AGENDA #10
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Proposed Calendar for Council Meetings through December 2004, Including the 2004-05 Budget Process
DATE: August 25, 2003
The attached resolution would adopt a calendar of Council meetings through December 2004.
BACKGROUND
Section 2-3 of the Town Code establishes a schedule of regular business meetings of the Council on the second and fourth Mondays of most months, and public hearing meetings normally on the third Mondays of January through June and September through November.
In August, the Council normally adopts a calendar for the following year (in this case through December 2004) with any changes needed due to holidays and other events. The attached material outlines the proposed calendar from September 2003 to December 2004.
DISCUSSION
The proposed calendar includes schedules for:
1. Preparation of the annual budget and 15-year capital program.
2. General planning session of the Council on Friday, January 16, 2004.
3. A public forum and action by the Council on potential legislative requests during the 2004 session of the General Assembly.
4. Preparation of plans to use grants for:
· public transit,
· community development,
· public housing renovations,
· the Town's public housing operating budget, and
· the County-wide HOME program.
5. Consideration of performance agreements with human services agencies, use of hotel/motel taxes for visitor information services and support of cultural events.
6. Consideration of a tax rate for the Downtown Tax District.
7. Joint planning hearing dates reserved on the fifth Monday in March 2004 (March 29), and the third Thursday in October 2004 (October 21), and subject to concurrence by the Town of Carrboro and Orange County.
8. Assembly of Governments meeting dates reserved on the fifth Thursday in April 2004 (April 29) and the fifth Wednesday in September 2004 (September 29).
General Comments:
The proposed processes and meeting dates are similar to those adopted by the Council for 2002. For example, the budget process includes public forums in late January and late March, a public hearing in mid-May, and several dates for work sessions of the Council.
We recommend continuing to have presentations by advisory boards and commissions early in the budget process, in mid- to late-February. We also recommend including presentations by department heads to the Council, as in recent years. We recommend that this year’s department head presentations begin on February 25, because of the National League of Cities meeting from March 5-9 and the University Spring Break from March 6-14. We recommend continuing to hold these budget work sessions early in the budget process to allow the Council time to consider the information presented by advisory boards and department heads.
Several Council members have requested that no meetings be scheduled in August. In response, we have eliminated the business meeting normally scheduled for the last Monday in August, and included an additional business meeting on September 7, 2004.
Holidays, Annual Meetings, etc.
As in past years, the proposed calendar takes into account holidays, religious observances, the annual meeting of the N.C. League of Municipalities in October, and the spring breaks in the University's and City Schools' calendars.
· The first business meeting in March is proposed for March 1, due to a National League of Cities meeting from March 5-9.
· The University’s and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools’ Spring Breaks do not coincide in 2004. The University’s Spring Break is scheduled from March 6-14; the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools’ Spring Break is from April 10-18.
We suggest that some meetings that need to be rescheduled from Mondays be held on Wednesdays, thus avoiding overlap with Planning Board and Transportation Board meetings usually held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. We note meetings on:
· January 21 (to avoid conflict with Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday)
· January 28 (Public Hearing on the Budget);
· February 25 (Budget Work Session);
· March 24 (Public Forum on the Budget);
· April 14 (to avoid conflict with Easter Monday).
·
Additional Options
a. 2004 Budget Forum and Hearing Dates
The proposed forum and hearing dates are scheduled for Wednesday, January 28 and Wednesday, March 24. We recommend scheduling the budget forums and hearings separate from the regular business meetings of the Council so that Council meetings are not unduly long.
b. Budget Development Schedule
We propose the following budget work session schedule:
|
Date |
Day of Week |
Meeting |
|
January 16 |
Friday |
Council planning session; including budget/finance (8:30 a.m.)
|
|
January 28 |
Wednesday |
Public Hearing on Budget and Related Items (7:00 p.m.)
|
|
February 11 |
Wednesday |
Budget Work Session – Meet with Advisory Boards (4:00-6:30 p.m.) |
|
February 18 |
Wednesday |
Budget Work Session – Meet with Advisory Boards (5:30-7:30 p.m.) |
|
February 25 |
Wednesday |
Budget Work Session – Department Presentations (4:00-6:00 p.m.) |
|
February 27 |
Friday |
Budget Work Session – Department Presentations (12 noon-5:00 p.m.) |
|
March 1 |
Monday |
Business Meeting – Action on related budget items; submittal of Public Housing Program operating budget (7:00 p.m.) |
|
March 3 |
Wednesday |
Budget Work Session – Downtown Commission and Visitors Bureau (5:30-7:30 p.m.) |
|
March 24 |
Wednesday |
Public Forum – Status Report on 2003-04 Budget (7:00 p.m.)
|
|
March 31 |
Wednesday |
Budget Work Session – if desired (4:00-6:00 p.m.)
