Faulkner County Reports

Accountability, Ethics, & Transparency in Government

Three Readings? Or, Three Meetings?

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by Jason Lyon

To many who watch the Conway City Council meetings, lately it turns into giggles on who can move to waive the three readings for an ordinance and then immediately move to approve the ordinance.

Why the hurry? For some ordinances, decisions need to be made immediately that evening and then have the ordinance take effect 30 days later once it has been filed. Of course, there can always be an emergency clause added, like what happened at the December 13 City Council meeting for employee bonuses to prep for the appreciation party.

This is not to argue the merits of waiving the three readings or not, but what are the results of each route to passage? Some cities are much like Conway while others, like Maumelle, play out the three readings to gather more information and make an informed vote. But the drawback is it pushes the ordinance approval date out by six to eight weeks.

Discussion Would Be Better

The perception by many, through various comments, is that the City Council just rubber stamps the Mayor’s agenda — a right-or-wrong perception, but that has been the perception by many in the public who follow City and County government. This goes back to the Tab Townsell administration, as well.

There is relatively little discussion on many ordinances and rightly so. Many ordinances do not need much discussion. But it would be refreshing at times to see some discussion on certain topics. This would be especially prudent on planning items and financial items such as bonds, land swaps, and other transactions concerning City property.

Public Engagement

Now, would going to three readings allow more public input on ordinances, or would it be a hindrance to developments and other issues? It really comes down to public engagement.

If the public is not overly engaged in the government process, then the City Council is spinning its wheels for two extra meetings for no reason. However, I feel an extra 2-3 weeks for Council members to review ordinances would allow more informed decisions and also allow the Council and public to interact.

Harps Rezoning OKd With No Readings

Just for grins, let’s look at the recently passed Ordinance to rezone property at the northwest corner of Dave Ward Drive and S. Country Club Drive. The Council voted 8-0 to approve the rezoning, which appears to allow Harps to potentially build a new store on the corner.

A conditional use permit request goes to the Planning Commission on December 19 to allow gas pumps in a C-2 Zoning District.

There were a few words of light discussion on the rezoning when Alderman David Grimes, who lives relatively close to the property, asked if the property is large enough for a grocery store. Then votes were cast to waive the three readings and subsequently the Council voted in favor of the property.

Imagine 3 Readings

Imagine the three readings were not waived, the ordinance is read and discussed and then, at the next meeting – in this case December 27 … oh wait, the Council canceled the 27th – January 10, 2023 would be the second reading.

During the three to four weeks between readings, the Council could discuss with constituents and with City Planning staff details of the project such as ingress/egress, building orientation, and citizen complaints or approvals for the project.

Note also, if approved by the Planning Commission, the proposed conditional use permit could be heard at the same time to allow a full comprehensive view of the project, including the gas pumps and canopy.

Conceivably the Council, if they had enough information, could then waive the third reading and vote that night, as well as vote on the conditional use permit (a resolution that requires only one reading).

In this example, do those 3-4 extra weeks hurt the project? Not really, as the development would be in a holding pattern until the conditional use permit was settled, because a site plan review would be delayed dependent on the conditional use for the gas pumps plus any subsequent conditions.

Looking at Other Issues

The Council could look into other issues. For example, is Country Club Road big enough to handle the traffic? Possibly, since Country Club Road is a minor arterial per Conway’s Master Street Plan, although in current condition it is a relatively narrow, two-lane road so expansion would be necessary leading to the intersection with Dave Ward Drive.

Three Readings, or Not?

Having worked under both systems, I see advantages to both ways. It did take a while to get used to three readings but I have found there tends to be more Council and public engagement over the three readings.

Waiving the three readings does move the process along, but at the potential cost of citizen engagement and some healthy discussion by elected officials.

In the end, though, this could be a city population size argument as well. Maumelle is 20,000 residents (rounded up) while Conway is approaching 70,000 residents. Conway routinely has a bigger Council agenda, although both communities are showing significant growth in residential and commercial development.

Are there many elected officials willing to buck the trend of waiving the three readings? Not likely in Conway, as I only remember one time in my memory when a Council member voted “no” a motion to waive the three readings.

It really comes down to Council members stepping up and being willing to slow the process if they have more in-depth questions — but also it requires an engaged citizenry to ask the elected officials more questions before passage, rather than asking questions after the fact.