be against the law," Roberts said. "That's a problem when this information is shared in a way the public can't see."

So Shakti's polling of individual members is allowed, and a common way for officials to learn where their colleagues stand on issues, but once a third person is involved, it becomes a meeting and must be public.

"When I heard about the email, I thought to myself, someone has just documented an open-meetings violation," said Ward 1 councilman Charley Able. "For a long time I've been concerned business has been done in backrooms here in Lakewood."

Franks said she shared the email with Johnson because they were topics she had brought forward in the first place.

"I thought I was increasing transparency of the process," Franks said. "We weren't deciding on policy, we were just looking at whether or not it should be brought forward for discussion."

Shakti expressed similar sentiments, emphasizing the poll was about how to set the agenda, not about pending legislation.

"I believe transparency is a foundation of democracy," she said. "The sunshine laws balance openness, which is critical, with the practical ability to get things done."

The line between making policy decisions and just gathering consensus is a fine one, Roberts said. He added that any discussion of policy that is directly related to council's policy making function is the kind of thing that should be done in public.

Shakti said strict interpretations of the open meetings law could mean that she can't share helpful information with more than one member of council.

"This kind of overly strict understanding is not consistent with the spirit of the sunshine laws or with the interpretation we have seen in the courts," she said. "The cases of open meetings violations are clearly about policy, about making new laws."

Currently, items are added to future agendas during a meeting held at 4 p.m. before city council meetings (called the "4 o'clock meeting"). Present are the council president, mayor pro tem, city staff, and any council member who wishes to attend. The public is also welcome to attend the meetings, but they are not televised or recorded.

Most of the time staff brings forward items to be added, but Johnson said she's recently wanted to add more topics to the agenda.

"I don't like the idea of anyone being gatekeepers," she said. "It's frustrating when you put ideas forward and they don't go anywhere."

The most popular alternative way to adding items to the agenda that was discussed at the April 4 study session was public workshops, which would allow council members to bring up issues they're hearing from their constituents and discuss them.

"The idea of doing a public meeting where councilors can hash out which items to go forward on is a transparent way to do things," Roberts said.

There also would have to be a way to decide which topics are moved forward to the agenda, and a way to prioritize these topics.

City staff will look at what other communities do, and bring more information back for the May 2 study session.

"The public needs to know what we're going to be talking about and what we're not," Able said. "Council is on notice that we're under scrutiny and must comply with the rules that bind us."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Lakewood-council-dinged-on-open-meeting-rules,211292