Officials explain how city government works

By Liz McMahan
Assistant City Editor

January 03, 2009 10:57 pm

—
City Council meetings are not an action-packed movie and few people may watch their live broadcast on cable television, said Ward I Councilman Bob Luttrull.
Even fewer attend the City Council meetings and Public Works and Finance Committee meetings.
That’s as it should be, said Mayor John Tyler Hammons.
Citizens turn out for meetings when there is an issue they care about, such as the establishment of the Capitol Hill Historic Preservation District or reducing the free parking time on South Main from eight hours to two hours, he said.
“I think the citizenry gets involved in an issue they care about,” Hammons said. “They don’t really care that every two weeks we have to pay the bills.
“That’s how the system should work — when you care, you come out. If it’s an issue you have less feelings on, you let your elected representatives take care of that for you.”
While decisions are made by the council, it is still important for citizens to have input, Buckley said.
“Any form of government relies on the input and interests of the community,” he said. “I think citizens need to take an active role. That can be as simple as coming to the council meetings and picking up an agenda and having an interest.”
When the community speaks out and tells the council what they want — more youth programs, better streets, Internet access or gold lamp posts — that’s how the city sets its priorities. That may mean taking money from programs the public isn’t as interested in and shifting to areas of more interest, Buckley said.
Muskogee’s government is run by a city manager who takes care of day-to-day operations and a nine-member City Council that sets policy and direction, said Greg Buckley, city manager.
The nine councilors are elected with two from each of four wards and the ninth — the mayor — elected at large. While the councilors must reside in a particular ward to run, they are voted on citywide, just like the mayor.
The mayor is the ceremonial head of the city, with the authority to issue proclamations and represent the city at functions. He also presides at council meetings and has a vote.
All this is set up by a city charter, making Muskogee a “home rule” city, rather than operating under state laws, said Roy Tucker, interim city attorney.
“We can issue ordinance or resolutions that are not pre-empted by state law,” Tucker said.
Luttrull, who began his first term on the council last spring and serves as chairman of a committee reviewing the city charter, said the City Council has more meetings than some multi-billion dollar corporations have.
The council meets every other week and in the off weeks meets as the Public Works and Finance Committees.
Those committee meetings are where proposals generally are introduced to the council — a policy on installing speed bumps, zoning regulations for adult-oriented businesses or changing the water meter reading system.
Some of the proposals come from committees such as the Parks and Recreation Board or the Airport Board. Those boards frequently have one or more council members serving on them, along with a group of citizens.
Others come from recommendations by department heads.
When the Public Works and Finance Committee recommends approval of a measure, it moves on to the council agenda for the following Monday night.
If an item is passed unanimously by Public Works and Finance, it is placed on the Consent Agenda portion of the Council Agenda, former Mayor Wren Stratton explained at a council meeting in March.
“Had there been dissension at that meeting, they would not have been placed on the consent agenda but on the regular agenda,” she said.
Even if an item is on the consent agenda, council members may ask at the regular meeting that an item be removed from that agenda and placed on the regular agenda, re-opening the item for discussion.
“We have some people that believe that they have one more opportunity to disagree (with discussion at council meeting),” Luttrull said. “They’ve already lost it once, but they’re going to bring it up again.”
Buckley, who took the reins as city manager in March, said that from what he has been told, the council members have a healthy relationship with one another.
They are open to discussion and dialogue on the issues, he said. While they may disagree on a particular topic, those differences are not a personal attack, and they leave them behind as they move to another issue.
“I don’t see a personal agenda carried out to the detriment of moving the community forward,” he said.
Luttrull agreed.
“I think the people we have involved in the City Council are genuinely trying to do what is best for the city of Muskogee,” he said.
How Muskogee’s government works is fairly well spelled out in the City Charter, Hammons said. It’s those human dynamics that present a greater challenge in how things work, he said.
“I say that because you can’t codify dynamics into the law,” Hammons said. “Just because the manager may serve at the pleasure of the council, for instance, that doesn’t say how the group is going to get along. You assume that they will, but there’s no telling. The group dynamics change with each election. Should I get re-elected and the people change, I’m sure the group’s dynamics will change again. It’s in constant motion.”

Meetings
The Muskogee City Council meets at 7 p.m. the second and fourth Monday of each month.
The Council meets as the Public Works and Finance Committees at 4 p.m. the first and third Tuesday.
Both meetings are held in the Council Chambers, third floor of the Municipal Building at Okmulgee Avenue and South Third Street.
All meetings are open to the public except the executive session portion of meetings.
Both meetings are broadcast live on Suddenlink Channel 14.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.