Mayor Theresa Richardson moved to limit the time the Richland City Council spends in public meetings Tuesday telling councilmembers that it was about “topic and time.”
The agenda for the Richland council’s monthly workshop meeting, which began at 6 pm, listed time limits for each of three items. Richardson ended the first discussion short of the 20 minutes of allotted time by cutting off Councilmember Jhoanna Jones in mid-sentence.
A video of the meeting is available on Richland City View.
Richardson said the time limit was for presentations not discussions.
After less than the 20 minutes allotted for “Public Safety Power Shutoffs,” Richardson talked over Jones and said to Energy Services Director Clint Whitney, “Thank you for your presentation.”
“The agenda covered the suggested timeframe for each presentation – 20 mins, 30mins, and 20 mins. Not the discussion,” Richardson wrote the Observer in an email.
Neither Richardson nor any other member of the city council responded to questions about whether the other councilmembers agreed to the limit, whether it was a new workshop rule, and if there were any plans to add a second workshop to the council’s meeting schedule.
Richland’s council has one workshop a month while Kennewick and Pasco city councils have two and both have a yearly total of meeting time that exceeds that of the Richland City Council.
Jones pushes back
After about 23 minutes of the allotted 30 minutes for “2025 Legislative Priorities – Initial Discussion,” Richardson moved on to the 20 minutes allotted for the third agenda item, “Revisions of Chapter 8.10 RMC Public Camping.”
When Richardson recognized Jones at the 24-minute mark, Jones pushed back:
“I disagree with us setting limits on something that is so important. We’re here to discuss what really makes a difference in our community, and the fact that we’re limited, how much we speak on behalf of these issues is really doing a disservice to our community. We should not have a limit. We’re here to do work and work for our taxpayers,” Jones said.
Richardson attempted to talk over her saying, “I just asked you to stay on topic.”
Meeting Adjourned
After asking Deputy City Manager Joe Schiessl if she’d cut off his presentation on public camping, Richardson attempted to end the meeting at 7:25 pm but was interrupted by City Manager Jon Amundson.
After a minute of Amundson’s announcements, Richardson adjourned the meeting at 7:26 pm, 16 minutes later than she scheduled.
The workshop sessions in Pasco provide the opportunity for discussion between the presenter and Council members. There is also time set aside for public comment. A time limit seems counter productive.
Hi Leona, I appreciate your comment. Richland has fewer meetings than Pasco and Kennewick. Without open discussion, residents may conclude that the decisions are being made behind closed doors. Thank you for reading the Observer. Randy
so what can we do as a community? i have been to city council meeting so move the homeless feeding from the only ADA bathroom at the park, they moved them to the free boat launch and kids play area, i really dont think the council cares about doing anything about the homelessness, because they cant figure out what to do, so they will ignore it..kenniwick doesnt allow homeless to sleep in public places, but richland has no law for that..i really dont think they even try to use their heads for the good of the people…
She was the only one to comment, and was only able to comment once. Her comment was important. I have signed up for WA wildfire bot on Twitter (X), but get no notifications, and I don’t see the posts due to algorithms. I experience the same with Facebook. Most people don’t listen to radio, because of streaming services, so it needs to be addressed how the city will ensure the residents get notifications.
The presenter seemed to be checking the clock, which isn’t good because then information may be left out of the presentation. I remember you had a few posts about council members not attending meetings. If council members see that their voice isn’t going to be heard, then why attend the meeting.
Hi Renee, I appreciate your comment. Unlike, Kennewick and Pasco, Richland only has one workshop a month. If Richland councilmembers don’t want to stay up late, maybe there should be two. Thank you for reading the Observer. Randy
Wait a minute… I thought Richardson was so sweet and nice….
Hi ECL, No comment😊. Thank you for reading the Observer. Randy
she might be sweet and nice, but as mayor she sucks, i attended a city council meeting, to move the homeless from the only ADA bathroom at columbia park, all she did was move them to the free boat launch and where the kids play. what a joke, they dont want to deal the problems going on.
Hi Connie, I appreciate your comment. Councilmember Jones was not happy that only 20 minutes was allotted for the discussion of the many homeless issues. Thank you for reading the Observer. Randy
as she shouldnt be happy, i told my husband last week, we were going to start going back for all of them, to start being a part of the community, if we dont start getting more people there, they will continue to get away with not doing their job.