Category: Council Meeting

Renton City Council is giving away its power

Written by Randy Corman 13 Comments
This screenshot from a Renton public information video is an incorrect representation of Council-Mayor form of government. Previous Renton Councils would not have approved a video that made them falsely appear subordinate to the Mayor.

[At last night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, Council Members were trying to learn whether a lease had been extended to a new tenant in the City-owned Piazza building, and they were not getting a straight answer.  Since Renton Council is responsible for leases, this was just the latest episode of Council having relinquished control of an important responsibility. This inspired me to write this blog post.]

Revised Code of Washington 35A.11.020 gives all of the City of Renton’s power to our City Council with these words:

“The legislative body of each code city shall have all powers possible for a city or town to have under the Constitution of this state, and not specifically denied to code cities by law.”

RCW 35A.12.100 lays out the Mayor’s administrative, executive and ceremonial duties, including these words “He or she shall report to the council concerning the affairs of the city and its financial and other needs, and shall make recommendations for council consideration and action.”

But while the Council has been granted all the power by the state, you would not know it by watching a Renton Council Meeting.   And you won’t learn about the Council’s authority from the new public information video that Renton created and published two weeks ago.

Our current Mayor often refers to Renton’s government as a “Strong Mayor City,”  potentially implying that the Mayor has authority over the Council.  But the Council actually wields the power in Renton’s “Council-Mayor” form of government.  “Strong mayor” is an informal insider term used to differentiate a mayor who provides daily management of  city workers  (in a Council-Mayor system) from a mayor with a more ceremonial role in a “Council-Manager” system.

The new video about Renton Council Meetings uses the “strong mayor” language, even though it does not show up in state law. Renton’s system is legally a “Council-Mayor” system, and the Council wields the city’s ultimate power.

The Renton City Council is a legislative body, not a department of the City that the Mayor runs. And the Council should not let their role be diminished.

This chart from the new video greatly diminishes the power and responsibilities of the City Council.

Every bullet in the screenshot above from the new City video is misleading.

The Council doesn’t just “approve” the city’s budget; they own the budget.  They set priorities for the budget, review and refine draft budget documents, set tax rates and fees, and hold the Mayor and staff accountable to staying on budget.

They don’t just “pass”ordinances; they determine the need for ordinances, define them, review and debate drafts, decide on penalties for violating them, and then vote on them.

The Council doesn’t just “shape policies that align with the city’s goals,” they define the city’s goals.

Council also has many other authorities given to them by the Revised Code of Washington covering everything from zoning to delivering municipal services.  For example, just half of one sentence of the code gives Council (not the Mayor) control of “the acquisition, sale, ownership, improvement, maintenance, protection, restoration, regulation, use, leasing, disposition, vacation, abandonment or beautification of public ways, real property of all kinds, waterways, structures, or any other improvement or use of real or personal property …”

By law, Council also has authority over the agenda and execution of every Council Meetings.  The Council can alter the agenda and the rules at any time with a majority vote– the Mayor does not get a say in it.

These are, after all, City Council meetings.  Our Mayor has all week to perform his administrative duties and talk with his constituents. But under the open public meetings act, Council Members can only discuss issues and take action in public meetings.  That is why we have scheduled Council Meetings.  The Mayor presides over the meetings as one of his administrative functions, since Council members are part-time, not because he is a boss over the Council.

In fact, the Mayor typically never gets to vote on anything.  About once per year or so the Mayor might get a chance to vote to break a tie, but only if the issue does not involve any spending.

In rare 4-3 split Council decisions the Mayor theoretically has a veto power. But a single Councilmember switching sides can undo the Mayor’s veto, since it only takes five council members to overrides a veto. In 28 years I might have seen maybe one veto.

When I was on Council, we knew it was our meeting.  It was a time to speak to each other about topics of concern to us, and a time to interact with constituents who had not received satisfaction from city staff or the Mayor.

A year ago Renton Council threw away their ability to provide speedy low-cost appeals of hearing examiner decisions, saying they preferred these matters go straight to King County Superior Court.  Past Renton Councils knew this was an option, but always chose to hold onto appeal authority, as one of the many council powers to protect.  This decision by the current Council reflects a broader pattern of the Council stepping away from authorities that past Councils deliberately protected.

Renton’s Council does a disservice to its residents by giving away its power.  While we still pay for eight elected officials, we only get decisions from one of them– the Mayor.   A single individual, even the mayor, will be wrong some of the time.

Council Members can begin to take back their power by asking questions of the Mayor, of staff, and of each other at council meetings.  They should not stop asking questions until they fully understand all the implications of any decision they are making.  And they should not shy from debating these issues with their colleagues during their council meetings.  If the Mayor attempts to shut down the questions or debate, Council should use a “Point of Order” under Robert’s Rules, to remind the Mayor that Council is in charge of the agenda and the meeting.  Any Councilmember can move to suspend the rules to give extra time or seek more data on an important issue, and if four other council members agree, the agenda will change.  Past Council Members have been known to instruct the Mayor “go get us the data…. we’ll wait for it.”

