Iowa has a specific law that lays out how cities in our state can pass new ordinances that govern the way by which citizens in those communities must abide.

The laws states: Ordinances and amendments to ordinances must be passed by the majority at three council meetings before becoming final. However, city councils can waive the requirement to have three votes to approve an ordinance or amendment by approval of at least three-fourths of the council.

What’s troubling to me is that city councils across Iowa — Marshalltown included — have started waiving the second and third readings of ordinances at an alarming pace.

Why does the law even require three readings at three separate council meetings if councils are taking the fast-track route of skipping the ensuing two readings?

The three separate readings is in the law in order for citizens to voice their opinions.

When councils skip the second and third readings and quickly make an ordinance or amendment law, they are eliminating citizen input.

The latest garbage ordinance amendment and parking lot ordinance discussed at the council and now quickly passed (with the second and third readings waived) are examples of this.

Giving time for more citizen input on any change in law makes more sense to me and is the reason the three readings were put into the rules for cities to follow. The caveat of skipping two of those three readings should be the exception, not the rule, and only be used in extreme situations.

Ordinances typically don’t need to be rushed through.

I would ask the council to follow the three readings approach to any new ordinances in 2024 and allow for more, not less citizen input.