Petition 6 - Continuous Telecast of Formal City Council Meetings.pdf

CITIZEN
PETITION
pursuant to Phoenix City Charter, Chapter IV, Sec. 22, requests the City Council to:
ADOPT AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE
PHOENIX CITY CODE REGARDING THE
CONTINUOUS TELECAST OF FORMAL CITY
COUNCIL MEETINGS
Submitted by:
Jerry Van Gasse
4610 E Via Estrella
Phoenix, AZ 85028
(602) 622-3515
board@goodgoat.net
Ja fea
ROR

CONTENTS
Summary
rhe tioner’s case! t
he
“6
measure the Council is asked to vote on. written in the City’s own form
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SUMMARY
The Problem
Rule 11 of the Council's rules of proceedings already says that citizen comments
“will be televised as part of the formal meeting.” It does not say what “televised”
requires.
That gap matters. A broadcast that carries a meeting’s audio under a full-frame
caption display is, on one reading, still “televised.” On another, a viewer who cannot
see the speaker, the dais, or the chamber is not watching the meeting at all. Nothing
in the Rule settles which reading governs, and nothing in it prevents the visual
treatment of one part of a meeting from differing from another.
A remote viewer is left unable to confirm what an attending member of the public
sees directly: who is speaking, who is on the dais, and whether the Council is still
there. For residents who cannot attend in person, the broadcast is the meeting.
What the Proposed Measure Does
Adopt an ordinance amending Rule 11 of the Council’s own rules of proceedings to
require that the entire public portion of every Formal City Council Meeting be televised
live from call to order through final adjournment, with continuous audio and live camera
images of every Council member and of every member of the public while recognized to
speak, so that captions and other visual material may supplement the required live
images but never replace them.
Why the Council Should Adopt It
The Rule already promises televising; this defines it.
Rule 11 commits the City to televising citizen comments (Fact 1). The ordinance supplies
the meaning that commitment has always assumed — continuous audio and live images,
from call to order through final adjournment.
it treats every speaker the same.
The ordinance forbids different visual treatment of a member of the public based on
whether the person speaks to a numbered agenda item or during Citizen Comments. A
resident's visibility should not depend on which part of the agenda they were assigned to.
Captions are preserved, not displaced.
Captions, translations, presentation materials, and graphics may still be shown, through
overlays, split-screen, or any method that keeps the required live images in view. The
ordinance adds an accessibility floor; it removes nothing.
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SUMMARY
The archive matches what was broadcast.
The archived recording must preserve the same audio, live camera images, captions, and
other visual information sent to live viewers, so the public record of a meeting is the
meeting the public saw.
it is the Council's own rule to make.
Section 2-60 is the Council's rules of proceedings, adopted and amended by ordinance
(Fact 2). The Council sets the standard for its own broadcast, in public, by recorded vote.
The Facts
1. Phoenix City Code § 2-60, Rule 11 is captioned “Citizen comment period.” It provides for a
citizen comment period before a formal meeting adjourns or recesses, subject to a Council
quorum being present, limits each speaker to three minutes, and provides that the comments
“will be televised as part of the formal meeting.” The Rule does not define “televised” and
ata not specily what images i t thie eae must cary,
ot ¥
Section 2-60 is the Council’s Rules of Council Proceedings, adopted and amended by
ordinance. Rule 10(b) provides: “Uniess otherwise provided by law, these rules may be
suspended or modified at any time, by a majority vote Council."
aiite
nix City Code § 2-60, Rule 10(b) and history note (codified text view
The codified text of the Phoenix City Code used for this Proposed Measure is current through
Ordinance G-7524, June 17, 2026, as stated by the City’s codifier.
Passed
City of | 2nux codifier currency statement, phoenix municipal.codes {viewed Oct. 21, 2026).
Phoenix City Charter, Chapter IV, Section 22 provides that any citizen may appear before the
Council at any regular meeting and present a written petition, and that such petition “shall be
ater upon by the Sounet in ie regular course of business, within fifteen (15) days.”
SOULCE ’ Phoenix City Charter, ch a 1V, § 22
Phoenix City Charter, Chapter IV, Section 8 provides that the Council “shall act only by
resolution, ordinance, franchise, or formal recorded action,” and Section 9 provides that for
other than unanimous votes the ayes and nays shall be taken and entered upon the journal of
the proceedings of the Council
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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
Petitioner Jerry Van Gasse
Address 4610 E Via Estrelia
Phoenix, AZ 85028
Phone (602) 622-3515
Email board@goodgoat.net
Date presented October 21, 2026
Requested Legal Action
For the City of Phoenix Council to vote on the Proposed Measure exactly as
written.
Summary of Proposed Measure
Adopt an ordinance amending Rule 11 of the Council’s own rules of proceedings to require that
the entire public portion of every Formal City Council Meeting be televised live from call to order
through final adjournment, with continuous audio and live camera images of every Council
member and of every member of the public while recognized to speak, so that captions and
other visual material may supplement the required live images but never replace them.
Council Action Required
Phoenix City Charter, Chapter IV, Section 22 provides that a written petition presented to the
Council at a regular meeting shall be acted upon by the Council in the regular course of
business, within fifteen (15) days. Section 8 provides that the Council shall act only by
resolution, ordinance, franchise, or formal recorded action. The Proposed Measure is an
ordinance.
Acting upon this petition requires that vote, as its own Formal Agenda item, with this Request
and the Proposed Measure attached. Any change in the substance of the Proposed Measure, in
whole or in part, makes it a different measure from the one proposed by the petitioner, and a
vote on it is not action on this petition. Referral, a staff report, a General Information Packet
entry, continuation, or a consolidated vote also does not act upon this petition.