Councilmembers should also study 35A.11.020 to remind themselves of the power they wield.  Then they should publicly engage their council colleagues to use this power wisely and effectively to improve the quality of life for residents and businesses in Renton.

Are these city publications appropriate? Candidate gets unfair boost from taxpayer media

Written by Randy Corman 12 Comments
This 2010 Public Service Announcement law ensures public officials running for election don’t get unfair benefit from publicly-owned communication channels. This law was recodified in a new chapter starting next year, but the basic law will remain the same. (See new version at the end of this article).

A Councilmember acquiring a municipal leadership certificate by attending Association of Washington Cities training and workshops is not exactly breaking news.  Outside of a handful of Renton City Hall insiders, few people could typically tell you which Council Members have this certificate.  In recent years Renton has sometimes announced the awarding of these certificates, largely to make the public aware of how Association of Washington Cities (AWC) programs positively contribute to the City of Renton education and functioning. Renton pays dues to AWC for these services.

However, per RCW 42.17A.575, cities must be very careful not to include public officials running for election in Public Service Announcements, to avoid using public facilities to help a candidate.  Ironically, the prohibitions about using city resources to campaign is one of the many topics on ethics that Councilmembers might typically learn in AWC training.

The law says “No state elected official or municipal officer may speak or appear in a public service announcement that is broadcast, shown, or distributed in any form whatsoever during the period January 1 and continuing through the general election if that official or officer is a candidate.”

So Renton should be careful about timing announcements about candidates so as not to prop up campaigns with public dollars.

This week’s City announcements were the most unfair timing possible.  In the hard-fought race for Renton City Council Position 2, the third-place finisher Raman Mann (who got nearly a quarter of the primary votes) just TODAY endorsed second-place finisher Mary Clymer.  Ms. Clymer now has a strong chance to unseat the incumbent Carmen Rivera, who is so mired in controversy that the British “Daily Mail” just reported on her campaign troubles to its tens of millions of readers.

The same day Raman Mann’s campaign made his endorsement of Mary Clymer, the City of Renton was flooding social media sites, the City’s email list, and the City’s website with flattering stories about Councilmember Rivera’s AWC certificate.

The City’s website article is quite lengthy, and includes so many  testimonials by and about Councilmember Rivera that it reads precisely like a voter-pamphlet submittal:  “Renton raised me, and I’m honored to give back through public service…(more content)….the training strengthens the work I do every day fighting for equity, transparency, and practical solutions that serve our entire community…(more content)…Born and raised in Renton, Councilmember Rivera resides in the Tiffany Park area with her spouse.”

This statement appears to be exactly the kind of city-sponsored support piece that the state legislature determined should NOT be paid for with taxpayer dollars in an election year, let alone in the critical weeks between a primary and what is sure to be a close general election.

I’ve included samples of the City Facebook post, the City Bulletin (which is distributed to a mailing list), and the City Website that were all just published promoting the incumbent, the same day that the challengers were combining their campaign teams to make a winning run in the general election.  The Renton City YouTube Channel also features a council meeting presentation of the award.  Taxpayers pay for the staff time to film, write, edit, prepare, and upload all of these statements.

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City Council Meetings detail information

Written by Randy Corman 0 Comments

The City of Renton has been reworking it’s website during the past year, and has become difficult (at least for now) to find full agenda packets for upcoming meetings and past meetings.

The link to find all this information is here.

This section lists upcoming meetings. The live version can be found here, and includes clickable links to the detail agenda packets.
This section lists recent meetings. The live version can be found here and includes clickable links that go to the agenda packets.

Dust-up over a poster highlights continuing tension during Renton Council audience comment

Written by Randy Corman 1 Comment
North Renton resident Matt Hanbey showed a poster at last night’s meeting displaying a timeline related to Council activities on the Logan Six project. In the previous Council Meeting the poster and much of Mr. Hanbey’s presentation was mysteriously left out of the video feed.

An apparent censoring of a poster exhibit at last week’s audience comment further illustrated the heightened tension that is preventing residents and council members from freely communicating at council meetings.

In a blog post on March 25th I described how our city leaders should find their way back to the type of council meeting communication we had with residents in past decades.  Prior to the pandemic, audience comment was an interactive and solution-oriented portion of each council meeting, in which council members routinely asked questions of presenters, shared their own perspectives on issues raised, engaged in cooperative problem solving, and often referred resident’s concerns to the Administration or a Council Committee for review.  But lately it seems the “communication” consists entirely of residents giving three-minute monologues, with no response other than a possible “thank you… Next”

Two weeks after my post, a member of the public brought a poster board exhibit to the audience comment that had a timeline on it, and for some unknown reason the video recording system did not capture any images of it.  Instead of the usual protocol of recording an image of the speaker, the cameras moved from focussing on the speaker to showing the council for the entire three minutes.  This left those of us watching the meeting online very confused about what was on the poster that seemed to be so controversial that it was being censored.

