HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-29-2010 � ��*
CITY OF -:�-"`✓ *
COUNCIL OPERATIONS
r - COMMITTEE
� WASHINGTON
MARCH 29, 2010
4:00 PM
COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM
MINUTES
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chai� Rich Wagner called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Counc'il
Gonference Room located on the first floor of Auburn City Hall located at
251Nest Main Street in Aubum.
Members in attendance included Chair Rich Wagner, Vice Chair Swe
Singer, and Member Nancy Backus. Staff members present included:
City Attorney Daniel B. Heid and Deputy City Clerk Cathy Richardson,
Members of 4he audience included Councilm.ember Virginia Haugen,
Councilmemb.er John Partridge, Wayne Osborne and Robert VVhale.
II. MINUTES OF THE MARCH 75, 2010 COMMITTEE ON C.OMMITTEES
MEETING
Committee members reviewetl the minutes ofthe last meeting held March
15, 2010.
Motion by Vice Chair Singer, second by Member Backus to approve the
March 15, 2010 minutes.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3-0.
III. COUNCIL RULES OF PRO.CEDURE
A. Section 3, page 4, Order of Business of Regular Council Meeting
Agenda
Committee members reviewed proposed amendments to Sections
3.10, 3.15 and 3.16 as follows:
Section 3.10 — Council Committee Reports
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Council Operations Committee - March 29, 201A
Council Committee Chairs report on action and activities of their
, respec4ive Council Committees. The Chair should defer detailed
reaortinq. reaardinq resolutions. and_ordinances .that are. on the
current Council aaenda until they make the motion(s) for those
issues.
Section 3.15 — Ordinances
Add: The aerson makin4 the motion should diVe a verv brief
descriation of the issue without simqlv reaeatinp the ordinance title
as read bv the Citv Attornev and mav choose to comment on anv
results of Committee action reaardinq the issue.
Section 3.16 — Resolutions
Add: The aerson makinq the motion should aive a verv brief
descriation ofithe issue without_simolv repeatin4.the_resolution_title.
as read bv the�Citv Attomev and mav choose to comment on anv
results of Committee action reqartling the issue.
The proposed amendments were suggested by Councilmember
Partridge. The effect of the proposed amendments brings the
description of the ordinance or resolution at the time of
consideration of the ordinance or resolution rather than during
committee reports. The change is recommended for the benefit of
the audience.
Vice Chair Singer moved and Member Backus seconded to
recommend approVal of the proposed amendments to Sections
3.10, 3.15, and 3.16 of the Council Rules of Procedure.
MOTION GARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3-0.
B. Section 16, page 18 and 19, Council Committees and Citizen Advisory
Boards
Committee members reviewed the following proposed amendmenfs to
Section 16:
Section 1.6.1, paragraph E and G, change committee names.
Add Sections 16.5, 16.6, 16.7, 16.8 to clarify Committee Chair functions:
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Gouncil 0aerations_Committee _ March 29. 2010
Section 16.5. Committee Chairpersons will have broad discretion
in conducting their meetings. They will gen.eraily follow Roberts
Rules of Orde.r. Howeyer, they may choose to allow informal
Committee discussion without specific recognition of the speaker
by the chair.
Section 16.6. Committee Chairpersons may allow audience
participation that is related to the agenda item being discussed by
the Gommittee. Audience participation regarding subjects that
have not been published as part of the agenda should not be
allowed. The Chair should make it clear, when allowing audience
participation, that a public hearing is not being held.
Section 16:7 Committee Chairpersons will approve all agenda
items and may, at their discretion, remove or add agenda items
during the course of fhe meeting.
Section 16.8 Gommittee Chairpersons will review and approve the
minutes of Committee meetings.
Committee membe[s agreed to delete the third sentence of Section
16.5.
Committee members agreed to delete the last two sentences of
proposed Section 16.6.
Upon discussion of attendance of Councilmembers at Council
Committee meetings as members of the audience, City Attomey
Heid suggested adding the following to Section 16.5: "Audience
participation may be provided by any non-member of the
Committee, including Councilmembers, who are in attendance."
