This week, Orem's planning commissioners will be meeting in the sunshine of the afternoon - literally - as the starting time for their meetings moves from 6 p.m. to 3 p.m. every other Wednesday.
But they'll still be meeting for free. The council has declined to approve a suggestion from Mayor Stella Welsh that commissioners get a stipend of $50 a meeting.In a trial effort to reduce the stress on the commissioners, who have had as many as 23 items to deal with on a single evening's agenda, Planning Commission Chairwoman Berdean Jarman suggested the time change.
In a memo to the city manager, Jarman said that as a result of "the phenomenal growth currently taking place in Orem," meetings have been going into the late hours of the night. She listed several negative results:
- Patrons arriving at 6:30 expecting their item of business to be discussed within a couple of hours, end up waiting four or five hours. Then the commissioners feel obligated to address that item, even if they're physically and mentally exhausted.
- Many residents come intending to speak on a specific subject or item, only to find they cannot endure the wait.
- The quality of decisionmaking suffers after many hours of dealing with complex and emotionally charged issues, Jarman said. Items late on the agenda tend to get rushed and less careful scrutiny.
"We considered holding meetings every Wednesday with the idea that the meetings would go from 6:30 p.m. to approximately 9 p.m. However, we felt this was too much of a time commitment for volunteers who are already putting in a tremendous amount of time as commissioners and who have other obligations."
Welsh suggested the stipend, after noting the lengthy meetings and the amount of travel put in by each member as they scout the locations of items on their agenda.
The idea met opposition almost immediately from council-mem-bers who felt other volunteers within the city donate as much time and effort as planning com-mis-sioners.
Councilman Kelvin Clayton said it would be difficult to know where to stop with payments. He said planning commissioners serve a relatively short period of time and he does not feel they need to be paid.
He said city councilmembers shouldn't receive remuneration for their public service, except that it costs a great deal of money to campaign for the office.
Clayton also suggested the commissioners tighten up their meetings and avoid the six-hour marathons, which "do no service to the citizen" he said.
Councilmembers expressed concern over starting the meetings while many citizens would still be at work and unable to attend.
Others felt the issue goes beyond starting earlier and has more to do with the workload and complexity of issues.
"I don't think this is going to work," said Welsh.