AGENDA #11
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
Ralph Karpinos, Town Attorney
SUBJECT: Response to Petition Requesting More Opportunity for Public to Consider Staff Reports
DATE: March 22, 2004
The Council on October 8, 2003, received and referred to the Manager and Attorney a petition from Michelle Lewis requesting that the Council consider allowing citizens more time to review staff reports before they are discussed at Council meetings. Ms. Lewis’ petition is attached (Attachment 1).
We recommend changes in administrative procedures to improve availability of information. We also recommend that the Council appoint a Council committee to consider changes in the Town Council Procedures Manual.
BACKGROUND
On October 8, 2003, the Council heard a petition suggesting that more time be provided between when agenda materials are produced and distributed and when the Town Council considers them at meetings (see Attachment 2, excerpt from October 8, 2003 adopted Minutes). The petitioner stated that the public sometimes has the perception that the Town does not want public input, and proposed a longer timeframe to review reports in order to alleviate that perception. It was also stated that extending the public review period would avoid this public perception and enhance the value of public hearings.
DISCUSSION
Current Process
Generally, the process for preparing and submitting staff reports to the Council is as follows:
· The Town Manager assigns responsibility for preparation of a staff report to the appropriate department.
· The staff report is placed on the Town Council’s Tentative Future Agenda schedule, noting a tentative date for Council consideration.
· The first draft of the staff report is forwarded to the Town Manager on Friday, 10 days prior to the Council meeting.
· Review of the draft report takes place on Monday, 1 week prior to the Council meeting and 2 days prior to the preparation of the agenda packet.
· If revisions are warranted, the staff report is returned to the department for corrections on Monday afternoon, 1 week prior to the Council meeting.
· The completed staff report is forwarded to the Town Clerk’s Office on Wednesday and distributed to the Council on Wednesday evening, 5 days prior to the Council meeting.
· Agenda materials are posted to the Town’s website no later than noon on Friday, 3 days prior to the Council meeting. In the majority of cases, materials are posted by Thursday evening, 4 days prior to the Council meeting.
Occasionally, some deviation from this process is experienced. A staff report may not be received in time for the Wednesday distribution, and may be delivered on Friday (3 days prior to the Council meeting). This may be caused by a number of reasons, i.e. staff time constraints, difficulty in collecting necessary data, or others. And, when a Town holiday occurs on a Monday, review of staff reports is delayed until Tuesday, and packet preparation is delayed until Thursday. In this event, agenda materials are posted to the Town’s website by Friday evening.
POTENTIAL METHODS OF IMPROVING SERVICE
When reviewing the current process, we considered what would have to take place in order to provide staff reports several days earlier to the public, and what effects such changes might have on staff work schedules and the provision of other Town services. Below we discuss options for consideration by the Council.
Post Tentative Agenda for Upcoming Council Meetings Two Weeks Prior
Posting the tentative agenda for an upcoming Council meeting two weeks prior to the meeting would provide citizens with information about what issues are expected to be considered by the Council. It may also provide an opportunity for questions to be posed to staff and answered in advance, and for citizens to be placed on the distribution list for a particular item.
Tentative schedules are arranged in advance, and could be prepared for posting without undue problems. If using this option, we would clearly note that the agenda is tentative, and is subject to change.
Post Items to Website by Noon on Thursday
Posting agenda materials to the website by noon on Thursday would require the Town Clerk’s staff to scan materials received for the agenda packet that are not in electronic form on Wednesday evening after packet preparation is completed. Then, the entire electronic packet would need to be placed on the network so that Information Technology staff would have access to it on Thursday morning to begin putting in the necessary links for posting on the website.
Although this would ensure that materials are available to the public on the website on Thursday afternoon, it would require additional overtime hours by the Town Clerk’s staff on Wednesday evening in order to prepare the materials for posting on the website. On average, Council packets are completed and ready for delivery between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. Using this process would likely require an additional 2 to 4 hours for the Wednesday night preparation process, depending on the size of the agenda materials. We believe such additional hours would be unreasonably burdensome for the Town Clerk and her staff.