|
|
April 26 |
Monday |
Business Meeting – Submittal of recommended budget (7:00 p.m.) |
|
April 28 |
Wednesday |
Budget Work Session – if desired (5:30-7:30 p.m.)
|
|
May 12 |
Wednesday |
Public Hearing on Recommended Budget and related items (7:00 p.m.) |
|
May 19 |
Wednesday |
Budget Work Session – if desired (4:00-6:00 p.m.)
|
|
June 14 |
Monday |
Consideration of adopting budget and related items (7:00 p.m.)
|
|
June 28 |
Monday |
Consideration of performance agreements (7:00 p.m.)
|
c. Meetings of the School Board and OWASA Board
The proposed schedule also takes into account the regular schedule of meetings in the Council Chamber of the Board of Education on the first Thursdays of most months and of the OWASA Board of Directors on the fourth Thursdays of most months.
d. Other
We have attempted to avoid scheduling meetings on the first Monday of each month based on the request of a Council member. However, one meeting on the first Monday is included in this proposed calendar:
· March 1, 2003 (adjusted for National League of Cities meeting).
A Council member has also requested that no meeting be held on Easter Monday, April 12.
We have been advised by the UNC Athletic Department that the Men’s Basketball Schedule for 2003-04 will not be available until early September; therefore we have no information about basketball schedules.
CONCLUSION
Any schedule of meetings is subject to change by the Council in the future if there is a need for additional meetings or other changes. Adopting a calendar at this time would be useful to boards and commissions and citizens' groups who will schedule meetings in coming months.
RECOMMENDATION
That the Council adopt the attached resolution.
A RESOLUTION ADOPTING A CALENDAR OF COUNCIL MEETINGS THROUGH DECEMBER 2004 (2003-08-25/R-21)
BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby adopts the following calendar of Council meetings. Meetings will be at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
|
Month |
Day of week |
Date |
Type of Meeting |
Notes |
|
September |
|
1 |
|
Labor Day holiday (Monday) |
|
|
Monday |
8 |
Business |
|
|
|
Monday |
15 |
Hearing |
|
|
|
Monday |
22 |
Business |
|
|
|
|
27-28 |
|
Rosh Hashanah (sundown on the 27th through sundown on the 28th) |
|
|
Tuesday |
30 |
|
Assembly of Governments, Southern Human Services Center, 7:30 p.m. |
|
October |
|
Yom Kippur (sundown on the 6th through sundown on the 7th) |
||
|
|
Work Session |
Report from the Mayor’s Downtown Task Force, 5:30 p.m. |
||
|
|
Business |
|
||
|
|
|
University Day |
||
|
|
|
NCLM Annual Conference in Winston-Salem |
||
|
|
|
Columbus Day Observed (Not a Town holiday) |
||
|
|
Joint Planning Hearing |
Southern Human Services Center, 7:30 p.m. |
||
|
|
Public Hearing |
|
||
|
|
|
23-26 |
|
UNC Fall Break |
|
|
Monday |
27 |
Business |
|
|
November |
|
General Election |
||
|
|
Monday |
|
||
|
Month |
Day of week |
Date |
Type of Meeting |
Notes |
|
November |
|
Veterans’ Day (not a Town holiday) |
||
|
|
Monday |
17 |
Work Session |
Traffic Calming Issues, 5:30 p.m. |
|
|
Monday |
17 |
Public Hearing |
|
|
|
Monday |
24 |
Business |
|
December |
Monday |
8 |
Business |
Council Organizational Meeting |
|
|
|
9-13 |
|
National League of Cities Congress of Cities (Nashville, TN) |
|
|
|
20-27 |
|
Hanukkah (begins sundown on 20th) |
|
|
|
24-26 |
|
Christmas Holidays |
2004
|
Month |
Day of week |
Date |
Type of Meeting |
Notes |
January |
|
1 |
|
New Year’s Day Holiday |
|
|
Monday |
12 |
Business |
Human Services Advisory Board's annual Needs Report |
|
|
Friday |
16 |
Planning Session |
8:30 am, location TBD; includes budget/financial overview |
|
|
|
19 |
|
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday |
|
|
Wednesday |
21 |
Public Hearing |
|
|
|
Monday |
26 |
Business |
Setting the scope for potential legislative requests. |
|
|
Wednesday |
28 |
Public Forum |
Budget, capital program, Comprehensive Grant, HOME program, Community Development grant, Downtown Service District; potential legislative requests |
