Consent calendar deserves a mute button, mayor says
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

To speak or not to speak, that was the question. The battle continued over whether or not it is appropriate for council members to discuss why they are voting for or against consent calendar items.

The Oct. 9 City Council meeting was not the first time the mayor reminded council members to keep their comments to themselves.

According to printed agenda materials, there can be discussions on consent calendar items if a council member, a director or a staff member wants to discuss something prior to a vote.

But, according to Mayor Andy Fox, consent items require only a simple yes or no vote without any discussion.

His remark came after Councilmember Claudia Bill-de la Peña went into detail as to why she would be dissenting. After Bill-de la Peña made her remarks, Councilmember Dennis Gillette responded. Then the council voted 41 for approval of expenditures for Civic Arts Plaza improvements.

"The economic outlook is not quite as rosy as it used to be and we need to take a look at that," Bill-de la Peña said.

"I do not believe this is the time for us to let our public buildings start any degree of deterioration," Councilmember Dennis Gillette said.

"I think council agreed several months ago that we're just to simply say, 'we're going to record a no vote,' and not give an explanation for why we're voting, because we did that at the original meeting," Fox said.

The item at hand was the approval of expenditures from the $2.6-million worth of Civic Arts Plaza improvements included in the city's capital improvement program.

Parking structure upgrades include landscaping, stone tiles, painting, lighting upgrades, solar panels and security items. The city plans to move some employees and storage around inside city hall. The second floor lobby will get a makeover with a new desk and furniture. The Founders room will also get some improvements.

When other consent items came up, Billde la Peña continued to discuss her reasoning before the vote was taken. Gillette noted he was restraining himself. Fox made no further comment on the matter.