Committee members concurred.
Committee members agreed to add the word "draft" before the
word "minutes" in proposed Section 16.8.
Vice Chair Singer moVed and Member Backus seconded to
recommend approval of the prop.osed amendments to Section 16
as revised.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3=0.
C. Insert new Section 18, Council Communicafion
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Council Oaerations Committee Ma�ch 29. 2010
Committee members reviewed fhe following proposed new Section 18 of
the Council Rules of Procedure regarding Council Communication:
.SECTION 18 —COUNCIL COMMUNICATION
18.1 Communications — Generallv -_All letters, memoranda, and
interactive computer communication involving City
Councilmembers and members of adVisory boards and
commissions, the subject of which relates to the conduct of
government or the performance of any governmental function are
public [ecords. Copie.s of suc.h letters.; memoranda, and interactive
computer communication may not be provided to the public or
news media without the fifing of a public records request with the
City Clerk.
18.2 Written Communications - Written letters and memoranda
_
re.ceived by the Gity, addressed to the Council as a body will be
photocopied and provided to all Counciimembers, and a copy kept
according to the City's Records Retention Schedule.
18.3 Electronic Communications
A. Councilmembers are encou�aged to use city ema'il accounts
to respond to email communications. This allows for proper
record retention
B. Informal messages with no retention value and that do not
relate to the functional responsibility of 4he recipient or
sender as a public official, such as meeting notices,
reminders, telephone messages and informal notes need
not be retained. Users may deiete these messages once
their administrative purpose is served.
C. All other messages that relate to the functional responsibility
of the recipient or sender as a putilic o�cial constitute a
public recorii. Such records will be automatically saved as
city records, and are subject to public inspection and
copying.
D. Councilmembers will forVirartl any non-city account e-mail
that pertains to City business fo their city email address for
retention as a public record.
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Council 0uerations Committee March 29, 2010
E. If a citizen sends an e-mail to a Councilmember and
requests that it be included in the record of a particular
public hearing, the Councilmember will forward said e-mail
to the City Glerk.
F. If a Counc'ilmember wishes to send e-mail to a city staff
memb.er, the Councilmember may send that message
directly to the staff member, but shall copy said e-mail to the
Mayor.
G. Staff will not review e-mail unless a public records request is
received.
H. Gouncilmembers should avoid e-mail exchanges uVhich
ultimately involve four or more council members. For
example, if one Councilmember communicates to two
Counciimembers, then that communication is forwarded to a
fourth, a quorum has now participated and a rraeeting sutiject
to the Open Public Meetings Act has occurred. Note 4Hat the
fouith Councilmember need not reply to participate since a
Counc'ilmember may be silent during a regular open meeting
without depriving a board of its quorum. This scenario is
sometimes referred tq as a "rolling quorum."
I. Councilmember may send an informafional e-mail to the
entire Council without creating a meeting subject to the
Open Public Meetings Act. if it is made clear in such e-mails
that the e-mail is informational only and that no �esponse is
desired.
J. E-mail should be used cautiously when seeking legal advice
or to discuss matters of pending litigation or other
"confitlential" City business. In general, e-mail is
discoverable in litigation, and even deleted e-mail is not
necessarily removed from the system.
K. Confidenfial e-mail communications should not be shared
with individuals other than the intended recipients, or the
attomey-client privilege protecting the document from
disclosure may be waived.
(Re-number existirig Sections 18, 19 and 20)
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Council Oaerations Comm'ittee March 29. 2010
Vice Chair Singer stated that much of proposed Section 18 is duplicative
of the City's Administrative Poliey relating to email communication. Gity
Attorney Heid agreed to reView and compare the AdminisfratiVe Policy
and proposed Sec4ion 18 and develop a new draft policy regarding
Council communication.
IV. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Committee, the
meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m.
Rich Wagner, Chair Danielle Daskam, City Clerk
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