February |
Monday |
9 |
Business |
|
|
|
11 |
Budget Work Session |
4-6:30, Advisory Board Presentations |
|
|
|
16 |
Hearing |
|
|
|
|
18 |
Budget Work Session |
5:30-7:30, Advisory Board Presentations |
|
|
|
20 |
Legislative Breakfast |
7:30 am |
|
Month |
Date |
Type of Meeting |
Notes |
|
|
February |
23 |
Business |
|
|
|
|
25 |
Budget Work Session |
4-6:00, Presentation by Departments |
|
|
|
27 |
Budget Work Session |
12 noon-5:00, Presentation by Departments |
|
March |
Monday |
1 |
Business |
Submittal of proposed 2004-2005 public housing budget;
Consideration of adopting legislative program;
Submittal of potential changes to service plan for Downtown District for public hearing on May 12
Request to County for Library, Parks and Recreation and Project Turnaround funding; authorizing boards to make presentations to the County Commissioners |
|
|
Wednesday |
3 |
Budget Work Session |
5:30-7:30, presentations by Downtown Commission and Visitors Bureau |
|
|
|
5-9 |
|
NLC Congressional City Conference (Washington, DC) |
|
|
|
6-14 |
|
UNC Spring Break |
|
|
Monday |
15 |
Hearing |
|
|
|
Monday |
22 |
Business |
|
|
|
Wednesday |
24 |
Public Forum |
|
|
|
Monday |
29 |
Joint Planning Hearing |
|
|
|
Wednesday |
31 |
Budget Work Session |
|
Month |
Day of week |
Date |
Type of Meeting |
Notes |
April |
|
5-13 |
|
Passover (begins at sundown on 5th) |
|
|
9 |
|
||
|
|
|
10-18 |
|
|
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
|
Wednesday |
14 |
Business |
|
|
|
Monday |
19 |
Hearing |
|
|
|
Monday |
26 |
Business |
Submittal of: · recommended budget and capital program · proposed plans for using grants: 1. Comprehensive grant, 2. HOME program, and Community Development grant |
|
|
Wednesday |
28 |
Budget Work Session |
5:30-7:30 p.m., if desired |
|
|
Thursday |
29 |
Assembly of Governments |
Southern Human Services Center, 7:30 p.m. (tentative) |
May |
|
9 |
|
UNC Commencement |
|
|
Monday |
10 |
Business |
|
|
|
Wednesday |
12 |
Budget Public Hearing |
Budget, capital program, Downtown Service District, transportation grant |
|
|
Monday |
17 |
Hearing |
|
|
|
Wednesday |
4-6:00 pm |
||
|
|
Monday |
|
||
|
|
|
31 |
|
Memorial Day Holiday |
Month |
Day of week |
Date |
Type of Meeting |
Notes |
June |
14 |
Business |
Consideration of 2004-05 Budget; CIP; related items |
|
|
|
21 |
Hearing |
|
|
|
|
Monday |
28 |
Business |
Consideration of performance agreements: · visitor information and cultural events funded with hotel-motel taxes, · human services (including recommendations by Human Services Advisory Board) and · Downtown Service District; · year-end budget amendment |
July |
|
4 |
|
Independence Day – Town holiday |
August |
|
|
|
|
|
September |
|
6 |
|
Labor Day holiday (Monday) |
|
|
Tuesday |
7 |
Business |
|
|
|
Monday |
13 |
Business |
|
|
|
|
Rosh Hashanah (sundown on the 15th through sundown on the 17th) |
||
|
|
Monday |
|
||
|
|
|
24-25 |
|
Yom Kippur (sundown on the 24th through sundown on the 25th) |
|
|
Monday |
27 |
Business |
|
|
|
Wednesday |
29 |
Assembly of Governments |
Southern Human Services Center, 7:30 p.m. (tentative) |
|
October |
|
11 |
|
Columbus Day (not Town holiday) |
|
|
Monday |
11 |
Business |
|
|
|
|
13-15 |
|
UNC Fall Break |
|
|
Monday |
18 |
Hearing |
|
|
|
Thursday |
21 |
Joint Planning Hearing |
Southern Human Services Center, 7:30 p.m. (tentative) |
|
|
|
|
NCLM Conference (Raleigh) |
|
|
|
Wednesday |
27 |
Business |
|
|
Month |
Day of week |
Date |
Type of Meeting |
Notes |
|
November |
|
2 |
|
Election Day |
|
|
Monday |
|
||
|
|
|
11 |
|
Veterans’ Day (not Town holiday) |
|
|
Monday |
22 |
Business |
|
|
|
|
25-26 |
|
Thanksgiving Observance – Town Holiday |
|
|
|
30-Dec 4 |
|
National League of Cities Congress of Cities (Indianapolis, IN) |
December |
Nov 30-Dec 4 |
|
National League of Cities Congress of Cities (Indianapolis, IN) |
|
|
|
6 |
Business |
|
|
|
|
|
8-15 |
|
Hanukkah (begins sundown on the 8th) |
|
|
|
23, 24, 27 |
|
Christmas Holidays (tentative) |
This the 25th day of August, 2003.