(The Center Square) – Spokane Valley is considering changes to the city council’s governance manual that could require residents to reserve their comments for the end of meetings, often late in the evening.
After being briefed by City Manager John Hohman, the council discussed the modifications on Tuesday. If approved during an upcoming meeting, the changes would mark the second time the council has modified the manual since January.
Among the updates are simple language changes, a section requiring a “church leadership group” to plan invocations rather than city staff, and updates to the social media policy. However, some revisions shift the meeting format and when public comments are allowed.
Typically, the Valley hosts formal council meetings on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, with informal or study session meetings happening on the other Tuesdays. Hohman said the two have blended, and with that, they want to clarify the order of business.
“You’d have the pledge of allegiance, you’d have invocation, you’d have public comment,” he said. “However, the public comment would be moved more towards the back of the meeting, consistent with a variety, pretty much all of our surrounding jurisdictions.”