Posting the Draft Agenda on Tuesday
Normally, the draft agenda of a Council meeting is completed on Tuesday afternoon, 6 days prior to the Council meeting on Monday. The draft agenda could be placed on the website by the end of the day of Tuesday, with a link provided that would contact the Town Clerk’s Office if someone wished to receive copies of any items listed. Requests received could then be answered on Thursday morning by emailing the completed item, or having copies available for pick-up.
One difficulty this may present is when the agenda draft is amended, and items are removed or added. This may cause confusion for the public if an item is removed from the agenda after they have checked the website. A citizen might appear at a Council meeting to speak on an item that is not under consideration. Under this option, we would post the amended agenda as quickly as possible in order to prevent confusion. We would also note that the agenda is a draft and subject to change.
Provide Staff Reports Two Weeks Prior to a Council Meeting
Preparing staff reports two weeks prior to a Council meeting would provide additional time for citizens to research an issue. However, many issues considered by the Council are discussed by the Council more than once prior to the meeting, so background materials often are available for a longer period of time.
Preparing staff reports so far in advance of Council consideration may make it difficult for those who work with Town staff to provide timely information. It may also mean that items that require additional consideration or action by the Council could be delayed. For instance, a response to a simple petition could be delayed for two business meetings. If a petition were received the first business meeting of the month, staff would already be involved in preparing staff reports for the second business meeting of the month, so the petition could not be scheduled for staff work until the following business meeting or later.
An additional consideration is that many times staff find it necessary to work on staff reports on Saturdays and Sundays in order to meet already challenging deadlines. Preparation of staff reports this far in advance of a Council meeting would cause staff to work simultaneously on a larger number of issues, further reducing the time devoted to any one particular issue.
Another consideration is that deadlines set by the State or other agencies may make it difficult or impossible to provide reports in a timely manner.
Reschedule Council Business Meetings to Tuesday or Wednesday
The Council could consider changing its regular business meetings to the second and fourth Tuesdays or Wednesdays rather than Mondays. This would provide two additional days for the public to review items on the Council’s agenda. It would also avoid conflicts with Monday holidays or religious observances.
Changing to a Tuesday schedule would mean that Council meetings would conflict with meetings of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen and the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
Changing to a Wednesday meeting schedule would pose challenges:
· The same staff who must produce agenda packets for distribution on Wednesday night also would be involved in setting up the Council Chamber for the meeting, conducting the meeting, and readying the room for other use before leaving. We occasionally have Wednesday meetings now, and have some experience with the problems that are created.
· The Manager, Attorney, and other key staff who must review the final versions of agenda material before they are distributed often must do so on Wednesday evening. Review time would be compressed, especially when the Council conducts a work session before the regular meeting.
· In weeks in which there is a need for a second meeting, the most logical day would become Thursday. This would result in the Council and staff having meetings on consecutive days. Experience shows that such a schedule is tiring for all involved.
Potential Adjustments to Council Procedures
a. Legal Standards
Under North Carolina General Statute Sec. 160A-71 (c), a “council may adopt its own rules of procedure, not inconsistent with the city charter, general law, or generally accepted principles of parliamentary procedure.” Subject to such restrictions, “a city council has a relatively free hand in designing its own rules of procedure, as long as the requirements of the general laws . . . and the city’s charter are followed and the board adheres to the general principles listed earlier.” Bell, Suggested Rules of Procedure for a City Council (3rd Ed.), Inst. of Government, UNC-CH (2000), at p. 2. The “general principles” listed by Bell include:
1. The council must act as a body.
2. The council should proceed in the most efficient manner possible.
3. The council must act by at least a majority.
4. Every member must have an equal opportunity to participate in decision making.
5. The council’s rules of procedure must be followed consistently.
6. The council’s actions should be the result of a decision on the merits and not a manipulation of the procedural rules.
Bell at p. 1. (See Attachment 3, pp. 1-2 of this booklet.)
