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(Some members of Council have not been permitted to exercise the right of inquiry, unless the entire Council votes to allow them to do so, while others have, as a matter of course, consulted staff on a daily basis.)Councilmember Carrstated all members of Council must begin to respect this Rule by being cognizant of the fact that we must operatethrough the City Manager. Asking permission to approach staff is the absolute correct thing to do. It is not okay to do it and then apologize; this practice has to stop. Everyone will have access if we apply the rules equally. She then made a motion to amend CouncilmemberMcMahon's motion to include and reaffirm the Rule of Interference. It was seconded by CouncilmemberSmotherson. Mayor Welsch stated she believes the Charter is clear about a member's right to make inquiries of staff without asking for any one's permission. Therefore, she is not in support of Councilmember Carr's motion. She stated that she also would not support CouncilmemberMcMahon's motion because it infers that something had been done incorrectly, when in fact, the comments referenced by CouncilmemberMcMahon were made by MSD during the June 20th meeting. Mayor Welsch stated she fully understands that she is the Mayor of this City and a member of City Council, and could not support anything that seems toindicate she has been doing something wrong. CouncilmemberCrow stated every now and then it's okay to acknowledge that you've made a mistake. He then concurred with the comments made by Councilmember Carr regarding the disparities that have occurred over the last six years in the application of the Rule of Interference, while the Mayor sat on her hands and did nothing to assist her. CouncilmemberCrow stated that contrary to the Mayor's statement, the words published in the newsletter appear to be her own. Nevertheless, the most important aspect of this discussion is one member of Council's absolute casualness about her practice of discussing issues with department directors prior to approaching the City Manager. Because according to the City's Charter, that dog doesn't hunt. CouncilmemberCrow stated Council is under a microscope that will be viewed by prospective employees to determine whether U City is the right place for them to be. So there is a need to make certain that everyone is treatedin a professional manner; that individuals are following the City's Charter, as well as Council Rules, and that all seven members are rollingin the same direction. Mayor Welsch stated she does not ever recall sitting on this dais and hearing Mr. Walker say that Councilmember Carr's inquiries of staff would not be honored unless all members of Council were in agreement. She would like to go on record and state that MSD's correspondence had, in fact, invited her, as the head of City government, to attend their meetings, and that's exactly what her article in the newsletter says. Mayor Welsch stated that one facet of her role is to protect the rights of Council. Since the Charter does state that except for the right of inquiry members must go through the City Manager, she will admit that sometimes her discussions with Mr. Adams have been before and someafter-the-fact. But here again, since the Charter gives her the authority to do so, she has no intentions of giving up that entitlement. Councilmember Carrstated that as the Mayor well knows, everything does not always happen during the course of a meeting. Page 11 of 16