I broke the quorum for the City Council Meeting on May 19. I did so because councilwoman Claudia Ortega left due to the exclusion she experienced. Our city agenda clearly defines the actions allowed during the consent agenda. “If any one member of the council so desires, any matter listed can be moved to a separate agenda item.” Ms. Ortega invoked this right. This right has been used for decades by our council. After she followed the direction of the policy, maneuvers by others prevented her from addressing either item. Ignoring her with divisive procedures that excluded her is wrong.

The traditional practice of removing items from the consent agenda has recently been deemed invalid by a portion of the council. Past CFOs (chief financial officers) routinely presented reports and fielded multiple questions on city finances. Without a CFO, department heads need to clarify the expenses. One council member intervened to stop Claudia from exercising her role to help provide checks and balances in our financial operations. He asserted that questions of a financial nature to city staff, not rehearsed privately, should be considered off-limits in public meetings.

He made a motion that lumped the items she had pulled off the agenda separately back together in a motion to accept them. From there, maneuvering ensured the prevention of her being able to address her request. A quick second happened, and an immediate roll call vote was recorded. Ms. Ortega and I do not understand how voting can commence on a motion without first providing opportunities for discussion — ignoring this standard protocol conveniently silenced her. This outcome defies the responsibility the Idaho code places on her as a council member. Idaho Code states, “All claims against the city shall be approved by the city council prior to the payment of such claims, and the city council shall establish and maintain an adequate and reasonable system of internal accounting controls.”

If this obstruction tactic goes unchallenged, the effect will be that Pocatello sinks further into a “don’t-ask-don’t-tell” policy regarding our finances. We believe every council member is an essential part of financial control. A regular financial review is crucial since we receive financial reports after spending the funds. Our former CFO encouraged this approach, yet we no longer receive previously provided financial printouts.

Until recently, I have never seen motions used to exclude participation and discussion as used by this council. Previous councils embraced the fairness and the respect of allowing full participation for each member. Council members were confident in their roles and understood the necessity of allowing different perspectives to be shared. Functional groups rely on diverse perspectives to develop better solutions. Regressive groups work to silence people with different views.

Fairness did not get served on May 19. Council actions excluded Ms. Ortega from involvement in the business of the council. A core principle of our country is free speech. Preventing her from asking questions and registering her perspective denied this individual and representative right.

A short recess likely would have allowed for the meeting to continue. We always have significant business before us. On Thursday, the most important business was addressing councilwoman Ortega’s exclusion. Things would have come out far differently had she been allowed to speak.

The anything-goes procedures that cast aside rights and respect for convenience or expediency come at the expense of inclusion and fairness. The most recent strategy is to prevent discussing and thus verifying the spending of the public’s money. It is not something we take lightly. Unjust tactics to silence council members challenge constitutionally guaranteed rights. Such actions fly in the face of how America values representative government.

Policies governing procedures in this city are non-existent. We instruct our advisory committees to rely upon Robert’s Rules of Order. The City Council ignores them.

Only one business day passed before I submitted my requests and suggestions for how we move forward. I suggest that financial reports be listed as the last items on the agenda so those discussions will not interfere with other business items.

Our community’s main goal should be to value all our citizens. We need to build a community that knows how to respect and value people different from us. It begins with holding women as equal to men. Added dimension occurs when we include people of different ethnicities, backgrounds, skin tones, experiences and persuasions. It happens when we make ourselves listen to people. While we may disagree with what others say, empowering them to speak and exercising patience are required for governance to work.

Roger Bray is a member of the Pocatello City Council.