City Council is operating smoothly, if not always well

There were positive and negative indications of the council's ability to conduct business at yesterday's special City Council meeting.

On the positive side, the council civilly and independently decided a matter of little importance: whether to postpone the Council meeting scheduled for June 12 to June 14 so that council members could attend a farewell reception for General Campbell, the departing commander of III Core and Ft Hood.  Mayor Corbin was in favor of postponing the council meeting; he argued for it.  Councilman Clark said that he thought that city business was important and should not be postponed and proposed a motion to that effect.  Reasonable people could argue either way.  The 4-3 vote was to retain the June 12 meeting.

This was important for two reasons:  first, the council voted against the view of the mayor.  It will need to do so again in future, so it's good they are getting practice; and second, the debate was conducted at a high level, each side stating their reasons and the council deciding based on the weight of the arguments.  This bodes well for future debates that have more consequence.

On the negative side, the amendment to the ordinance establishing a no-stopping zone at Willow Springs School was botched.  The motion made by Councilman Clark was garbled, and I'm very surprised that the City Attorney did not require it to be restated.  If the ordinance becomes law as amended by Clark's motion, I will be very surprised if it can be upheld.

When amending ordinances submitted to it, the council needs to be careful and precise.  If there is any doubt at all, council members should seek the help of the City Attorney in formulating the amendment.