Making Council more Transparent

One of the first transparency issues I tackled was the Council Rules—the guidelines that dictate how Council members operate.

Previously, when Council met as a “whole,” meetings were recorded for public view. But committee meetings were another story. The only way to know what happened was to attend in person or wait for the meeting minutes—which were often vague and not released for at least 30 days. By then, many pieces of legislation had already advanced before the public even knew they existed.

To fix this, I proposed—and passed—an amendment to the Council Rules requiring that all meetings involving Council members, where legally permissible, be recorded and made accessible to the public. I also called for a consistent meeting structure across all Council gatherings, making the process clearer and less confusing for the public.

These changes have made a real difference—bringing clarity to legislative discussions and keeping the public informed in real time, not after the fact. 

Below are both the original proposed 2024–2025 Council Rules and the Amended 2024–2025 Council Rules, with my transparency amendments clearly highlighted.

You’ll find the changes under Section 4 – Committees. These amendments ensure all Council-related meetings (where legally permissible) are recorded and accessible to the public, and that meeting structures are consistent across the board—making City government easier to follow and more accountable to you.