2011-04-25 Study Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Welsch said as she understands, the consensus we just reached on Rule 12 would indicate the discussion would not be under Council Reports. She said Mr. Crow, Mr. Sharpe and Mr. Glickert suggested it should happen among the Councilmembers in Rule 13. Mr. Kraft said if you have a motion and someone makes an amendment you can say Madam Chair, may I ask a Council person why they want that amendment. You don’t just ask a person, you ask for permission from the Chair according to Roberts Rules. Mr. Kraft suggested that you could have a discussion in other parts of the agenda, not just in Council Comments. Mr. Sharpe said that Council Comments is not a section where you would make a motion but rather it is a section where you would have a discussion. Mr. Kraft said that he just meant there could be questions in other parts of the agenda where motions could be made. Mayor Welsch said if it was written in a way that if any Councilmember brings up an item for discussion it will be allowed. She said that is what she would encourage in Rule 12. Mr. Kraft said that the way it is written and the way he reads it, it is designed that at any time or at any portion of the agenda, someone can say if there is an agreement with the majority of Council that would like to do x,y,or z, then you can do it. He asked Mr. Mulligan if that was right. Mr. Mulligan agreed. Mr. Kraft said that as he understands it, the Charter says that the Mayor presides over the Council meetings and the Mayor is like the Judge in the courtroom. We have rules and the Judge makes the call on whether or not the rules are being followed. He said with Rules, 12, 13 & 14, if a question comes up and somebody raises a Point of Order, it is up to the Mayor to decide whether or not that particular rule is being adhered to. Mr. Kraft said in the end, under the Charter and under typical legislative practice the Mayor makes the call on how that rule is going to need to be enforced, subject to being overruled by a majority of Council. Ms. Ricci asked if any kind of an analysis of other municipalities was done. Mayor Welsch said there had not been an analysis done. She said U City’s way is a little different than some cities because we have a City Manager form of government so basically the agenda is set up as: City Manager’s business and the Legislative business Ms. Ricci said that what struck her is they say public comment, not public participation on a lot of these. She said we are reporting on the business of the City in one and the other is we are sharing ideas or having a discussion about an issue. Mr. Glickert asked if one could disagree with the Judge or the Mayor. Mr. Kraft said the Council can over-ride a Mayor’s decision by a vote of the majority. He said he would like to have a chance to discuss the agenda before the actual meeting starts. Mr. Kraft asked if the Council should consider a spot to ask the student liaison if they have anything to add. Mr. Crow said that he is following up on Ms. Ricci’s comment, on Rule 10 number 16 where it says Council Comments, if it could be broaden to Council Comments and Questions. Council Comments, in his mind, does mean a one-way street. He thought maybe Council Communication would encompass it all. Mr. Kraft said his concern would be how it might extend a meeting, especially if it was already long. He said there was something to be said about everyone getting to say their thing and know that’s it’s not going to be a source of another round of discussions. Mr. Kraft said if there is going to be a back and forth, it should have been during the meeting on the agenda items. Mr. Kraft said the problem with an open discussion on Council Comments would be that somebody can bring up a topic that hasn’t been brought up before and there could be another hour of discussion started and when it is