Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010

It's time to end the ties

Four times, Raleigh's City Council has debated approving the proposed $205 million Lightner Public Safety Center project.

Four times, the council we Raleighites elected to run our city smartly on our behalf have deadlocked 4-4. They'll probably deadlock when they meet again next week.

Regardless of whether the Public Safety Center gets built, there's a clear loser in the belabored process: Raleigh's people.

The PSC plan might be good, bad or so-so. But there's nothing redeeming about an indecisive vote.

Deliberating is good.

Deadlocking is bad.

Yet it's inevitable on a public body such as the council with an even number of members. And ties are utterly worthless when it comes to governing.

That's why every public body should be structured to prevent ties, with either an odd number of voting members or a way to cut knots.

Raleigh's City Council has eight members including the mayor, who gets a vote.

Typically this means a supermajority of at least 5-3 is necessary to pass anything. (The exception is the city budget, which can pass with a simple majority if there's a quorum.)

Usually that works out, and you can argue that it promotes a broader consensus.

But sometimes, as now, it fails spectacularly.

Several years ago, the council deadlocked 4-4 on Hillsborough Street's reconstruction near N.C. State University and on building the City Plaza on Fayetteville Street.

Belated closure came only after an election changed the council's composition.

We could fix the flaw at least two ways: take away the mayor's vote except to break ties, or add a council member.

Because in our system the mayor already is relatively weak, I favor adding a council member to preclude ties.

Instead of a sixth district member, I'd make it a third at-large member, accountable to all the city's voters.

This also would confer the considerable benefit of giving every Raleigh voter a say in a majority of nine council seats: one district spot, three at-large slots, and the mayor.

Changing the City Charter to add a member would require an act of the state legislature - which Mayor Charles Meeker says would be difficult, and maybe not worth the trouble.

To me, though, giving Raleigh's people better government is well-worth the effort.

If put to a citywide vote, I bet the public wouldn't deadlock.