Laramie council to pilot quarterly town halls, discusses Zoom and public‑comment rule changes

Laramie City Council agreed on a plan to pilot quarterly town‑hall meetings and asked staff to bring rule revisions back to the full council.

The decision came during a retreat session where councilors and staff reviewed the city’s rules and procedures and discussed whether the current practice of using fifth‑Tuesday meetings for open dialogue was the best way to reach residents. Council members said rotating a quarterly meeting to different days could let people who cannot make Tuesday night sessions participate. The council identified March as the likely month for the first pilot, with that meeting focused on educating the public about the special‑purpose tax and taking questions.

Why this matters: Councilors said the pilot would make public engagement more accessible and allow staff to plan for topic‑specific outreach. Mayor Sharon Cummings said staff and the city clerk must coordinate calendars to avoid conflicts with boards and commissions.

What the council decided and asked staff to do: Councilors settled on a quarterly town‑hall model to replace the calendar reliance on fifth Tuesdays. They asked the city manager’s office and the city clerk to coordinate dates and to return with a schedule and public‑engagement plan. The retreat also produced a set of proposed procedural clarifications:

- Clarify web‑conferencing/Zoom attendance: councilors discussed formalizing that Zoom participation counts as attending and specifying reasonable notice for remote attendance.
- Vacation as an excused Zoom absence: councilors asked staff to draft language allowing a limited number of vacation days to be counted as excused Zoom attendance for pay purposes.
- Limited clarifications during public comment: councilors proposed a narrowly scoped mechanism (for example, a brief "may I respond" option) that would allow the mayor to authorize a short factual clarification by staff or a single councilor without permitting extended debate.

Direct quotes from the retreat: "I think we should most definitely. I don't think people should feel guilty for taking vacations and not being able to attend the meeting," said Mike Orp, parks and recreation director, when council considered vacation exceptions for Zoom attendees. City staff emphasized caution about opening back‑and‑forth exchanges that could create the appearance of a quorum or unintended policy discussions.

Next steps: Staff will draft specific language to amend the rules and procedures, including the web‑conferencing section and the public‑comment provisions, and return the revisions to council for formal action. The council expects the first quarterly town hall in March to focus on the special‑purpose tax and public education.