SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor
Council committees in Van Wert could become a thing of the past.
The idea was mentioned at a previous meeting and it was addressed again Monday night by Councilman At-Large Jeff Kallas. There are currently seven council committees – Health, Service and Safety, Economic Development, Parks and Recreation, Finance, Properties and Equipment, Streets and Alleys and Judiciary and Annexation. Those committees are each comprised of three council members. If two members talk, depending on the course of the conversation, it could constitute a violation of Ohio’s Sunshine Law.
“My reasoning behind getting rid of committees is because with only seven of us it really hinders conversation and being able to talk and explore and running things by each other,” Kallas explained.
Fourth Ward Councilman Andrew Davis, whose term ends December 31, said he believes the committee system is built for larger forms of government.
“If I had to guess I would say it was put into place to mimic what happened in Columbus, what happened in Washington DC, to be a way for everybody to get together and see what ideas they like and dislike,” Davis stated. “In a larger form of government where that committee consists of 20, 30, 40 people, you can get 10 people together as a subcommittee of that group and they can talk about things that happened within that committee. With a small committee with only three people, with two of those, it becomes a majority of the committee which per Ohio Sunshine Law, mandates an open meeting.”
“Honestly, I think it hinders what this body is able to accomplish on a weekly basis,” he added. “I don’t think you have to step all the way back and say ‘we’re going to abolish committees’…you can make them special committees. If you want to have a committee on the pool, put a three or four person panel together and have pool committee meetings. If you want to have a budget committee you can do the same thing.”
Law Director John Hatcher said he’ll research if the committee system can be abolished and if so, what other options may be available to foster open communication between council members while abiding by the state’s Sunshine Law.
