THE DELIBERATION PROCESS

In this article I’d like to address how the deliberation process works as to the Visalia city council. How are decisions made at City Hall?

The issues that are deliberated at city council meetings come from council members themselves, the general public, or are raised by the city manager or department heads. An agenda is prepared and staff reports are drafted on each agenda item. The staff reports are compiled into what usually turns out to be a rather thick binder and are given to the council members in advance to read and study. All agenda and staff reports are posted in advance, and may be viewed on the city’s website, www.ci.visalia.ca.us under city government.

The city council usually meets on the first and third Mondays of every month. Depending on the press of business, additional council meetings are scheduled as necessary. The usual format is that Monday meetings begin with a work session commencing at 4:00 p.m. at City Hall. The work session usually lasts from 4:00-6:00 p.m. At the work session, opportunity is given for public comment, presentation of reports by city staff, and open discussion and deliberation by council members.

At 6:00 p.m., we go into closed session. In closed session, only council members, invited staff and the city attorney participate. This meeting is not open to the public, and what is discussed is limited by the California Brown Act (Government Code §§ 54950, et seq.) generally to personnel/labor, real property, and litigation issues.

Thereafter, the formal city council meeting commences at 7:00 p.m. We have a consent calendar of items which for the most part do not require extensive discussion since they are considered routine, and often have been deliberated upon previously. Any member of the public or member of the council can ask that a consent item be pulled for further discussion and review. Otherwise, the consent calendar is enacted in one motion and approved by council vote. The city council then deliberates and votes upon the remaining agenda items. The meetings are usually concluded by 9:00 p.m., but have been known to last much later!

Under the California Brown Act, which requires open and public deliberations, the five council members may not meet together unless it is done in a meeting open to the public, and with sufficient notice to the public. Outside of formal advertised meetings, no more than two council members may be present at the same time if city business is involved. Nor may a council member meet individually with each of the other council members in order to poll them or solicit their support on an issue.

There are certainly more expeditious ways to conduct business, but these open meeting rules are designed to promote more transparency and to protect the public’s right to know.

While many of the issues that come before the city council are straightforward, resulting in a unanimous vote, it only takes a majority of three of the five council members to agree in order for an item to be adopted.

In attendance at council meetings, you will usually find the police chief, the fire chief, other public safety officials, department heads, those with business interests, college students who are there for class credit, and regular attenders who just want to monitor what is going on at city hall. We invite all citizens of Visalia to visit the city’s website to find out what issues are coming before the council, and also to attend council meetings.

Word has it that The Habit burger grill has pulled its building permit, and construction should begin soon on the Merle’s remodel.

Finally, in an attempt to move into the 21^st Century, I have created a blog of my past articles for Direct Magazine. If you missed any, feel free to read them at directfromwarren.blogspot.com.

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.

Warren Gubler
Visalia City Council Member