College Park only televised one debate in 2015. A city official is calling for change.

The College Park City Council considered forming a committee to oversee debate procedures at Tuesday’s work session, after the decision to televise last year’s Calvert Hills Citizen Association-sponsored debate ignited controversy.

The city chose to broadcast the Oct. 28 District 3 and mayoral debate despite a letter from residents that claimed the decision was unfair if other elections didn’t receive the same exposure, according to an October 2015 Diamondback article.

Jack Robson, the chief of the city’s Board of Election Supervisors, presented a memo to the council during the work session that called for the development of a committee or workgroup to better advise the council on how to handle televised debates in future elections.

“We need rules so that when somebody comes and says, ‘Hey, we would like to have a debate in City Hall and have it on TV. … Who will control when it will be on TV?” Robson said. “Everybody wants to debate on Wednesday night. Who comes first?”

The committee should include members of civic associations, past city council candidates, current officeholders, a member of the Board of Election Supervisors and a representative of the city staff, Robson said during the work session.

The Board of Election Supervisors suggested the committee focus on defining who can request debate support, determination of time slots, sponsorship and potential perceived conflicts of interest.

“I’m hopeful that this workgroup would come up with a set of recommendations … that would include a lot more than who pays for what,” said Janeen Miller, city clerk. “It needs to address things like where would [debates] be held, is the city allowed to provide the space for free, provide the resources for free, but also, who’s going to set the rules and the time limits.”

The council may also consider involving outside groups in televised debates.

“The costs associated with [the debates] are very important,” said District 2 Councilman P.J. Brennan. “If we are going to have multiple debates, it might not be practical for the city to pay for all of them.”

The establishment of the committee “doesn’t need to be done in a huge rush,” Robson said, but should be completed by August 2017 in preparation for the 2017 election next November.