Agenda Item Title:
Title
Council office recommending that the council begin the annually required review of its Rules of Procedure
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Presenter:
Dustin Fratto, Interim Council Executive Director
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Description/Background:
Per Council policy: The City Council shall review and re-adopt its Rules of Procedure (Exhibit A), including any amendments, by majority vote, each calendar year no later than the last regularly scheduled Business Session Council Meeting in February (February 15th).
While the council may choose to re-adopt its rules of procedure "as is," staff has suggested some additional amendments as outlined below:
Suggested amendments:
1. The council may consider granting some additional flexibility to the Chair in deciding which meetings are business sessions and which meetings are work sessions. While it will be important to maintain in the Standard Order of Business that typically the first and third meetings of the month are business sessions and the second and fourth meetings of the month are work sessions, on occasion the need arises to rearrange the meetings for a specific month. Giving the chair the latitude to make this call as necessary may help to improve the overall efficiency of the Council.
2. The City Council goes above and beyond what is legally required in terms of gathering input and comments from Sandy residents during City Council meetings. The Council generally accepts public comment on voting items (above what's required), public hearings (required), and during a general comment period at each meeting (above what's required). While staff does not believe the council should do away with any of these comment periods. We do feel that the current order of business should more clearly state that comment is GENERALLY taken on MOST voting items, however, on occasion the chair, or a council majority may decide that public comment isn't warranted for a particular voting item.
3. Staff feels that placing time-certain sections on the agenda causes confusion. The 6:00 PM time certain section that often holds special recognitions, public hearings, and general citizen comments results in an awkward split in the meeting. This sometimes results in confusion as to where the council is at on the agenda, what items is up next, or when a specific item will be discussed. Staff would encourage the council to reconsider the time certain section, and instead consider placing the current time certain items at the beginning of the agenda.
4. With the implementation of eComment and virtual meetings the Council Office rarely receives written comments from residents who are unable to attend a meeting. Current practice is to have those comments submitted via eComment. Staff suggests that the council amend the standard order of business, removing section D (1) (d), and replacing it with language directing residents towards the eComment tool.
6. Within section 1 (b) of the Standard Order of Business it's stated that "there will be no final voting in work session." This language has proven too ambiguous. Staff suggests that the language be amended to state that "the Council will not adopt any resolutions or ordinances during a work session."
Should individual council members have additional amendments that they would like to bring forward, staff suggests that they prepare said amendment and include it in the February 15, 2022 Council Agenda Packet, so that it can be discussed by the Council at that time.
Further action to be taken:
On February 15, 2022 the Council will review its Rules of Procedure, including any suggested amendments. Follow council review, the body shall re-adopt the Rules of Procedure including any desired amendments.
Recommended Action and/or Suggested Motion:
Recommendation
This is an information item and requires no immediate Council action.