Meeting Mastery Follow some simple rules to keep your meetings on track By Erika Peterman No one sets out to conduct a city council or commission meeting poorly. In an ideal world, the items on the agenda are discussed and considered fairly, attending members of the public feel they have been heard, civility reigns on the dais and in the audience, and sound decisions are made. Reality is often much more complicated, especially when hot-button issues are involved. However, there are steps city officials can take in the interest of running meetings smoothly, efficiently and professionally. Bill Colbert, city attorney for the City of Sanford, FL who has experience with public meetings going back to the 1970s, said elected officials’ ability (or inability) to conduct meetings appropriately makes an impact beyond the council chambers. “The ones who have successful meetings wind up having credibility and being returned to office,” he said. “Those who do not have successful meetings lose credibility and tend not to be consistently re-elected to office. That’s the big observation over 40 years.” The first step? Start on time. “I’ve been in meetings where the meeting is supposed to start at 7, and people drag in and it starts at 7:10 or 7:20,” he said. “Right off the bat, the people in the audience see that their time isn’t being respected and the meeting is more likely to go off the tracks if they have that feeling.” Colbert said the chair plays a critical role in a meeting’s success. For example, it’s important that the chair be
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consistent in his or her treatment of the public. If an announcement has been made that members of the public will have three minutes to speak, the time limit should be applied to everyone. Another good practice is for all parties – whether it’s a member of the public, another commissioner or a member of staff – to address the chair and be recognized before speaking, Colbert said. That way, everyone has an opportunity to provide input and gain information without people talking over each other and possibly squabbling. “If it goes through the chair it becomes kind of a structured, neutral conduit of information as opposed to an argument,” he said. Scott Paine, an associate professor of communication and government at the University of Tampa who served on the Tampa City Council from 1991 to 1999, said meeting preparation is key. But in addition to knowing what’s going on, the person charged with presiding should have an understanding of how individual commission or council members are likely to receive the issues and respond to them. For example, if there has been a controversy about the maintenance of a park and a member of the commission is focused on that issue, an agenda item about putting in new swing sets is likely to set off a response. “The key here is respect,” Paine said. “For presiders, it’s important not only to understand substance but to understand how the members of the council are likely to respond individually.” Because the presider is so crucial to the process, commissioners should think carefully about whether they
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