Expanding citizen engagement and input

The city of Rathdrum is upping its transparency game.

City officials have been working for a few months on updating Rathdrum's public hearing resolution to expand public comment time and opportunities so residents can be better informed about proposed, planned and pending projects.

“We wanted to provide more information to the public so that they can definitely look and research it rather than it just be word of mouth on social media," city administrator Leon Duce said Wednesday.

The current public hearing resolution was adopted in 2011. Under this resolution, all public comments have to be received one week prior to a public hearing. Anything that comes to the city after the one week isn’t required to be put into the record.

The update would include a web address — https://rathdrum.org/pendingapplications — for community members to view applications, staff reports and presentations, maps, agency letters, written public testimony and all other related materials city council members receive in meeting packets.

To be posted on the website, public comment needs to be in by noon the day prior to the event. Anything collected after noon the prior day will be printed and given to council members. Written comments are welcome prior to the start of meetings. Once meetings start, people can still submit verbal testimony.

The new website is already live and available for public view. Duce said having access to staff reports will allow community members to ask questions and engage with city staff ahead of city council meetings.

“You’ll be able to submit your questions into staff and get questions answered prior to waiting for that event,” he said. “Sometimes you don’t want to wait until the last minute to get your question answered.”

Notices in newspapers and posted on property are only required to be published 15 days before public hearings. The new website gives people access to notice information well before those 15 days begin.

"Prior to this resolution being adopted, we're trying to get this information out to the public," Duce said.

He said the city wants to make these updates to increase transparency in this process.

"The process works because the public is informed and able to provide comment," Duce said. "The whole thing that the city does is for the benefit of the citizens that live here, the property owners that own property here. All of this is meant to involve the public. It has from day one, when public hearings were created by the state."

He said as of right now, the city experiences very little involvement from the public.

"We hope that by expanding this and providing more information to the public, and more opportunities for them to provide comments, then they can then participate more in the program, not just a 6 o'clock when we have a public hearing at City Hall," he said.

He said Mayor Vic Holmes has been a big proponent behind ensuring Rathdrum is as transparent as possible.

“You’ve got a lot of different options to provide comment to be included on the record,” Duce said. "We want to make sure people get those comments in."

A special meeting will be held at 6 tonight in the Rathdrum City Council chambers, 8047 W. Main St., during which some of Title 12 of Rathdrum City Code, regarding subdivisions, will be discussed, along with language in the proposed updated resolution.

Rathdrum will hold a public hearing to hear testimony regarding the adoption and implementation of changes made to Title 12 of Rathdrum City Code at 6 p.m. on July 13, as well as the resolution for public hearings. This is also when city council members will consider the updated resolution.