The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will discuss eliminating public comment on “non-controversial” ordinances.
Assembly President Dale Bagley said the ordinance would amend KPB code to allow “routine” ordinances to be places on the consent agenda.
Bagley: “Well it could be introduced at one meeting and passed at the next meeting. Now, the caveat on this is anything that changes borough code still has to wait 25 days, but if you’re accepting money from the State of Alaska like a grant or if you’re awarding a bid to do a roof on a school or something like that, you can introduce it one meeting and pass it at the next meeting.”
This would eliminate the 25 days now required for those non-controversial ordinances, where another meeting is held between when the ordinance is introduced and the meeting where action is required, also eliminating a public hearing.
Bagley said if any assembly members think members of the public would like to speak on one of these “non-controversial” ordinances, they can request to put it through the process that happens now.
Bagley: “So I had tried to bring this up a year ago and Bill Smith was against it because he didn’t want to pass the budget in one meeting and he didn’t make an amendment which I wish he had but he never did. So that’s probably the biggest change from when I tried to do this last year is that we stuck in the budget has to have two public hearings.”
The public comment on the ordinance to implement this will be tonight at 6 pm at the Borough Assembly Chambers in Soldotna.