fa councilproceduresstf

8/14/2019 FA CouncilProceduresSTF

1/6

COUNCIL

DATE 2/10/09

AGENDA ITEM 4DCITY COUNCIL MEETING

Olympia, WashingtonFebruary 10, 2009

Approve the Changes to Council Procedures and Guidelines,as recommended by General Government Committee

__________________________________________________________________

CITY MANAGERSRECOMMENDATION: Move approval of the changes to Council procedures and guidelines

as recommended by General Government Committee. Authorize theCity Manager to amend the Councils guidebook accordingly andpublish an amended version on the Citys website. Staff willtransition to Thursday Council packet posting the first week inMarch.

COMMITTEERECOMMENDATION: Move approval of the changes to Council procedures and guidelines

as enumerated in the Analysis and Options section of in thistransmittal report. Authorize the City Manager to amend theCouncils Guidebook accordingly and publish an amended version onthe Citys website. Defer to the City Manager on a reasonable datefor staff to transition to Thursday Council packet posting.

RATIONALE: In 2008, the Council adopted a Guidebook. It was developed during ayear-long work effort of the General Government Committee. Theintent of the Guidebook is to provide transparency and commonunderstanding about the roles and responsibilities of the Olympia CityCouncil and how it conducts its work.

The General Government Committee noted that the Guidebook would,

mostly likely, require refinement over time to incorporate changingpractices and emerging needs or trends. The Committee recommendedannual discussion of procedures and protocols at the Councils retreatand potential referral of specific Guidebook issues to the Committee.The following recommendations are consistent with that intent. Theyare for procedural issues identified by Councilmembers at last monthsretreat.

Rationale for specific issues immediately follows eachrecommendation.

STAFF CONTACTS: Subir Mukerjee, Assistant City Manager, (360) 753-8066

[email protected]

Cathie Butler, Communications Manager, (360) [email protected]

ORIGINATED BY: City Council
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


2/6

PRESENTERS ANDOTHERS NOTIFIED: Notified: City Executive Team

ATTACHMENTS: None

BUDGET IMPACT/SOURCE OF FUNDS: None

PRIOR COUNCIL/COMMITTEE REVIEW: Council discussion and referral from Annual Goal Setting Retreat,

January 10-11, 2009. General Government Committee review onFebruary 3, 2009.

BACKGROUND: At the Councils 2009 Goal Setting Retreat, several Council proceduralitems were referred to General Government Committee forrecommendations.

Detailed below are the retreat referrals and General Government

Committees recommendations.

ANALYSIS AND OPTIONS: General Government Committee reviewed and discussed the list ofissues at its meeting on Tuesday, February 3, 2009, and recommendsthe following actions. If approved by Council, the appropriate sectionsof the Councils guidebook will be amended accordingly and a revisedGuidebook published on the Citys website.

1. Council Committee RecommendationsRetr eat Referral :

Council committee recommendations will be presented to the fullCouncil by the respective Committee Chair, not staff. If an item

does not have a unanimous recommendation of the Committee, itshall not be placed on the Councils Consent Calendar. The staffreport will include an explanation from the Committee Chair ofthe Committees rationale for its recommendation.

GG Recommendation:Amend appropriate sections of the Council Guidebook to includethe change listed above from the Council retreat, with thefollowing addition:A Council Committee Chair may request that a specific item fromthe Committee be placed on the Councils agenda as an OtherBusiness item, even if Committee support is unanimous.

General Government Committee further recommends that:

a. A designated area be added to or identified on the transmittal(staff) report for the Committee Chair to explain theCommittees recommendation and rationale.

b. The General Government Committee include on its 2009Committee Work Plan a recommendation on whether or not anitem can be stopped in Committee. General Government

Page 2 of 6


3/6

noted that this issue is not currently addressed in theGuidebook.

Rationale: Councilmembers not on a Committee will have thebenefit of receiving recommendations and rationale directly fromtheir peers. The Committees recommendation and rationale willbe presented in a consistent location on the transmittal (staff)report for ease of reference.

2. Motions/Roberts Rules of OrderRetr eat Referral :

Develop a guideline about wording/presentation of Motions so thatthey are succinct and easy to understand.

GG Recommendation:a. Continue current practice of allowing Councilmembers the

opportunity to either make a motion before discussion, or viceversa.

b. Staff will develop a template for motions and make itavailable on Councilmember desks.

Rationale: Allows flexibility, depending on the issue and/orcircumstance, while providing Councilmembers with a template forstating succinct motions.

3. Public CommunicationRetr eat Referr al:Revise public comment protocols so that as a matter of practice,those individuals who signed up to speak and cannot beaccommodated within the initial 30 minutes will be heard at theend of the meeting, if they are in attendance at that time. Sign-infor public comment will be closed at the beginning of the Councilmeeting.

GG Recommendation:Amend appropriate sections of the Council Guidebook to includethe change listed above from the Council retreat, with thefollowing clarifications:

a. Public Comment will be closed shortly after the beginning ofthe Council meeting, with the time being at staffs discretion.

b. If everyone who has signed up for Public Comment isaccommodated in the 30 minutes set aside near the start ofthe Council meeting and the total amount of testimony has

been less than 30 minutes, the Mayor may ask if anyone else inthe audience wishes to speak. In this circumstance, PublicComment will not exceed 30 minutes total of testimony time.Additional comment will not be carried forward to the end ofthe meeting.