Attached is an excerpt (pages 1-7) from the present Town Council Procedures Manual which includes the Council-adopted procedures for the conduct of Council meetings (Attachment 4). As Professor Bell states, these procedures could be modified so long as any such modifications were consistent with the law and principles set out above.
b. Current Practice
Present Council practices include the possibility that an item listed on the Council’s agenda for action could be deferred, by Council consensus or majority vote, if the Council determined there was the need for additional time for public consideration. This is one possible method available now for citizens to request a deferral of Council action in order to allow additional time for evaluation of a staff report and recommendation published a few days prior to a Council meeting.
c. Possible Procedure Changes
There are a number of rule changes that could be considered if the Council wished to establish a more formal process for possible delay of particular matters placed on the Council’s agenda. For example:
1. The Council could adopt a procedural rule whereby the first item on any meeting agenda is the formal adoption of the agenda. This would give the Council an opportunity to decide as a body whether it wished to delay consideration of any item listed on the published agenda. The procedure for adoption of the agenda could provide for a majority vote or could allow for an individual Council member, or some designated number of Council members, to defer an item that is on the agenda for the first time. This is done informally now. This would also formalize the procedure for a citizen’s request to change the order of the agenda.
2. The Council could adopt a procedural rule whereby an individual Council member, or some other designated number of Council members less than a majority, could object to an agenda item being considered the first time it is placed on the agenda for Council action. An example of such a procedure is a provision in the Winston-Salem City Code which provides:
“Sec. 2-40. Ordinances, resolutions and motions.
(b) Unanimous consent for consideration. No ordinance, resolution or motion shall be acted upon after being proposed unless by the unanimous consent of those present, but such ordinance or resolution shall be acted upon at the next regular or special meeting of the council, or otherwise if directed by the city council.”
(One difference between this procedure and the first proposal is that a call for “no consideration” could come after considerable time had been spent discussing a matter whereas a vote to adopt the agenda would require opposition to an item’s being considered to be presented before any substantive discussion of that matter had occurred.)
3. The Council could adopt a procedural rule whereby an item placed on the Council’s agenda for action would have to receive a super-majority vote in order to be approved the first time it is on the Council’s agenda. Presently, by State law, ordinances require 6 votes the first time they are voted upon. (Specific State law exceptions to this rule exist for certain situations, including zoning protest petitions and budget ordinances.) By procedural rule, the Council could extend this rule to other matters, where the law would allow.
Any such changes to the Council’s operating procedures would have to take into account provisions of law that could potentially require a different process. For example, if there were a deadline that required some Council action by a certain date under a provision of federal or State law, we would report that to the Council and such a requirement could impact any procedural rule the Council might adopt that would otherwise allow for delay of consideration.
IMPROVEMENTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED NOW
After looking at the agenda preparation process, we identified several actions that can be taken immediately to improve the process of providing information to the public:
· The tentative agenda for a Council meeting will be posted on the Town’s website two weeks prior to the Council meeting, to alert citizens of what is expected to be considered by the Council at that meeting. We will note on the heading that the agenda is tentative and subject to change.
· When possible, the draft agenda for the next Council meeting will be posted on the Town’s website by 5:00 p.m. Tuesday prior to the meeting, with a link provided to allow citizens to request particular staff reports. Staff reports would be emailed to interested parties on Thursday morning, or hard copies made available for pick-up.
· If a scheduled agenda item cannot be completed in time for the Wednesday packet delivery to Council, when possible we will provide those materials on Thursday and immediately post them to the website. If a scheduled item cannot be completed by Thursday, it will be considered for delay until the next Council meeting.
RECOMMENDATION
In addition to implementing the administrative actions noted above, we suggest that the Council appoint a Council committee to consider potential adjustments to the Town Council Procedures Manual that would establish a more formal process for possible delay in consideration of issues placed on the Council’s agenda. Adoption of the attached resolution would appoint a Council committee to address options for the full Council’s consideration.
