Within his first month of being elected, new Warrenton Alderman Steven Cullom began pushing for change that would allow more time for the public to review their government’s actions.

Cullom, Ward 2, proposed a bill on May 4 that would prevent the board of aldermen from voting on a new ordinance during the same meeting where it’s first introduced. When an ordinance gets announced and then passed all within the same week, many residents don’t hear about it in time to provide feedback, Cullom said.

“It doesn’t give the people of the town and us the proper time to hear from the people and/or learn about (the ordinance),” Cullom explained. He said aldermen should also be taking more time to review ordinances drafted by city staff.

Under Cullom’s proposal, any vote on a new ordinance would be scheduled at least two weeks after it is initially discussed. Although no action was taken on the proposal, it did generate the beginning of a plan to make information about city business more transparent to the public.

Larry Corder, one of the other newly elected aldermen, said he could support a policy of delaying a vote on many bills. However, the board must still be able to take immediate action on issues that are time sensitive, Corder said.

Mayor Eric Schleuter said he agrees with Cullom’s desire to make more information available to the public before aldermen vote on issues. But he said previous aldermen had a good reason to expedite voting, particularly on issues related to economic development.

“Some businesses were saying they were waiting too long (for permits) ... and it was extending the  time frame for them to be able to proceed with their business,” Schleuter explained. He said he doesn’t want to cause a delay for entrepreneurs or developers who have already been through a lengthy review process just to get to the board of aldermen.

City Administrator Brandie Walters said one of the concerns expressed over the board’s voting policy is that some items are added to meeting agendas with little advance notice. This became a more prevalent issue over the last year with COVID introducing a lot of uncertainty to plans and timing, Walters said.

“Moving forward with amending agendas, if it’s not something that absolutely has to be on that meeting, then we’ll move it to the next meeting, so we’ll have more transparency,” Walters commented.

Walters also proposed using digital links to make all ordinances, reports and other discussions items available to the public before every meeting. That way residents can see information at the same time aldermen do.

City Attorney Christopher Graville also pointed out that nothing actually forces aldermen to take a vote on an ordinance at the same meeting it’s introduced. If aldermen feel an issue deserves more discussion or public feedback, they can always choose to postpone a vote, he said.

Cullom agreed to voluntarily put his proposal on hold while the city explores other ideas for transparency that avoid burdening businesses.

“It’s not my intention to make things harder for the citizens or the city,” he added.