Bentonville council to mull procedural changes

Memo states proposal would make council’s operations more open, friendly

BENTONVILLE -- The City Council will discuss potential procedural changes at a Committee of the Whole meeting tonight.

Bill Burckart, Ward 3, Position 2 alderman, sent a memo to the mayor and other council members requesting discussion on procedures he said would make the council's operations more open and friendly to conversation.

Meeting Information

The Bentonville City Council will gather for a committee of the whole meeting at 6 tonight at 305 S.W. A St.

Committee of the Whole meetings are open to the public. Council members can discuss items, but cannot vote on them.

Source: Staff Report

"I fear some may be hesitant to ask questions or interject thoughts due to the rapid pace of most of the meetings," he wrote.

The council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays each month. Most meetings take between 25 to 45 minutes.

Two changes Burckart mentions is having the City Council agenda ready five business days before the Tuesday meetings and having a minimum number of Committee of the Whole meetings a year.

"We may also determine, for instance, that certain things trigger a meeting of the whole where we have an opportunity to discuss the matter with all parties and each other openly before we are asked to vote the following evening," he wrote.

He mentions meetings of the whole could also be a chance for the public to discuss a matter before it goes to vote.

"It's not just meeting for the sake of meeting," Burckart said last week. "It's having more time for citizens to hear the information and at least know what's happening."

Mayor Bob McCaslin said the council does have Committee of the Whole meetings when there's a purpose.

The last one was held in November when the council discussed the 2015 budget. It lasted about 45 minutes.

"I don't like to have a meeting just to have a meeting," McCaslin said.

Agenda items go through the public process for weeks, at a minimum, before they go before the council, he said.

Planning items such as developments and rezonings are heard at a technical review meeting before going to the Planning Commission and then City Council.

Council members receive the agenda the Friday before a Tuesday meeting.

They are encouraged to contact McCaslin with any questions or concerns they have, he said, adding the schedule is designed to be business friendly.

"We are expediting business as a council," McCaslin said.

To release the agenda five business days before the meeting would add two weeks to any business' project being processed through the city, McCaslin said.

"I don't think anyone has any issues with what the city is doing," he said. "I think the staff has done a good job."

It would take five yes votes from the eight-member council to make changes.

Troy Galloway, economic and community development director, also will present the Bentonville Blueprint to the council at Monday's meeting.

Melissa Gute can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @NWAmelissa.

NW News on 01/26/2015

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