HomeMy WebLinkAbout9B - City Council Meeting Format
16200 Eagle Creek Avenue S.E.
Prior Lake, MN 55372-1714
MEETING DATE:
AGENDA #:
PREPARED BY:
AGENDA ITEM:
DISCUSSION:
ALTERNATIVES:
RECOMMENDED
MOTION:
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
April 17, 200G~ f\"
98 ~ ~
Frank Boyles, City Mana~
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF REPORT REGARDING MODIFICATIONS IN
CITY COUNCIL MEETING FORMAT
Introduction
The purpose of this agenda item is to solicit City Council feedback regarding
reformatting Council meetings to provide better customer service.
Historv
At the April 3,2006, meeting, the City Council discussed proposals that the
Mayor and I suggested for providing better and more friendly customer service.
The recommendations and summary of Council comments were as follows:
. Beain City Council meetinas at 6 D.m. There appeared to be unanimous
support for this proposal.
. Conduct an abbreviated workshoD before each meetina commencina at 5 D.m.
There appeared to be support for this proposal as well.
. Fold town meetinas into the Council meetina. There was mixed reaction to
this proposal. It seemed to be acceptable for smaller town meetings, but for
large issues or time-consuming matters, the sentiment seemed to be to
conduct them outside of the Council meeting.
. Meetina endina time. A suggestion was made by some members of the
Council to provide a limit of 11 p.m., after which no new agenda item could be
considered. A question was raised regarding agenda items for which people
were waiting that are not addressed by 11 p.m.
Current Circumstances
This item is placed on tonight's agenda to determine if Council members have
any more ideas on this topic. If so, it would be appropriate to share them at
the meeting.
As a second discussion topic, the Council may wish to review the draft
revisions (attached) to the City Council bylaws to see if they accurately and
completely reflect your desires. This item will be placed on the May 1, 2006,
agenda for final City Council approval.
Conclusion
The Council should provide the staff with direction on this topic as it sees fit.
1. Provide staff direction.
2. Take no action.
Alternative #1.
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CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA
MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
BYLAWS
Adopted on May 27, 1986
Revised:
January 1991
January 1993
May 1993
January 1994
January 1995
January 1996
January 1997
May 1997
January 1998
March 1998
January 1999
April 2000
October 2002
March 2006
May 2006
FRANK BOYLES
CITY MANAGER
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SECTION 100:
PURPOSE
101: Purpose of the Prior Lake City Council Bylaws is to provide the members of the City Council
with a set of operating procedures designed to guide them during the Council meetings, and
to establish a code of ethics and conduct.
102: The Bylaws shall be considered and adopted at the Annual Meeting of the Prior Lake City
Council. The Annual Meeting is the first regular meeting in January. Bylaws can be reviewed
and amended at any meeting other than the Annual Meeting. Any changes or amendments to
the Bylaws shall follow this procedure:
102.1 A motion to amend a specific section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, or line is
proposed.
102.2 A second to the motion is required.
102.3 Discussion on the Bylaws amendment occurs.
102.4 The vote is taken. A simple majority is required to pass the Bylaws at the annual
meeting. A super majority is required at any meeting other than the annual meeting.
SECTION 200:
REGULAR, SPECIAL AND EMERGENCY MEETINGS, AND WORK SESSIONS
201: Except as otherwise provided in the Minnesota Open Meeting Law, M.S.A., Section 471.705,
all meetings of the City Council, including regular, special, emergency, work sessions, and
adjourned meetings shall be open to the public.
202: REGULAR MEETINGS: The Prior Lake City Council regular meeting shall be held on the first
and third Mondays of each month commencing at +- 6:00 p.m. All regular meetings shall be
held in the designated City Council Chambers. A Public Forum will be incorporated into the
regular meeting agenda following the adoption of the agenda. The Public Forum will last no
later than 30 minutes. The purpose of the Forum is to afford the public an opportunity to
address concerns to the Council. Items to be considered on the agenda cannot be addressed
at the Public Forum. Forum items are also restricted to City governmental topics rather than
as a mechanism for private agendas. Public Forums are included as part of the regular
meeting minutes and cablecast live.
