City Council Rules Extend Committees To 4 Members

WARWICK, RI — Councilor adopted new City Council rules governing meeting business Monday night, unanimously, adding the President’s authority to move to remove members from committees, and increasing committee memberships by one to four members.

Discussion of the rules began the Intergovernmental Committee, staffed initially at Sinapi’s discretion with Council members Vinny Gebhart (Ward 9),  Vice Chair, Councilman Bryan Nappa (Ward 3), Councilman Muto (Ward 6), and Councilman Sal DeLuise (Ward 4).  Council President Anthony Sinapi (Ward 8) noted that, despite some comments he’s read online prior to the meeting, changes, or red-lines, to the council rules do not change current rules on public speaking, but only clear out irrelevant language causing confusion.

“That’s partially why we wanted to get rid of some of this old language, because it added needless confusion,” Sinapi said.

City Council Rules Changes Concern Committees

Nappa said he supported the change adding members to committees from three to four, to encourage discussion between two members without a quorum established. “It allows us to have a more productive conversation without a violation of the Open Meetings Act,” Nappa said.

Gebhart  agreed, noting that as things stand, there can be a perceived conflict with Open Meeting Law “Someone sees two of us at Chelos and assumes the worst. So this sort of gets us out of that potential jeopardy,” he said.

Councilman Jeremy Rix (Ward 2) was also in favor of the change. “I would agree four member committees make a lot of sense in this context. I feel like the Open Meetings Act, this particular provision, when it comes to applying these rules to committees in particular, was probably written more with full bodies in mind, whether its the full 9-member City Council or perhaps even General Assembly Committees that are, well, quite sizeable. It’s basically functioning as sort of a gag rule that’s often preventing me from speaking ahead of time, ahead of the meeting with precisely one person who I want to speak with on a particular topic.”

Councilman Ed Ladouceur  (Ward 5) said the rule change  allowing committee changes initiated by the Council President introduces specter of politics to the system. “I think this definitely opens the door for politics to be intertwined with this.”

Richard Langseth said that Rule 42 – Requring a calculation of city’s financial status in an actuarial presentation, should be done 30 days ahead of budget process. “Because we need time to look at it.”

Gebhart pointed out that’s unchanged in the rule revisions proposed.

When Ladouceur agreed with Langseth, Gebhart said,  “I feel very confident that with you at the head of the Finance Committee that especially rule 42 will be executed in a timely manner.”

Sinapi noted the timing of the actuarial report is one of the items he intended to be addressed in second round of rules amendments. However, the current timing for the actuaries is in March, more than a month ahead of the budget process.

When the public was invited to comment, Rob Cote asked why the Committee had four members if there hadn’t been a vote on the new rules. City  Council Solicitor Bill Walsh explained the night’s committee structures were standing under Sinapi’s descretion, since the previous rules were no longer in effect.

“I think that’s a huge procedural error that can have other consequences beyond today,” Cote objected, “In essence, you’ve adopted rules that haven’t been voted on.”

Cote also criticized expanding the Committees to allow smaller groups to discuss council items without risking braking Open Meeting Law.

“Two people can discuss something openly and then one of them can discuss it with another,” Cote warned.

Gebhart said that situation is actually prohibited, termed a “rolling quorum” in the law.

Cote also criticized granting the council president authority to remove someone from a committee. “We’ve never had that in the City of Warwick. I don’t think we should,” noting  that would create an atmosphere of people on edge. “That gives one individual just a little more power. And that’s not a good thing. That’s not good in any situation in government,” Cote said.

Lastly, Cote asked the Council to undo public speaking rules established with the prior Council.

“There were certain people on this past council that were instrumental, or, I would actually use the word, they were the architects, of incrementally shutting down the public from being able to speak. At budget hearings. At Council meetings, and so forth, all right, and at Committee meetings,” Cote said.

Cote said 10-minute limits for public speaking on matters, and prohibitions on alloting time to others were harmful to public discussion.

“Those rules need to be repealed. Because you’re shutting the public out. Often members of the public have useful information on a topic that the council doesn’t possess. “My question is now, ‘What are you afraid of?'” “I think anything you do to limit the public’s input is detrimental, not only to the Council, not only to the reputations of the Council, but to our community and our society as a whole,” Cote said. He continued, “You know as well as I do, it’s not going to keep you here any longer than you’re going to be here, because people just, historically don’t show up to consume that time.”

Later, during the full meeting, the Council adopted an amendment lowering the threshold for removing a member from a committee from 2/3 majority to a simple majority rule. Ladouceur initially continued his objections, until Walsh explained that the threshold for removing a committee member was now a simple majority – 5 votes according to Roberts Rules of order, either way.

Ladouceur said he had no problem with that.

The  new new City Council rules were adopted unanimously with the proposed amendments.

The full meeting is viewable on the Council’s YouTube channel. The Jan. 13 Warwick City Council agenda and documents are posted on the city’s website.