Why can’t SLC Council push its agenda, empower people?
Posted by dhowells on February 28th, 2010 filed in UncategorizedThe question, naturally, comes from the political scientist.
Why doesn’t the Salt Lake City Council act like the lawmaking body it is and actually push policy?
“We’re the legislative side of city government,” says Councilman Luke Garrott, who teaches democratic theory at the University of Utah. Yet “we don’t draft our legislation.”
On occasion, the part-time public servants do. The capital’s beekeeping, urban chicken and landlord-tenant ordinances all are recent examples of measures initiated by a council member.
But under the strong mayor-council form of government, Becker controls city departments and has veto power. For the most part, the mayor and his administrative circle craft policy — or revise it — then take it to the council for a vote.