ATTACHMENTS
1. October 8, 2003 Petition from Michelle Lewis (p. 9).
2. Excerpt from Adopted Minutes of October 8, 2003 (p. 11)
3. Excerpt from Suggested Rules of Procedure for a City Council (p. 12).
4. Excerpt from Town Council Procedures Manual (p. 14).
A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A COUNCIL COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER POTENTIAL ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TOWN COUNCIL PROCEDURES MANUAL THAT WOULD ESTABLISH A MORE FORMAL PROCESS FOR POSSIBLE DELAY OF ISSUES PLACED ON THE COUNCIL’S AGENDA AND OTHER OPTIONS (2004-03-22/R-18)
WHEREAS, the Council has received a petition suggesting that the public be allowed more time to review staff reports before an issue to discussed at Council meetings; and
WHEREAS, administrative changes have been identified for implementation that would address some of the concerns expressed in the petition; and
WHEREAS, the Council wishes to consider amendments to the Town Council Procedures Manual that would set a more formal process for possible delay of issues placed on the Council’s agenda, including:
· Consideration of a procedural rule whereby the first item on any meeting agenda is the formal adoption of the agenda;
· Consideration of a procedural rule whereby an individual Council member, or some other designated number of Council members less than a majority, could object to an agenda item being considered the first time it is placed on the agenda for Council action;
· Consideration of a procedural rule whereby an item placed on the Council’s agenda for action would have to receive a super-majority vote in order to be approved the first time it is on the Council’s agenda; and
WHEREAS, the Council wishes to consider any other means identified that would improve the method of providing information to citizens regarding upcoming issues scheduled for Council consideration;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the following Council members are appointed to serve on a Council Committee to Study a More Formal Process for Possible Delay of Issues Placed on the Council’s Agenda and Other Options:
(INSERT COUNCIL MEMBER NAMES HERE)
This the 22nd day of March, 2004.
Excerpt from Adopted Town Council Minutes of October 8, 2003:
2. Michelle Lewis, regarding Request to Provide More Opportunity for Public to Consider Staff Reports.
Ms. Lewis suggested that the Manager provide a little more time between when the packets are distributed and when the Town Council meets. The public sometimes has the perception that the Town does not want their input, she said, adding that she knows that perception is wrong because she had worked in the Mayor's office. Ms. Lewis suggested that adding a few more days to the timeframe would alleviate the perception. It would avoid confusion and add considerably to the value of the public hearings, she said.
MAYOR PRO TEM EVANS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WARD, TO RECEIVE AND REFER THE PETITION TO THE MANAGER AND ATTORNEY. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).
Excerpt from Town Council Procedures Manual, Chapter I, pp. 1-7:
I. MEETINGS.
A. Definitions.
1. Regular. Regular meetings are set by the Council at such times and places as it seems appropriate, except for the organizational meeting which falls on the first regular meeting date in December in odd numbered years (unless otherwise determined by the Council). North Carolina's Open Meetings Law requires the Council's regular meeting schedule be filed in the office of the Town Clerk. The schedule is permanent and need be filed only once unless the regular meeting schedule changes. This filing is the only notice required by law for regular meetings. The Council adopts a regular meeting schedule during August of each year for the coming year. Most meetings are at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Chapel Hill Town Hall, 306 North Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
2. Special. Special meetings may be called by the Mayor, Mayor Pro Tempore, or any two Council Members. Notice of a special meeting and the purpose of such special meeting shall be given each member of the Council or a copy of the notice of the meeting shall be left at the member's residence at least six hours prior to the meeting. A special meeting is subject to the State's Open Meetings Law by its definition. Therefore, notice of time and place of the meeting must be posted on the door of the governing body's normal meeting room at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance and must be mailed or delivered (within the same time limit) to anyone who has requested such notice.
3. Adjourned or Continued. The Council may recess a meeting to a specified time, date and location without further notice to members of the public being required.
4. Joint. The Council has authority to hold joint meetings and public hearings with the governing bodies of other governmental units, and such joint meetings may be held in the jurisdiction of either body. They may be regular or special.
