Meeting report · Fort Collins · October 2023
There was no exchange of ideas and no attempt at understanding one another.
Watched on the City of Fort Collins live stream of the October 3, 2023 regular meeting.
Overview & Public Comment Period
On October 3rd, 2023, the City of Fort Collins held a city council regular meeting. Following the procedural agenda review, the council opened the meeting up to public commentary. This lasted just shy of an hour. The public comments primarily focused on issues pertaining to the adoption of the revised city of Fort Collins Land Use Code. Comments on this issue ranged from all over. Participants were able to share their personal perspectives on the subject matter. Stakeholders, ranging from pro-housing advocacy groups, Democratic Socialists of America, landlords, homeowners, and renters alike were able to comment. This diverse array of citizens, ranging in ages and backgrounds, though did have come constain.
The mayor established that each individual speaker is to be given two minutes of speaking time. A few citizens came across as irritated, as shown in their facial expressions. Others expressed their frustration directly to the city council. One citizen in particular, Bill King, addressed the council virtually by mentioning Colorado State University’s Center for Public Deliberation (CPD). In his comment, he noted that the CPD’s event hosted in regards to the land use code exposed the city council’s shortcomings in regards to the public engagement process. The concerns mentioned by resident Bill King were that citizens feel excluded if they miss meetings, that there was late consideration of public input, lack of transparency, and city staff were unresponsive.
The vast majority of comments centered on the land use code. Several others addressed issues such as voter accessibility and events that were hosted by Colorado State University, which does fall outside of the council’s jurisdiction.
City Council Comments
The council then followed up the public comment section. Only one member of the council and the mayor spoke. The mayor addressed only the CSU hosted event comment. The councilmember thanked those who spoke about the land use code.
Once the time expired for council follow-ups, they then presented their update reports. Although these reports are standard practice at council meetings, the information that was shared seemed to be disconnected from that vast comments by the public. The council focused on topics like Fort Collins public floral landscaping and comments by New Zealanders and Australians talking about skiing tourism. These issues may be of concern to many, yet these topics mentioned didn’t address the largest concerns of residents. For the remaining two and a half hours, the meeting then focused exclusively on the discussion of the land use code adoption which had a smaller period of public testimony.
Analysis
In my view, the meeting was very unproductive. The period for public comment had speakers focusing on an array of issues. While the land use code dominated the open comment period, the comments that differed from land use code fell through the cracks and weren’t given the attention they deserved. Time constraints led to good conversations being condensed and over-simplified. This opens the door to outlandish statements, generalizations, and miscommunication. The formatting of this event allows no engagement and understanding differing ideas. This was made apparent when Councilmember Pignataro commented that it felt like “were at a wedding” since the public had sat with other like-minded individuals on the land use code.
Additionally, there was very little engagement between the public and city council. Both sides who spoke up, passionate about their respective interests, talked past each other. They continually repeated the same points, depending on which side they were aligned with. Even though numerous individuals spoke, they brought up the same points repeatedly. There was no exchange of ideas and no attempt at understanding one another.
Overall, the time spent could’ve been utilized more effectively. The City of Fort Collins is accessible and transparent when compared to similar local governments across the United States. The meetings allow the public to participate virtually, making it accessible to a wider audience. It was fair and impartial when speakers made their arguments by allocating equal time to them regardless of where their stances fell.
Recommendations
Improvements that the city should adopt to address the ineffective public comment period are outlined below:
- Outsource: The public testimony often repeats itself while no new ideas are presented. Outsourcing to non-government organizations like the Center for Public Deliberation would streamline relevant information and wouldn’t share the capacity constraints that plagues the City of Fort Collins.
- Utilize Public Listening Sessions: Good governance stems from elected officials accessibility and accountability. Hosting events directly in the community produces a greater sense of understanding between constituents and their elected officials. Furthermore, direct community engagement sessions promote concentration on constituents’ priorities and create clear objectives that can often get lost in larger forums like a regular meeting hosted at City Hall.
- Citizens Must Demand More: Representatives are reflections of their constituents. If the current process isn’t satisfying citizens’ needs, it is on them to demand more of their elected officials. City council can host numerous listening sessions, yet if no one engages it sends a message that the status quo is acceptable.
Conclusion
The City of Fort Collins is rather accessible and transparent. Yet, it is necessary to recognize that there is still room for improvement. The City of Fort Collins should employ tools that strive for greater community involvement. It’s imperative that these efforts be made by both the governed and their elected representatives. Good governance depends on it.
Written for Deliberative Techniques, taught by Martin Carcasson, Colorado State University, October 17, 2023.
