The Burien City Council’s Monday night (Feb. 24, 2025) meeting was marked by a comprehensive review of procedural rules, touching on everything from public engagement to internal council operations.
Amidst discussions of clarifying language and streamlining processes, key debates emerged concerning the scope of public comment, the inclusion of a Native Land Acknowledgement, and the frequency of deputy mayoral selection.
The meeting also addressed the somber issue of homelessness, with a reminder of available city resources. Ultimately, the council navigated a range of proposed changes, balancing efficiency with the preservation of public input and established traditions.
Council Reports
Councilmember Linda Akey shared her regret over the recent death of a person sleeping in a tent in Burien. She said that the city has a process to help people access services. She asked the public to call the police if they see tents so co-responders can connect with the homeless individuals. Police will remove the tent and facilitate access to treatment or shelter. She said people can also contact The More We Love, the agency that the city contracts with to help direct the homeless to services.
Public Comments
Commenters asked the council not to limit topics that could be addressed during Public Comments to just the agenda items. One speaker said that if this rule had been in place, they would not have been able to motivate both the council and the community around flooding issues in Boulevard Park. Letters sent to councilmembers are not read by the public, so they’re not effective as a way to shed light on issues.
Changes To Council Rules Of Order
Most of the meeting was spent going over potential changes to the rules of order for council meetings. Many of the changes were just small things that clarified the language or changed the code to match what the council actually does. However, the following sections required debate and discussion amongst the councilmembers:
- The council considered the idea of no longer reading the Native Land & Peoples Acknowledgement at the beginning of each meeting. Deputy Mayor Sarah Moore got support for asking staff to consult with the tribal people who helped establish the document, before removing it from the meetings. Councilmember Linda Akey said she is not interested in changing the language of this carefully worded document, but would rather utilize it elsewhere such as on the website, rather than reading it aloud at the start of every meeting.
- A change was made to proclamations. They will now only be made if requested by an organization, and then will be sponsored by an individual council member.
- Removing the standard “two-touch” process was discussed, but there was a tie vote, with Councilmember Jimmy Matta abstaining, so this process will stay in place. It was mentioned that the two-touch process requires more staff work, and items are rarely ever pulled after they pass in their first touch. City Manager Adolfo Bailon said items can always be tabled if the discussion requires more than one meeting. However, councilmembers said they liked having time to ruminate on things just a little bit longer before they are voted on the second time.
- The Public Comments period was moved earlier in the meeting. Mayor Kevin Schilling said that the single most frequent complaint he hears from people about meetings is that they have to wait for too long before being able to give comment. Now this period will take place before Council Reports at the start of each meeting.
- Councilmembers Linda Akey and Alex Andrade were in favor of limiting Public Comment topics to agenda items. Akey explained that this is a common practice and that both Seattle and King County Councils have this limit in place. She said people can still contact the council via email on any topic of concern, and that there are other more appropriate ways to get community support on an issue. Councilmember Hugo Garcia countered that his first time speaking during Public Comments was on a topic that was not on the agenda, and it ended up being a really important step for him in becoming involved in community issues. Mayor Schilling said that free speech of the public is a vital concern, and it has to be balanced with the need for respectful, timely meetings. He said that this potential change was originally his request; however, he said meetings have become much more civil and it no longer feels necessary. There was not support for limiting Public Comment topics; it failed in a 2–5 vote.
- The selection of deputy mayor will now take place on an annual basis, rather than every two years. Councilmember Akey said that this is standard practice, and it allows for more councilmembers to get experience occasionally running meetings along with other deputy mayoral duties. This passed 5–1, with Councilmember Mora against and Councilmember Matta abstaining. The deputy mayor will be selected by council vote at the first meeting of each calendar year.
The council voted unanimously to adopt all these changes to their rules of order.
If Council Member Matta wants to continue his habit of abstaining during votes he might as well resign as it’s the same result either way. I cannot think of another CM who has used that procedural option more times than him, it’s the equivalent of sitting on a fence and that’s not what civic leaders should do.
It has a reason and a purpose. It is actually the equilient of a no vote most of the time. But not on the record as one. That is not always a bad thing.