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At the Hayden City Council meeting held on October 22, 2024, there was a lengthy discussion about the use of the Consent Calendar, culminating in a 3-2 vote to approve a freshly drafted resolution concerning the rules of the Consent Calendar. I would like to share a particular statement that I made during the meeting, sharing my own reasons for voting against the new resolution and in favor of keeping and using Hayden Ordinance 214.
Below is an excerpt from my statement and the complete text of my remarks.
Consent Calendar remarks:
We live in a Republic and have a representative Government. We are each elected to represent our neighbors in order to efficiently run the city. This uses our discernment and comes into play mostly during a City Council meeting. A large part of the meeting is located in the consent calendar.
Regarding the consent calendar, We all seem to agree on certain points:
1.The consent calendar is intended to save time in a meeting.
2.The Mayor and staff build the Consent Calendar.
3.Items placed on it should be routine and non-controversial.
4.There should be a process to remove items to be addressed later.
What we don’t agree on is:
1.We don’t agree that all items in the consent calendar are passed in one motion.
In all of my research I’ve never seen a consent calendar split up in order to vote on it in separate motions like you are proposing to do.
2. We don’t agree on who decides if something is controversial or not?
In a representative government, if any one of us thinks it is controversial then it is! Even if a majority vote can be taken to keep the item in the consent calendar, that doesn’t take away the fact that it is no longer routine and non-controversial. What we have in that case is a suppressive and non-representative government.
3. We don’t agree on unanimous consent- A consent calendar should be passed by unanimous consent. A Consensual agreement by definition means that all parties agree. This is the one time in an agenda when we should all agree.
4. We don’t agree on the process to remove an item: A single council member should have the ability to request that an item be removed from the consent calendar for further discussion. No formal motion or second should be needed for this request. If each member is treated equally and able to remove anything to be discussed later, it will keep the Consent Calendar from being a rubber-stamp or let things get railroaded.
I have done extensive research on this topic. I’ve listened to numerous training videos, watched many city council meetings from other cities, and studied how many different cities in Idaho use the consent calendar.
One of my favorite agendas says this:
“Items on the Consent Calendar are considered to be routine and enacted by one motion. Any item may be removed for discussion and made a part of the regular agenda at the request of a member of the Council. Any request shall be made after the Consent Calendar is read and before action is taken.”
This is from the City of Burley, Idaho, where Brett Boyer (our previous City Manager) is now City Manager.
In my research I’ve rarely seen times when this was done incorrectly:
For example in Pocatello in 2022. The city failed to follow proper procedure, blocked a member from removing something, and created quite a problem in the city. This is a quote from Roger Bray who was on the council at that time:
“The anything-goes procedures that cast aside rights and respect for convenience or expediency come at the expense of inclusion and fairness. The most recent strategy is to prevent discussing and thus verifying the spending of the public’s money. It is not something we take lightly.” He went on to talk about how unjust tactics were being used to silence council members and challenge constitutionally guaranteed rights. He also said that such actions fly in the face of how America values representative government."
Therefore, I propose that we follow the procedure set out by our predecessors in Ordinance 214 and allow representative government to thrive.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this message. I am committed to advocating for you and being your representative in the City of Hayden.
Sandy White
Here's a link to the entire meeting. The Consent Calendar discussion began at the 30 minute mark:
Here's a link to the agenda:
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