PORTLAND, Ore. — This afternoon Portland city councilors are looking at big changes in the way they are running the government; including when they’ll hear from the public.
Eric Zimmerman says the council should limit night meetings to one a month. “This is why I care a lot that we have one night meeting. We can either talk about supporting the employees who support us or we can take action to support the employees who support us. And I think that taking action to limit the number of night meetings is one of those actions that reduces strain on a pretty significant apparatus to keep this animal alive.”
But councilors Sameer Kanal and Angelita Morillo say they want two meetings at night, because that’s when more Portlanders show up and speak out, compared to daytime meetings, when Morillo noted, “The people who can come and testify generally are either wealthy, retired, or they tend to be lobbyists for organizations and they’re paid. And those could be people I agree with but you get a different type of person that comes in the evening meetings…