Effort to streamline referral process fails to pass council committee

Martin Kidston

(Missoula Current) An effort to streamline the legislative process by requiring that a referral have greater support before it's scheduled for a hearing failed to pass a Missoula City Council committee on Wednesday.

Council member Mike Nugent's measure sought to “better clarify the referral” process and streamline “the flow of businesses from committees to full council.”

Nugent said the measure would keep unnecessary items from the floor, saving staff time. It would also reflect the process taken by other governing bodies, be it the state Legislature or the U.S. Congress.

“Any legislative body has to have a way to determine what ends up on the agenda,” Nugent said. “Bodies have to determine what they're going to talk about and spend time on. These rules make a clear process. It puts the onus on working together.”

Among other things, if a committee chair opted not to schedule a referral for a hearing, Nugent's measure would allow for a poll of all council members to gauge whether there's sufficient interest to schedule the measure anyway.

A referral could also automatically make the hearing schedule if it has at least four sponsors. Nugent said the new rules would help keep the city focused on important issues and not waste time on matters that have little interest, or simply propel one person's personal agenda.

“There are people who hijack the processes for their own personal benefit and find ways to bring things up that should never get the light of day,” he said. “When we put something on the agenda, it gets oxygen, it gets attention, and I don't think that's always a good thing. I think it's reasonable for us to have a scheduling process that addresses that.”

A number of referrals over the past two years have been scheduled for a hearing, even though they were doomed to fail from the start. In some cases, the hearing gave one particular council member a soapbox from which to express his or her feelings on a particular subject.

That aside, those in the minority on City Council expressed concern that the proposed rule changes would prevent them from getting a referral scheduled, largely due to their limited numbers.

“This is going to reduce representation and make sure that the people who stick together are voting together and the people who don't necessarily vote with the group don't get heard as much,” said council member Kristen Jordan. “We have a diverse community, and we need to make sure our City Council reflects that diversity.”

Jordan and fellow council member Daniel Carlino represent a small minority on City Council as self-professed democratic socialists. Jordan said it's “almost impossible” for her to get something heard in committee.

“When I make phone calls to people, they don't respond. It's almost impossible for me to do work behind the scenes because people don't return my phone call,” said Jordan. “I feel there's definitely a click on City Council and when you're in, you're in, and when you're not, you're not, and right now I'm not in.”

Council president Amber Sherrill however said she has never received a phone call from Jordan. Others said Jordan's lack of legislative success had less to do with her referrals and more to do with her lack of collaboration.

“We're elected to be one of 12, which means that the people we're representing expect us to be able to build relationships and work with other people on council to get referrals across,” said Nugent. “That's a two-way street.”

Council member Gwen Jones supported the proposed rule changes, saying “a little more structure would be good.”

“It would foster collaboration and more work being done on referrals before they're brought to council,” she said. “The goal is to get seven votes – that's what you need to do to get something passed. But you should be starting on that long before you bring something to council. You should have some level of foundational support. That's what this does.”

Council members Sandra Vasecka and Bob Campbell generally represent a more conservative view and, as a result, they're also in the minority. Both voted against the measure on Wednesday.

“I see this as a way to hide behind a computer screen and not have a discussion on uncomfortable topics where constituents can hear what the people they elected have to say about such topics,” said Vasecka.