This is the view that remote viewers had of Mr. Hanbey’s presentation at the April 14 meeting. The poster Mr. Hanbey held (which was written, shown to Council, and is therefore probably a public record) was never shared with the remote viewers of the meeting. As a public record, it was even at risk of not being properly retained, except a quick-thinking staff member managed to take a photo of it.

This was a huge departure from past decades, in which residents were welcome and even encouraged to bring written exhibits to audience comment, usually in the form of paper that could be displayed for everyone in the chambers using a special projector next to the audience comment podium.  Residents would use the projector to show such things as maps, lists, photos, calendars, timelines, event posters, and any other exhibit that improved communication between the resident and the Renton Council.  In the pre-digital age we could see the data projected on a screen (from paper or view foils), and in later years we could see it on our monitors on the council dais.  Residents would certainly challenge us back then like they do now.  Concerns and complaints have always been a common reason for residents to attend a council meeting.  But that did not stop Council from encouraging residents to show written documents with their testimony.

With this display option no longer readily apparent , Matt Hanbey brought a poster-board chart instead, and it then seemed to be censored on the video feed.

Thankfully, Mr. Hanbey contacted Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Ed VanValey after he realized he and his exhibit were not shown on the meeting video feed, and CAO VanValey agreed to remedy the mistake at the next council meeting.  That subsequent meeting occurred last night, and as CAO VanValey said, the timeline poster and Mr. Hanbey’s testimony were broadcast.  Hence, the confusion has apparently been corrected, but not before at least two speakers mentioned it in last night’s meeting.

Whoever censored this audience comment has apparently been retrained, but the underlying tension that sowed the censorship should still be addressed.  Elected Officials must remember that  (as the Declaration of Independence says) “governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed,” and that the residents that make their way to City Hall to speak with them are collectively their bosses.  Council should engage with the public, the way any of us would engage with our employer, when issues are brought up or questions are raised.

Renton’s residents usually hold the answers to Renton’s problems, and it is Council’s job to gather these solutions and help implement them.  Interacting during audience comment, including looking at the data the residents bring forth, is an important part of this assignment.

North Renton residents issue press release about their Logan Six appeal

Written by Randy Corman 3 Comments

North Renton residents issue press release about their Logan Six appeal.  This appeal was announced on Monday night after North Renton neighbors tried one final time to get assistance from Renton City Council.  This is the statement in its entirety:

PRESS RELEASE
NO Logan 6!
Contact: Sheryl Friesz, Matt Hanbey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RENTON ‘AHEAD OF THE CURVE’!? MORE LIKE ‘BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE!!’

Renton Neighbors Raise Funds, Hire Lawyer to Appeal Proposed Logan 6 Development.
Renton, WA (March 25, 2025) – Renton Neighbors, fed up with city, the mayor, and the city council are taking their issues to court:

“We’re fed up. We’ve tried to work with the city and our elected officials for more than eighteen months, including our city council members and mayor, but they played ostrich and dug their heads in the sand. So, we’re taking our issues to Superior Court.”
“The message we’re sending— and have been sending– to the City, the Mayor, and the City Council is: we will not tolerate the inaction, lack of engagement, and disregard for process on developments, like Logan 6, that impacts all of Renton.”

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When did Renton Council stop publicly discussing issues?

Written by Randy Corman 4 Comments

 

“I know you’ve had the opportunity to meet with everyone, but I just want… I don’t want there to be the appearance that we’re not listening….that I haven’t heard. I just I don’t know that this format lends itself to being the best one for discussion. But if there’s a discussion that needs to be had, I’m happy to have it when that time is right.” (Council Member McIrvin, at 3/24/25 meeting)

Council observers have recently seen Renton residents complaining about not being heard at Council Meetings, and Council refusing to act, or even discuss acting, on issues that are brought before them by the public.

Individual Renton Council Members have no authority individually.  But when a quorum of them agree on an issue, they have more authority than the Mayor.  They are like the city’s “Board of Directors,” while the Mayor is CEO.

But the only way Council can use their authority, or even talk about using it, is in an open public meeting.  So we taxpayers fund a comfortable council chambers, and staff it with a Clerk, Chief Administrator Officer, City Attorney, department heads, and a recording crew so that Council Meetings can be productive and effective.

We also provide an opportunity for Renton residents to interact with their council at these meetings, as Public Agencies are encouraged to do by state law.

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There is plenty to discuss from last night’s City Council Meeting; I’ll post articles in coming hours and days

Written by Randy Corman 0 Comments

Last night’s Council Meeting featured a large number of residents speaking out on a broad selection of topics.  They shared the concerns about the controversial Logan Six project, the taking of homes for Renton High, the derelict Sixth and Park buildings, the Asphalt Plant, open drug use near Sartori Elementary school, the general condition of downtown, and other issues.

The Council Meeting can be viewed here.  The Audience comment begins at 31 minutes into the meeting.

A number of residents shared concerns at last night’s council meeting.