It had to be this way.

A Portland City Council meeting about how to change council meetings to address the problem of meetings being cut short because they run too long, was cut short after running over time Thursday.

While councilors did advance a plan to make city council meetings weekly, their own self-imposed time constraints ultimately meant they had to pause a separate plan to overhaul council committees.

“I really am not prepared to vote for anything today,” said Councilor Olivia Clark. “I ’d really like to take more time on this.”

The changes come seven months after a historic government overhaul, which changed the size, responsibilities and makeup of Portland City Council. All councilors have raised concerns with meeting structure, length and subject matter since entering office in January.

Before the government restructure, the five-person council met weekly on Wednesday mornings. The new 12-person council only meets biweekly on Wednesdays, and one of those meetings is at night. The new format also introduced council committees, smaller meetings focused by subject area where councilors are expected to workshop new policies.

Portland City Council considers changes to public meetings

The size and scope of those committees was first established in January, built off a proposal crafted by Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney. That plan created eight policy committees made up of six councilors each, who meet biweekly for two hours.

The council and committee meetings have regularly run hours longer than anticipated, a pattern that’s cut off policy debates, public testimony and presentations — while forcing City Hall staff to work overtime. And councilors have disagreed about which types of topics should be discussed in committees versus the full council.

This week, councilors discussed a flurry of different strategies to change the current structure. Only one proposal advanced out of the Thursday meeting: a plan to reestablish a weekly council schedule.

Under this plan, most meetings would be held on Wednesday mornings, with councilors meeting at night on the third Wednesday of every month. The night meetings were established as a way to increase the public’s participation in council debates, since not everyone is able to attend daytime meetings.

Several councilors pushed for two of the monthly meetings to take place at night. But others said it created unneeded burden on city staff who must work during the meetings — whether that’s to provide security, technical support, legal advice, or work as councilor aides.

“Taking action to limit the number of night meetings is one of those actions that reduces strain on a pretty significant apparatus to keep this animal alive,” said Councilor Eric Zimmerman.

But an hourslong debate over how to trim the number of committees to offset the total hours councilors spend in meetings didn’t resolve before the Thursday meeting’s 5 p.m. cut-off time.

Councilors were divided between wanting to see specific changes to the committee topics and wanting to hold off on making changes until they had more time. The meeting’s abrupt end time forced the latter option to prevail.

“I don’t support this at all,” said Councilor Loretta Smith, speaking to a proposal to whittle the committees down to four. “I think we just need to stay where we’re at.”

Portland councilor’s fix to council meeting woes: more meetings

Faced with options to merge large committees, cut some entirely, or give some councilors guaranteed membership on committees, councilors were unable to reach consensus.

“I think we all believe that we have too many committees, but I don’t think we’ve answered some key questions,” said Councilor Clark. “We really haven’t defined what the committees are supposed to do. I’m gonna suggest that we take a break and think about why we’re here, what we’re doing.”

This response frustrated others.

“We keep talking about how things aren’t working,” said Councilor Candace Avalos. “At this point I think we need to talk this out. I think this is uncomfortable and hard, but the only way out is through.”

Councilors will hold a final vote on whether to adopt weekly council meetings on Sept. 3.

Even then, some councilors are wondering whether they are spinning their wheels. Councilor Jamie Dunphy noted that if the weekly council meeting decision is approved without councilors changing committees — it may negate the initial purpose to cut down on meeting time.

“I have real concerns that if we switch to a weekly schedule and have eight committees still, we are essentially increasing the work of our already overtaxed council staff,” said Dunphy.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/15/portland-council-meetings-fix-drawnout-meetings/