Since the start of 2024, the city of Florence has canceled nine out of 22 scheduled city meetings.
Florence’s Angie Cable said she is just one resident concerned about the string of canceled meetings—but she isn’t the only one.
“It prevents people from voicing their opinions,” Cable said. “It’s disappointing because our tax dollars go to these city meetings.”
She said that, often, residents haven’t been informed that a meeting has been canceled until the day before.
While Kentucky law does require 24-hours notice to cancel special meetings, it does not require any notice for regular meetings – nor does it require a reason for cancellation of those meetings. Despite that, Florence does generally notify residents and the media about a day in advance when they cancel meetings via email, social media and posting a sign outside council chambers.
Joshua Hunt, Florence’s administrator director, said the city isn’t trying to hide anything and that there’s nothing that’s not being done.
An ordinance passed two years ago requires the city to schedule all meetings for the entire year at the beginning of the year, Hunt told LINK nky.
“In every city you’re always going to have cancellations because you can’t figure out what an agenda item is going to be for the entirety of the year,” Hunt told LINK nky.
For context, other comparably sized cities in Northern Kentucky have seen far fewer cancellations than Florence. Covington has canceled just one commission meeting this year, on Jan. 16. Fort Thomas has cancelled one city council meeting so far this year, on May 6. Neither Newport nor Independence have cancelled any meetings this year.
City governments in Kentucky operate under one of three models: mayor-council, commission or city manager, according to the Kentucky League of Cities.
Here is more information from the Kentucky League of Cities on how a city commission model is different from a council model:
The mayor-council plan operates much like any executive-legislative form of government. The council, as the legislative body, performs legislative duties such as enacting ordinances, levying taxes, and adopting a budget. The mayor holds executive powers such as vetoing legislation, overseeing personnel, and managing the daily affairs of the city. The mayor may also vote to break most ties in council meetings. Around 53% of Kentucky cities use this form, and all have between six and 12 council members.
Cities that have a commission form of government still elect a mayor, but the mayor serves, participates, and votes as a member of the city commission. Each city under a commission form of government elects four commissioners (instead of council members) and one mayor, all of whom constitute the city commission. The commission collectively holds both executive and legislative authority. Around 42% of cities operate under the commission model.
The city manager form of government largely resembles the commission plan because the city elects four commissioners and a mayor to serve on the board of commissioners. The board of commissioners appoints a city manager who acts as the chief administrative officer for the city. This individual is a professional employed by the city to run the government’s operational affairs on a day-to-day basis. While only about 5% of Kentucky cities use a city manager plan, over half of the previous second and third class cities are governed by it.
What’s the difference between a city council and a commission?
Cable is also the admin for a local Facebook group that covers anything related to Florence, including the city council meetings. She said she posts the agendas on the group to get people more involved in local politics.
She also notifies Florence residents when meetings are canceled.
The most recent meeting to be canceled was one of their bi-monthly business meetings on May 28, with the next scheduled to be convened on June 11. Their next caucus meeting is to be held on June 4.
Hunt said that if there is ever just one small agenda item that does not have a statutory timeline, it seems like a waste of time to bring everyone in to talk about one topic for three minutes and then adjourn.
“This is just as much for the public as anything,” Hunt said. “I’ll never advocate for having meetings just for the sake of having them.”
Hunt gave a list of reasons for the cancellations of some meetings just to quell residents’ curiosity:
- Jan. 1: Cancelled because of the New Year’s Day holiday
- Jan. 23: Special meeting rescheduled for Jan. 30 to make up for it
- Feb. 13: Lack of a quorum due to sickness and vacations
- March 5: Lack of a quorum
- April 23: Meeting canceled so members could attend a volunteer appreciation dinner
- May 21: Primary election; Florence always cancels meetings on Election Day
What is the difference between a caucus meeting and a legislative meeting?
To put it simply, caucus meetings are for discussion, and legislative meetings are for voting.
One of the biggest differences is that during caucus meetings, the public is not allowed to make comments. The meetings are more a time for officials to discuss proposed legislation that is set to be passed during legislative meetings.
“No votes are taken, and that’s where the commission just basically hears presentations from staff, about things we would like to take before them… is just sort of the initial, here’s what’s going on, here’s what’s going to be our priority in the next meeting,” Covington Communications Director Dan Hassert said about caucus meetings.
After viewing these presentations, Hassert said, the commission will then discuss whether to put the issues on the agenda for the legislative meeting.
Various actions happen in a legislative meeting, including the voting on and passing of ordinances and resolutions. There also may be the first reading of an ordinance, which is not a vote, but a public notice of what will be voted on at the next legislative meeting. The public will then have time to give comment on the ordinance before the second reading and subsequent vote.
Who has caucus meetings?
Having separate caucus and legislative/business meetings is typically reserved for larger municipalities. Places like Florence, Newport, Covington and Fort Wright have these separate meetings, while smaller cities like Alexandria and Bromley do not.
The idea is that these larger cities have more business to handle and it would be too much to discuss in one meeting with voting and public comment.
However, this is not a hard and fast rule; some smaller cities like Ludlow have both caucus and legislative meetings and some larger cities like Fort Thomas only meet once a month.
OK, so how do citizens know when/where to go?
With all the different processes, it can be hard to know how to get your thoughts to your elected officials.
Your best bet is to check your city’s website. There they will have posted schedules of future meetings with indications of what type of meeting is held and when. Public notices for special meetings and public hearings can be found on LINK nky’s website and will also be physically posted somewhere at the city’s municipal building.
Rules for public comment i.e., how long the comment period is, how long individuals can talk and more, should also be available online.
If you aren’t able to make a meeting or you feel like your issue needs to be addressed individually, commissioners and council members will often have their contact information available online.
“Local government is the most accessible government. It’s where the proverbial rubber meets the road and they’re always happy to talk to residents. They see them at bars, they see them at lunch, coffee shops, events, ribbon cuttings, everywhere and they’re always talking to people,” Hassert said.
“While the cancellation of council meetings may disappoint some residents, it’s important to understand that this decision can stem from various reasons such as lack of quorum, holiday schedules, a shortage of agenda items necessitating discussion, or overlapping city events,” Hunt said in an email to LINK nky. “Residents still have multiple avenues to voice their opinions and concerns through direct contact with city staff, the Mayor, or council members via phone, email, the city’s website, or our mobile app. These alternative channels ensure that citizen engagement remains strong despite occasional meeting cancellations.”
As for past meeting cancelations, there were 16 canceled in 2023; 13 were canceled in 2022; 15 were canceled in 2021; and 17 meetings were canceled in 2020.
Hunt emphasized that if anyone has questions about why meetings are canceled, to contact City Clerk Melissa Kramer at 859-647-8177 or melissa.kramer@florence-ky.gov.