Rationale: Individuals who wish assurance that they will be able toaddress the Council that night should sign-up on the testimonysheet before it is collected to deliver to copy and deliver to the

Page 3 of 6


4/6

Mayor. Councilmembers, audience, and staff will have anindication at the start of the meeting of the potential length oftime needed for Public Communication. Provides some flexibilityon closure of testimony sign-in time to allow for large crowds, lastminute arrivals, etc.

4.

Agenda Order Council ReportsRetr eat Referral :Move Council Reports to an earlier location on the Agenda andchange the focus so it is less of a report of prior activity to one ofupcoming/pending issues.

GG Recommendation:Amend appropriate sections of the Council Guidebook to includethe change listed above from the Council retreat, with thefollowing clarifications:

a. Schedule Council Reports on the Councils agenda followingSpecial Recognition and before Public Communication.

b. Continue to schedule an item called Referrals at the end ofthe Council meeting immediately following the City ManagersReport, with the understanding that Councilmembers mayrequest referrals either when making a report or during theReferral time.

c. With Council Reports being moved forward on the Councilagenda, remove the estimated starting time for PublicHearings on the Council agenda. Advertise Public Hearings asbeing held during the Councils meeting, which starts at 7:00p.m.

Rationale: Provides information that community members may

wish to comment on during Public Communication. By moving thetime forward, there may be a higher television and in-personaudience who will gain a more complete understanding of thescope and breadth of interlocal and regional policies and activitieswith which the Council is involved. Removing the current 8:00p.m. time on Public Hearing eliminates the potential of having tohalt public communication or other agenda actions mid-stream.

5. Study SessionsRetr eat Referral :

Begin to use Study Sessions more frequently to address issues andcraft public policy. Engage a broader set of groups in the CouncilStudy Session process. General Government Committee should

discuss and recommend Study Session format. Use study sessionsmore frequently to address issues and craft public policy.

GG Recommendation:Amend the Council Guidebook to include the change listed abovefrom the Councils retreat, with the following proceduralguidelines:

Page 4 of 6


5/6

a. A councilmember may request a Study Session on a specifictopic for the purpose of discussing and exploring issues in amore informal setting than the Councils regular businessmeeting.

b. The Study Session will be a separate meeting either before orafter the Councils regular meeting or on another day.

c. The requesting Councilmember will be the lead Council personto work with staff on the format and discussion participantsand in identifying an appropriate location for the StudySession.

Rationale: Allows a format for discussion and informationsharing/gathering with concurrence of a majority of Council. TheCouncilmember will have a role in identifying format, participants,etc. for the Study Session.

Note: General Government Committee members expressedinterest in Study Sessions being held in a location other than theCouncil Chambers, in a setting more conducive for informalconversation.

6. Packet Publishing DateRetr eat Referral :

Move the publishing date forward by two days from Friday at 3:00p.m. to Wednesday at Noon.

GG Recommendation:Provide the following guidance to the City Manager for staffimplementation:

a. It is expected that the Councils packet is launched on thewebsite available by 3:00 p.m. on the Thursday before aCouncil meeting, barring technical difficulties. The CityManager shall set a reasonable administrative timeframewithin the next month for transition to the Thursday packetlaunch.

b. The agenda packet for the Land Use and EnvironmentCommittee will continue to be launched on the website andavailable by 3:00 p.m. on the Wednesday before a Councilmeeting, since that Committee routinely meets on Mondays.

Rationale: Allows an additional day for Council and public reviewof the next weeks agenda packet, and time to resolve website

technical difficulties.

In developing its recommendations, the Committee reviewed thefollowing implications chart:

Page 5 of 6


6/6

Page 6 of 6

Launch Day:Agenda Deadline:Reading Time:

WednesdayFri. 4pm6 days

ThursdayMon. 4pm5 days

FridayTue. 4pm4 days(Current)

Minutes published 2 weeks Next week Next week

Changes requestedat Councilmeeting

2 weeks 2 weeks2 weekspreferred butcan go in one

Time to fixtechnicalcomputer glitchesbefore Fri 5:00p.m.

Provides time Provides timeDifficult andmay requireIT overtime

Budget scheduleimpacts, 1st and 2ndReadings back toback

2 weeks 2 weeks

Prefer 2weeks but canbe done nextweek at times

Bid approval afterbid opening date

Additionalweek

Next week Next week

Time forCouncilmembersquestions/concernsto be addressedprior to meeting(outcome: fewerpulls from ConsentCalendar)

YesBetter than aFriday launch

More difficult

LUEC packetlaunched same asCouncil packet

YesNo, but considerstandardizing

No

Staff availabilityfor questions

Yes Yes

Fewer staffon Friday dueto flexschedules

7. E-Mail Communication During Council Meetings

Retr eat Referral :

Develop a Council guideline on use of email by the Council.

GG Recommendation:

Amend the Councils Guidebook in the applicable section, asfollows:Councilmembers agree to not send to or receive from each otheremails during public Council meetings.

Rationale: Since this topic is not specifically addressed in Statelaw, the agreement provides guidance for Council and the publicregarding email communication among Olympia CityCouncilmembers during public Council meetings.

fa councilproceduresstf

Documents