PROPOSED MEASURE
Current Code text used Phoenix City Code as published by the City’s codifier at
phoenix.municipal.codes, retrieved October 21, 2026
Codifier’s stated currency Current through Ordinance G-7524, passed June 17, 2026, as stated by
the codifier on October 21, 2026
Amendment marking Additions in CAPITAL LETTERS; deletions in strikethrough.
ORDINANCE G-
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 2, PHOENIX CITY CODE, BY AMENDING
SECTION 2-60, RULE 11, RELATING TO THE CONTINUOUS TELECAST OF FORMAL CITY
COUNCIL MEETINGS.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHOENIX as follows:
SECTION 1. That Chapter 2, Article II, Section 2-60, Rule 11 of the Phoenix City Code is hereby
amended by adding the following paragraphs after the existing second paragraph:
THE ENTIRE PUBLIC PORTION OF EVERY FORMAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING SHALL BE
TELEVISED LIVE FROM CALL TO ORDER THROUGH FINAL ADJOURNMENT ON THE CITY’S
GOVERNMENT-ACCESS TELEVISION CHANNEL AND THROUGH A LIVE INTERNET
TRANSMISSION ACCESSIBLE FROM THE CITY’S PUBLIC MEETING WEBPAGE.
FOR PURPOSES OF THIS RULE, “TELEVISED” REQUIRES A CONTINUOUS, SYNCHRONIZED
TRANSMISSION OF INTELLIGIBLE AUDIO AND LIVE CAMERA IMAGES OF ALL PUBLIC
PROCEEDINGS. THE TRANSMISSION SHALL ALLOW VIEWERS TO SEE EVERY COUNCIL
MEMBER WHILE THAT MEMBER PARTICIPATES IN PERSON OR BY LIVE VIDEO AND EVERY
MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WHILE THAT PERSON IS RECOGNIZED TO SPEAK. IF A COUNCIL
MEMBER LAWFULLY PARTICIPATES BY AUDIO ONLY, THE TRANSMISSION SHALL
CONTINUOUSLY IDENTIFY THAT MEMBER BY NAME AND PARTICIPATION STATUS WHILE
THE MEMBER PARTICIPATES.
DURING ALL PUBLIC-COMMENT PERIODS, INCLUDING COMMENTS ON NUMBERED
AGENDA ITEMS AND CITIZEN COMMENTS, THE TRANSMISSION SHALL PROVIDE
SIMULTANEOUS LIVE IMAGES OF THE RECOGNIZED SPEAKER, THE FULL COUNCIL DAIS,
AND ANY COUNCIL MEMBER PARTICIPATING BY LIVE VIDEO. A COUNCIL MEMBER
PARTICIPATING BY AUDIO ONLY SHALL BE IDENTIFIED AS REQUIRED BY THE PRECEDING
PARAGRAPH.
CAPTIONS, TRANSLATIONS, PRESENTATION MATERIALS, DOCUMENTS, GRAPHICS, AND
OTHER VISUAL INFORMATION MAY BE DISPLAYED THROUGH OVERLAYS, SPLIT-SCREEN
PRESENTATION, OR ANOTHER METHOD THAT PRESERVES THE LIVE IMAGES REQUIRED
BY THIS RULE. THEY SHALL NOT REPLACE EVERY REQUIRED LIVE IMAGE OR REMOVE
THE RECOGNIZED SPEAKER OR COUNCIL DAIS FROM VIEW.
THE CITY SHALL NOT APPLY DIFFERENT VISUAL TREATMENT TO A MEMBER OF THE
PUBLIC BASED ON WHETHER THE PERSON IS SPEAKING ABOUT A NUMBERED AGENDA
ITEM OR DURING CITIZEN COMMENTS.
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PROPOSED MEASURE
THE ARCHIVED RECORDING OF THE MEETING SHALL PRESERVE THE SAME AUDIO, LIVE
CAMERA IMAGES, CAPTIONS, TRANSLATIONS, AND OTHER VISUAL INFORMATION
TRANSMITTED TO VIEWERS DURING THE LIVE MEETING.
THESE REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT SUBJECT TO SUSPENSION OR MODIFICATION UNDER
RULE 10(B).
SECTION 2. NO APPROPRIATION. This Ordinance appropriates no funds.
SECTION 3. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this ordinance or its application to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect any other provision or application that can be
given effect without the invalid provision or application.
SECTION 4. This ordinance shall take effect and become operative thirty days after passage.