Two Peoria council members say efforts at providing more transparency to constituents when it comes to what council is voting on are being blocked by Mayor Jason Beck.
The issue was highlighted recently regarding the city’s attempt to lease a hangar planned to house a proposed helicopter the city is expected to buy, but Councilmembers Denette Dunn and Brad Shafer say they have attempted to pull individual consent agenda items for discussion in recent months and were denied to do so by Beck.
Dunn, who represents the Pine District, has made a regular practice of pulling items from the consent agenda, said she believes not allowing the removal of any consent items allows the mayor to keep things quiet from the public if he holds the majority and they follow his lead.
She said Beck has denied her requests to pull several items from the consent agenda, over at least three public meetings.
“I believe the Pine District residents want pertinent information when their hard earned tax dollars are being spent. The Pine District resident’s voted me into office to represent them and amplify their voice. My voice is being silenced,” she said.
In a statement to the Peoria Independent, Beck said the air unit project has been shared publicly and the city has been soliciting public feedback through the engagement portal peoriaaz.info/PublicOpinion, since early November.
“I understand the vital role that our police officers and firefighters play in maintaining a safe community, and I am confident that an aviation unit will support them in their tireless efforts,” he stated.
The statement did not address his denial of council members pulling consent agenda items.
City Charter
Peoria’s city charter states the mayor, with input from the city manager, has authority to set the agenda for regularly scheduled meetings. This includes the consent agenda, which contains items requiring action by council that are generally routine and do not require council discussion. A single motion approves all items on the consent agenda, including any resolutions or ordinances, as well as budget expenditures up to a certain dollar amount.
The charter does not address the consent agenda, however it is addressed on council agendas: “If the presiding officer receives a timely notice of a request for removal, an item may be removed from the consent agenda for consideration on the regular agenda.”
A Common Occurrence
It is not uncommon for elected officials to request items to be removed from the consent agenda.
Dunn and Shafer say they have provided requests to the mayor in writing to remove items from the consent agenda 24 hours prior to the council date, including an item on the Nov. 14 consent agenda regarding the approval of a five-year lease agreement in the amount of $7,500 per month for hangar space at the Glendale Airport, 6575 N. Glen Harbor Blvd.
The hangar space is planned to be used for a proposed helicopter that has not yet been approved by council, but will be considered at a public meeting, Dec. 12.
Dunn was the lone dissenting vote on this consent agenda. Shafer said he voted yes only because the item was buried in the consent agenda and he, like Dunn, were denied the request to have it removed.
Shafer, who represents the Mesquite District, said he has yet to speak to a constituent or law enforcement member who believes a helicopter is necessary in Peoria.
Based on the city’s crime statistics and ongoing operational cost, Shafer said, Peoria would be better off investing in more cutting-edge technology, such as drones, which are already used by the police and fire-medical departments, to assist with mountain rescues, criminal investigations and fire assessments.
“When it comes to air support, even our military utilizes drones, and if it’s good enough for our ground troops in battle, it should be sufficient for our Peoria Police Department, and at a fraction of the cost of a helicopter,” Shafer said. “Therefore, an item the magnitude of a helicopter should have the opportunity to be discussed in a public forum.”
Overwhelming Support of Pulling From Consent
Many Arizona agencies support councilors’ ability to remove items from a consent agenda for discussion.
The League of Arizona Cities and Towns states a member of a council may remove any issue from the consent agenda, and that issue will be discussed and voted upon separately, according to their publication “Anatomy of a Council Meeting.”
The Arizona Attorney General states public bodies should fully describe the matters on the agenda and inform the public where more information can be obtained, and that a good practice is to require the removal of an item from the consent agenda upon the request of any member of the public body, according to the agency’s handbook on open meetings.
The attorney general also advises any uncertainty under the Open Meeting Law should be resolved in favor of openness in government.
Parliamentary procedure manual Robert’s Rules of Order is the standard for facilitating discussions and group decision-making used by countless councils and boards across the country. It also allows for the removal of items from the consent agenda.
Thomas Volgy, a professor of political science at University of Arizona, as well as former Tucson City Council member and mayor, said Robert’s Rules allows individual council members to pull items off the consent agenda.
“It is possible that the city has some other rules in place, but I’m not aware of that. If they simply work by Robert’s Rules, then they should have been able to pull an item,” he said.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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