Westlund looks to open proclamations to more 'controversial' subjects

POST FALLS — Mayor Randy Westlund is proposing to repeal a policy limiting proclamations “attempting to influence government policy and matters of a political or religious nature.”    

Examples cited in the proposal for tonight’s City Council meeting are proclamations regarding the right to life, Columbus Day and traditional family values month. 

“The old policy reflects a mindset of avoiding anything that could possibly be controversial,” Westlund said in a response to The Press on Monday. “But I believe we should be bold and unafraid to proclaim and celebrate the values that make our community great.”  

The Post Falls City Council adopted the current policy regulating the types of proclamations following a request from former Mayor Ron Jacobson in 2001.

City Attorney Field Harrington said the policy was, “adopted to provide guidance to staff and promote consistency in how requests are reviewed.” 

Because there is no state statute providing a standard for mayoral proclamations, the 2001 policy was used to fill that gap at the local level. 

“As a general matter, proclamations that are political or religious in nature would not qualify under the policy,” Harrington said. 

Proclamations are also limited to issues related to residents of the city of Post Falls.

“The primary purpose of the old proclamation policy was to give staff guidance on how to handle proclamation requests from citizens so the mayor could avoid dealing with them,” Westlund said. “But as part of my commitment to being open and available to our residents, I intend to handle these myself.” 

He called the mayoral proclamations “largely ceremonial” and said that if city councilors vote to repeal the measure, future proclamations would be handled at the discretion of the mayor on a case-by-case basis. 

Westlund said his suggestions for proclamations include, “celebrating the value of human life at all stages, the unique contributions of mothers and fathers when raising children, the legacies of our great American heroes and the unique history and cultural festivals.”     

A resolution to repeal the policy will be placed on the next council agenda if the repeal is approved tonight. The City Council meeting is scheduled at 6 p.m.