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Over the past two years I have been trying to address the improper use of the consent calendar in the City of Hayden with no satisfactory conclusion. I've done research and found that the cities around us do it correctly, but in Hayden if there was something placed in the consent calendar by the mayor, it just stayed there and passed without the possibility of a separate vote. Pulling something out of a consent calendar should just be a simple ask, not an Act of Congress.
Just recently I did an information request regarding Consent Calendars and one of the documents I was given was Hayden Ordinance No. 214 from 1993. Here’s a quote from it regarding the proper use of the Consent Calendar:
City of Hayden Ordinance No. 214*, Section 4D
“On objection by any member of the council to inclusion of any item on the Consent Calendar, that item shall be removed.”
BINGO! Ding! Ding! Ding! This is exactly how I was saying it SHOULD be all along!
So why does this matter? Why am I going on and on about the use of the Consent Calendar?
When used correctly it is a time saver. But in my opinion, when used in the wrong way there are negative repercussions. Here are a few:
There’s no transparency or discussion on what is being voted on.
The elected official who can’t pull something out is prevented from having a voice.
The elected official is blocked from representing their constituents.
The consent calendar can be used as a giant rubber stamp by the ones who front loaded it.
I don’t object to people out voting me. I am only one out of four Council Members after all. But I do object to not having a vote or a voice when I see a potential problem! I believe in a representative form of government which our Constitution requires and I swore an oath to uphold.
Hayden Ordinance No. 214 is valuable to show that the City of Hayden knew and followed the proper use and procedure for a consent calendar at one point in time and should do so again. What I’ve been arguing all along has just been proven to be true. I look forward to moving forward with the proper use of the consent calendar and a better functioning meeting in the future.
Thank you for reading.
Sandy
*City of Hayden Ordinance 214 is in the photos
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