5. Emergency. Emergency meetings may be held to deal with an emergency at any time. The State's definition of an emergency meeting has two elements. First, the meeting must concern "generally unexpected circumstances," and second, those circumstances must require "immediate consideration" by the Council. All that is required is to notify any local news medium that has requested notice. There is no minimum time period for this notice, and the meeting may be held as quickly as the members of the Council can gather.
6. a. Work Sessions, Informal Meetings, Committee of the Whole. The Council may hold work sessions, informal meetings, or committee of the whole meetings; however, no final action may be taken at such a meeting. The Open Meetings Law defines an informal meeting as any gathering of a majority of the Council for the purposes of considering or deliberating on the public business. Such a meeting is an official meeting of the Council and requires forty-eight hours' advance notice to the public.
b. Work Sessions with Advisory Boards and Commissions. The Council meets once each year with each advisory board or commission. The Council and board or commission jointly decide the date, time and duration of these work sessions.
7. Closed Session. Closed sessions may be held only when the Council has convened a meeting. See Section I.C.9 - Closed Session Procedures.
8. Social Gatherings. The law exempts genuine social gatherings of a majority of the Council from constituting an official meeting of the Council. That is, "a social meeting or other informal assembly or gathering together of the members of a public body does not constitute an official meeting unless called or held to evade the spirit and purposes of this Article." (N.C.G.S. 143‑318.10)
B. Agenda of Council Meetings.
The business of a Council meeting is controlled by the agenda prepared as hereinafter set forth. The agenda per se is not normally adopted by the Council. Items may be taken out of order upon motion and two-thirds vote, or by unanimous consent. Any business on the agenda may be considered by the Council, and if all members are present any business not on the agenda may be considered if there is no objection.
1. Preparation of the Agenda. The Town Manager, in consultation with the Mayor, prepares the agenda.
2. Request for Agenda Items. Items may be placed on the agenda by the following methods:
a. Request of the Mayor.
b. Request of a Council Member:
(1) At the petition time at the beginning of a meeting. (Such practice is usually limited to items for discussion only, or items of a non-controversial nature, which arise after the preparation of the agenda, or as an oversight. The Council discourages the use of this method for items requiring documentation and study, unless delivered in advance, or items of a controversial nature since public notice thereof has not been given in advance); or
(2) At the end of the agenda at the preceding regular meeting;
(3) At any time between meetings by request to the Manager.
c. Request of the Manager.
d. Request of the Town Attorney.
3. Items on the Agenda. No item shall be placed on the agenda until all necessary relevant reports, supporting data, and memoranda are available for distribution with the packet and the agenda.
4. Adding Items to the Agenda. No item may be added to the Council’s agenda during a meeting without the unanimous consent of all members present at the meeting.
5. Order of the Agenda. The agenda shall be set in the following order:
a. Ceremonies.
b. Public hearings, if any.
c. Oral and written petitions.
d. Consent Agenda - items of a routine nature will be placed on the Consent Agenda to be voted on in a block. The Mayor and the Manager will decide which items will be placed on the Consent Agenda. Consideration of minutes shall normally be the first item on the consent agenda.
e. Staff reports and general information.
f. Old Business.
g. Items having wide public concern or likely to result in the attendance of citizens interested in them.
h. Routine matters of a housekeeping nature with less public interest.
i. Appointments.
j. Closed Session, if needed.
6. Removal of Items from the Agenda. The Council may remove items from the agenda on the regular agenda or the consent agenda:
a. Removal of an item not on the consent agenda may be requested by Council Member(s) during the petition time.
If a Council Member desires to have an item removed from the agenda of a meeting at which the Council Member will not be present, a written request shall be distributed to the Council by the Friday prior to the meeting. At the meeting, the Mayor shall present the written request to the Council for a vote.
Five affirmative votes shall be necessary to remove an item from the agenda. Items removed, unless noted otherwise, will be placed on the agenda of the next similarly scheduled (regular or public hearing) meeting of the Council.
b. Removal of Consent Agenda Items.
Any item may be removed from the consent agenda by the request of the Mayor or any member of the Council at the time during the Council meeting that the consent agenda is considered.
