FREMONT – An ordinance seeking to help make Fremont’s City Council meetings more efficient will go to a second reading after a 5-3 vote at Tuesday’s meeting.
Ordinance 5530 would establish a standard five minute speaking period for council members during agenda item debate, and would limit a councilperson from speaking for an additional five minute period until all other council members had spoken. Public comment by residents attending the city council meetings would not be changed or limited in any way by the new ordinance. Five minute speaking periods are fairly standard throughout many levels of government – the Nebraska Unicameral, for example, uses a five minute speaking limit.
This ordinance change would fall under those meeting rules that can be suspended by vote. That means that if a particular agenda item warrants more extensive discussion than can be covered by a five minute speaking period, the council could vote to suspend this rule on a case-by-case basis. If a majority of council members agree that more discussion on a particular agenda item is warranted, the rule would be suspended and more in-depth debate could take place.
On Tuesday, the ordinance was advanced to receive a second reading by a 5 – 3 vote. Voting in favor of advancing the ordinance to the next reading were council members Jensen, McClain, Kuhns, Legband and Bechtel. Opposed were council members Jacobus, Ellis, and Yerger.
A subsequent vote to move immediately to a final reading failed on a 4-4 vote, with council member McClain joining with Jacobus, Ellis and Yerger opposing. A three-quarters majority of council members present, or 6 yes votes, would have been required for the new ordinance to move directly to a final reading.
The second reading of the ordinance will now take place during the regularly scheduled City Council meeting on April 28th. If the ordinance should be advanced to the 3rd and final reading, that will take place at the May 12th Council meeting.
Contact your council representative:
| Name | Telephone | Ward | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Getzschman, Mayor | 402.721.6301 | Scott.Getzschman@fremontne.gov | |
| Mark Legband | 402.720.1516 | Mark.Legband@fremontne.gov | 1 |
| Linda McClain | 402.727.9370 | Linda.McClain@fremontne.gov | 1 |
| Glen Ellis | 402.512.3994 | Glen.Ellis@fremontne.gov | 2 |
| Susan Jacobus | 402.512.1963 | Susan.Jacobus@fremontne.gov | 2 |
| Michael Kuhns | 402.720.9164 | Michael.Kuhns@fremontne.gov | 3 |
| Mark Jensen | 402.926.9527 | Mark.Jensen@fremontne.gov | 3 |
| Brad Yerger | 402.512.0081 | Brad.Yerger@fremontne.gov | 4 |
| Matt Bechtel | 402.512-3150 | Matthew.Bechtel@fremontne.gov | 4 |
If you’re not sure which City Council Ward you’re in, you can use this map to find out: https://www.fremontne.gov/56/Voting-Precinct-Map
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