From Draft to Decision: How Edmonds City Council Ordinances Are Made and How Your Voice Shapes the Outcome
At some point in most Washingtonians’ lives, we all hear about something our local City Council did at its last meeting. Maybe fees decreased or fines increased. Maybe you’re no longer allowed to do this, but you can do that. You ever wonder how the Council arrives at those decisions?
When the City Council decides to act on a given topic, it’s not like they just decided that night to discuss it and act on it. These decisions come with hours of staff research, drafting, reviewing, re-reviewing, changing, and finally, wrapping up their work in a nice bow and sending it to a City Council meeting. This work can come in several different forms and by either staff or Council’s request, but in this column, I want to go over ordinances.
First things first, what is an ordinance? Well, to put it simply, an ordinance is an official action of a legislative body (in our case, the City Council), to change something. Sometimes that means updating the Edmonds City Code to add or remove language, and sometimes it means, among other things, approving a franchise agreement or setting a property tax levy. Think of it like a bill in the Washington State Legislature – someone drafts the bill, a committee hears the first reading, and maybe that committee decides to send the bill on to the whole Legislature for consideration.
Our City Council is very similar, though not identical. Ordinances are drafted, then reviewed at a committee meeting made up of a few Councilmembers. If the committee decides that the ordinance should move on to the whole Council, they’ll push it along by what’s called “unanimous consent.” Unanimous consent is a process used by many legislative bodies, from the smallest board all the way to the United States Congress, which allows items to advance without debate or a vote. However, if even a single member objects, the item must be considered by vote.
This is where you come in. Often, ordinances which will be going to Council, as what we call “agenda items,” make their way through Boards or Commissions made up of members of the community. These bodies can either initiate the ordinance themselves or review an ordinance that has been drafted and prepared for consideration by Council. Once an item moves to a regular meeting of the City Council for consideration and possible adoption, members of our community (i.e. you!) are invited to provide your comments to the City Council prior to its adoption. This is your opportunity to voice support for or opposition to items that the Council is considering. This is a crucial part of the democratic process, with one caveat: members of the Council will not generally engage with community members who choose to give comments.
This isn’t out of malice. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Members of the Council do not respond directly to public comments because it becomes difficult to provide factual and well-researched information to the public when confronted on the spot. This prevents the Council from inadvertently spreading misinformation. Council does however consider the views of the community when making decisions; Council genuinely values the input provided by the community members who they represent.
Let’s finish off with a couple of tips on providing audience comments at City Council meetings:
- Public speaking can be scary! Write down your comments before you approach the podium so that you can keep your train of thought – nothing’s worse than having a well-thought-out speech and blanking as soon as it’s your turn to speak.
- Address the Council as a whole, not individual Council members. Remember, the Council is made up of seven individual members elected by the people, but its decisions are made by the entire legislative body. No one member’s voice matters any more than another, regardless of the outcome of a vote.
- Keep your comments civil! Council members are elected officials who work for you, and no one wants to use hurtful language directed at their own employees!
- Even though it’s tempting when you feel passionate about a ballot measure or candidate, state law prohibits using a forum like public comment to advocate for or against anything or anyone on a ballot, it wouldn’t be fair to the other side.
Now that you’ve provided your public comment, it’s important to know what happens next. Council will take the community’s input into consideration when voting that night, and they may even decide that the issue should be postponed until more information can be gathered. Maybe you’ll change someone’s mind, and because most laws last longer than any of us, your comments could change the course of City history!
For information on how to attend a council meeting, visit our website, www.edmondswa.gov.