A Council Member who wishes to remove an item from the consent agenda should so inform the Manager no later than 3:00 p.m. on the day of the Council meeting so that the Manager will be able to arrange attendance of staff as he determines necessary.
7. Delivery of Agenda and Packet to Council. The Council has directed that the agenda and all supporting materials (packet) be distributed to the Mayor and Council no later than Thursday evening preceding each regular meeting of the Council. Other mail or material may be delivered with the packet.
8. Distribution to the Public. Copies of the agenda, minutes and all related materials distributed with the packet will be made available to the news media, usually by the morning after they are delivered to the Council, depending on their length and the copying resources of the Town. A copy of the packet is also delivered to the Chapel Hill Public Library, usually by the morning after delivery to the Council. Copies of the agenda are made available for the public at each Council meeting.
C. Meeting Procedures.
1. Presiding Officer. Under the Charter, the Mayor is the presiding officer, and in the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor pro tempore. Neither General Law nor the Charter provide for a presiding officer in the absence of both the Mayor and the Mayor pro tempore. Parliamentary usage would permit the Council to select a Chair Pro Tempore from the quorum of members present for this purpose.
2. Quorum. Five members of the Council are necessary for a quorum. The Mayor is counted in determining whether a quorum is present. Each Council Member is asked to notify the Mayor if he or she will be absent.
3. Staff Presentation. Prior to discussion of each item on the agenda, the presiding officer may call upon the Town Manager or such other appropriate person for the purpose of background presentation of the business to be discussed.
4. Discussion. Parliamentary procedure (see Section I.C.10 - Parliamentary Procedure) requires that a motion be on the floor prior to discussion. However, the practice of the Council, in some instances, has been to discuss an item on the agenda prior to a motion's being made. Persons other than the Mayor and Council Members may enter into discussion on a matter only by ruling of the Chair. As with all rulings by the Chair, this decision may be overridden by a majority of the Council.
5. Order of Discussion. Parliamentary practices indicate that all members desiring to discuss a matter under consideration should be given an opportunity to do so prior to any member's being able to discuss the item more than once. The Council practice has not adhered strictly to this procedure.
6. Public Participation. Citizens who wish to speak on matters on the agenda may sign up with the Town Clerk at the beginning of the meeting and will be recognized when the Council reaches that item on the agenda.
7. Petitions to the Council. The Council hears petitions, either written or oral, at the beginning of each regular meeting. By resolution, the Council has agreed that:
a. Citizens may petition the Council regarding matters germane to Town policies or business but not appearing on the agenda at petition time. Citizens desiring to present such petitions are strongly encouraged to contact the Mayor's or Town Manager's office by the Tuesday before a Monday night meeting to indicate their desire to petition Council and so that the agenda distributed to Council Members will reflect their petition under the "petition" heading of the agenda. Generally, petitions will be limited to three minutes per speaker. The Council may, by a two-thirds vote of those present, extend the time for petitions on any subject.
The Council strongly discourages petitions regarding a matter which recently has been, or which soon will be, before the Council as a public hearing item. Petition time is not intended to substitute for public hearings.
b. Except in the case of urgency, petitions shall not be acted upon at the time they are presented. After hearing a petition, the Council shall, by simple motion, receive it and dispose of it as follows (receiving does not imply approval, agreement, or consent):
(1) Consideration at a future regular meeting of the Council; or
(2) Referral to another board or committee for study and report; or
(3) Referral to the Town Manager for investigation and report.
c. It shall take a unanimous vote of the Council Members present declaring a petition to be of unusual urgency for such petition to be acted upon immediately upon its presentation. Unless all members of Council are present, only petitions which have been distributed with the Agenda materials in advance may be considered for action upon their presentation.
d. Members of the Council may also petition the Council, generally to ask the Town staff for a report on a particular subject. Petitions from Council Members should be distributed to the Mayor and Council in writing prior to the meeting or at the start of the meeting.
8. Time Limits.
Exclusive of matters to be discussed in Closed Session, the Council will not begin discussion of an agenda item after 10:30 p.m. without the affirmative vote of two-thirds of those members present.