The City Council Tuesday night tabled a proposed ordinance that would have changed city policy over neighborhood committees after many of the program's leaders complained that they didn't help draft the ordinance.
Councilman Dennis Hall, director of the program, proposed the ordinance to help improve coordination and communication between city officials and neighborhoods."Our intent, and only intent, with this ordinance is to make things more effective with the three bodies, the administration, council and neighborhood committees," said Hall, who leaves office Jan. 1.
One change would have prevented neighborhood committees from promoting one political candidate without providing equal opportunity to the other candidate.
Other changes would have defined the committees as being advisory to the City Council on neighborhood issues, such as zoning, budget, safety and infrastructure needs. The ordinance would not have prevented chairmen from addressing other neighborhood concerns. Hall said the changes would simplify the program and make it run more efficiently.
Several chairmen and chairwomen of the city's 33 organized neighborhoods, however, looked at the proposed ordinance differently. Without being specific in many cases, they said the ordinance would disempower them and weaken the program. Dave Knecht, chairman of the Provost South neighborhood, said classifying the committees as advisory boards would reduce them to messengers and secretaries of the City Council.
"I don't feel I'm a member of a board. I feel I'm an elected representative of my neighborhood," Knecht said.
Some accused council members of having a hidden agenda behind the ordinance and of trying to be sneaky by passing it with a lame-duck council. Jordan Tanner, chairman of the Oak Hills neighborhood, said the ordinance was flawed and would squash the program. When pinned down by Councilwoman Shari Holweg, however, he was hard-pressed to be specific about things he didn't like about the ordinance.
Many chairmen who approached the Deseret News Friday seeking publicity about the ordinance, including Councilman-elect Dennis Poulsen, said the ordinance was political revenge on Holweg's part. Several alluded to the same claim Tuesday night.
Hall and Holweg denied the accusation and said there was nothing secret or sinister about the ordinance.
Clearly frustrated, Council Chairwoman Jane Carlile halted discussion on the ordinance and council members, under Hall's recommendation, voted to continue the matter until next year when another council member takes over the neighborhood program.