Judge must decide on ballot question

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2003 | 9:42 a.m.

Hoping to beat a Feb. 7 deadline for preparing ballots for the primary election, North Las Vegas City Attorney Sean McGowan wants a judge to make a decision by the end of the month on a proposal to change some City Council meeting policies.

McGowan said he planned to file a motion for summary judgment Monday, asking District Judge Michelle Leavitt to rule in favor of the city and keep the proposed question off the ballot.

The ballot question would ask voters whether they want to change council meeting policies to add a second public comment time at the beginning of the meetings, allow any resident or council member to put an item on a meeting agenda and start meetings at 7 p.m. instead of 6 p.m.

A group of citizens called the Freedom of Speech Committee gathered 1,543 signatures to get the proposed question on the ballot. But soon after submitting the signed petitions to the city, the City Council decided to challenge whether the question can legally appear on a ballot.

McGowan said the proposed changes are administrative decisions and therefore cannot be the subject of a ballot question, which he said can only be used for legislative matters.

"We think there are no facts in dispute and the law is clearly in our favor," McGowan said.

Because of this, city staff will not prepare the proposed question for the ballot unless it is ordered by the court, he said.

The city must file its ballot for the April 8 primary with the Clark County Election Department by Feb. 7, McGowan said.

Glen Easter, a member of the Freedom of Speech Committee, said the proposed question should be on the ballot because setting policies, such as those for council meetings, are legislative decisions.

The big issue behind the proposed ballot question, Easter said, "is giving citizens the right to speak on any item (during council meetings)."

He said it is not enough to hold one public comment period at the end of council meetings, as is the current practice.

"That's like calling the surgeon after you've buried the patient. We want the right to speak during the meetings, before they vote," Easter said.

Generally the mayor and council allow residents to speak on matters before the council votes on them, but Easter said he wants this to be a right instead of a privilege.

Easter said the members of the committee began talking about the need for the changes after Councilwoman Shari Buck criticized the public release of information about a March 2000 police-involved shooting.