A Portland City Council meeting aimed at addressing the structure and discipline of council meetings ended prematurely Thursday, after running over the scheduled time.
While councilors proposed a plan to switch to weekly gatherings, they were compelled to pause discussions on a more extensive overhaul of council committees due to time constraints.
Councilor Olivia Clark expressed her dissatisfaction with the pace of the meeting. ‘I really am not prepared to vote for anything today,’ she stated. ‘I’d really like to take more time on this.’
The meeting followed a significant government restructuring that altered the size, roles, and composition of the Portland City Council just seven months ago.
Since taking office in January, councilors raised issues related to meeting formats, durations, and agenda topics.
Previously, the five-member council convened weekly on Wednesday mornings, but the new 12-person council now assembles biweekly on Wednesdays, including a night meeting. The new arrangement also introduced specialized council committees that engage smaller groups of councilors in policy development.
This new committee structure, established in January, comprises eight policy committees with six members each, meeting biweekly for two-hour sessions.
However, these meetings have frequently exceeded expected time limits, leading to truncated policy discussions, limited public testimony, and overtime for City Hall staff.
A main point of contention among councilors has been the delineation of topics appropriate for committee versus full council discussions.
During this week’s meeting, various strategies were considered to amend the existing framework. However, only one proposal gained traction: reinstating a weekly council schedule.
This proposal suggests that most meetings occur on Wednesday mornings, while councilors would gather at night on the third Wednesday of each month. The night meetings aim to enhance public participation, allowing those unable to attend day sessions to be involved in council debates.
Some councilors advocated for an additional night meeting each month, but others were concerned this would overburden city staff, who are required to provide support services such as security and technical assistance during these gatherings.
‘Taking action to limit the number of night meetings reduces strain on a pretty significant apparatus to keep this animal alive,’ remarked Councilor Eric Zimmerman.
Despite the constructive dialogue, hours of debate regarding how to streamline the number of committees to alleviate the overall meeting workload concluded without resolution before the 5 p.m. termination of the session.
Councilors were split between advocating for specific changes to committee topics and opting to postpone any amendments for further deliberation. Consequently, the meeting’s abrupt conclusion led to the latter choice prevailing.
‘No, I don’t support this at all,’ declared Councilor Loretta Smith, in response to a proposal to reduce the number of committees to four. ‘I think we just need to stay where we’re at.’
Amid discussions about potentially merging larger committees, eliminating some entirely, or ensuring certain councilors secure committee positions, the councilors failed to achieve consensus.
Councilor Clark emphasized the necessity for clarity: ‘I think we all believe that we have too many committees, but I don’t think we’ve answered some key questions. We really haven’t defined what the committees are supposed to do. I’m gonna suggest that we take a break and think about why we’re here, what we’re doing.’
Some councilors found this response disheartening.
‘We keep talking about how things aren’t working,’ voiced Councilor Candace Avalos. ‘At this point, I think we need to talk this out. I think this is uncomfortable and hard, and there’s no way around it; it’s only through it.’
A final vote on the weekly council meeting proposal is scheduled for September 3.
Despite this impending decision, some councilors harbor doubts about the effectiveness of the process. Councilor Jamie Dunphy raised concerns that adopting a weekly meeting cadence without revising the committees could potentially exacerbate the existing workload for council staff.
‘I have real concerns that if we switch to a weekly schedule and have eight committees still, we are essentially increasing the work of our already overtaxed council staff,’ Dunphy warned.
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