When a regular meeting is projected to fall on an official holiday, the City Council shall
reschedule the meeting for the following business day. The City Council may consult with the
City Manager to determine the amount of business pending and decide by majority vote to
reschedule or cancel a meeting. The City Manager shall post notice and publish in the paper
the decision of the City Council to reschedule or cancel the meeting pursuant to the Open
Meeting Law. A City Council member shall inform the City Manager when an absence is
planned or pending prior to the meeting. The City Manager shall inform the members of the
City Council at the meeting that the member cannot be in attendance at the meeting.
203: SPECIAL MEETINGS: Special Meetings may be called by any two (2) members of the City
Council. Written notice shall be given to each member of the City Council of the time, place
and purpose of the meeting. The notice shall be delivered to the member or a responsible
person at the member's residence at least three days in advance of the meeting. (See City
Code Section 105.200) Notice shall be posted at City Hall and provided to any member of the
public or news media who have requested notification in writing.
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204: The agenda for a regular meeting will be prepared by the City Manager and shall be available
the Wednesday before the following Monday meeting, except in the event of a holiday during
agenda preparation week in which case the agenda will be available on Thursday. The
agenda shall include the items set forth in Section 400 - Meeting Agenda Format and Consent
Agenda. Copies of the agenda, supporting documentation and minutes from the previous
meeting shall be made available to the public:
203.1 Once the materials have been delivered to the Councilmembers.
203.2 A copy of the agenda materials will be available in the Council Chambers for
public inspection at the time of the meeting.
203.3 Agenda materials will also be available online through the City's website on the
Thursday preceding the City Council regular meeting.
205: EMERGENCY MEETINGS: The Mayor or City Manager may call an emergency meeting.
Notice of the emergency meeting shall be given by either telephone, fax or written notice to
members of the City Council. Notice shall be provided to each news medium and individual
that has filed a written request for notice. Posted or published notice of an emergency meeting
shall not be required. An "emergency" meeting is a special meeting called because of
circumstances that require immediate consideration by the City Council.
206: WORK SESSIONS: The City Manager may schedule work sessions subject to Council
approval. The purpose of the work session is to afford the City Council, City Manager and City
staff the opportunity to discuss policy matters in a more informal environment. Public input will
not be allowed unless specifically scheduled in the agenda. The work session may be
canceled at the discretion of the City Manager.
207: CITY COUNCIL FORUM: A City Council "Forum" shall be scheduled at '1 6 p.m. as part of
each City Council meeting. The Forum shall not exceed thirty (30) minutes. No individual
presentation shall exceed ten (10) minutes. If more than three (3) persons desire to speak, the
time allotted for each presentation shall be reduced equally to stay within the time limit. To be
recognized, individuals who desire to participate in the Forum shall use the sign-up sheet
provided outside the City Council Chambers. The sign-up sheet shall be available at 5:3Q p.m.
The Forum is provided as an opportunity for residents, business owners and property owners
of Prior Lake to address the City Council on any subject that is of community interest, provides
information required by the Council to complete its duties, or is provided by agencies
representing citizens of Prior Lake.
207.1 Every individual who addresses the Council at the Forum must first be recognized by
the presiding officer and then shall state his/her name and address before beginning
any comments. The city manager shall be the timekeeper for the Forum so that each
speaker receives an appropriate amount of time.
207.2 No Council action may take place during the Forum. However, Councilmembers may
express their views or reaction to a presentation and may ask questions of the
presenter.
207.3 At the conclusion of the Forum, the Council may, by motion and majority vote, indicate
its interest that the subject matter of a Forum presentation be placed on a subsequent
City Council agenda.
207.4 Items to be considered on the agenda may not be addressed at the Public Forum.
Forum items are also restricted to City governmental topics rather than as a platform
for private agendas.
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401.4 Approval of Minutes
401.5 Consent Agenda
· With the adoption of these Bylaws, a Consent Agenda is created. The purpose of
the "Consent Agenda" is to group items of a routine and non-controversial nature
for consideration under one motion. There will be no separate discussion of items
placed on the "Consent Agenda". If discussion of an item on the "Consent
Agenda" is desired, any member of the Council can request that item must be
removed from the Consent Agenda and considered separately.
· The City Manager shall determine what items may be considered routine and non-
controversial; and therefore appropriate for inclusion as a Consent Agenda item.
To provide the City Manager with guidance, the following types of items tend to be
routine and non-controversial: grant deeds, grants of easements, adoption of
ordinances and resolutions previously considered by the city council, investment
report, quarterly budget report, treasurer's report, animal control report, building
inspection report, non-controversial license requests, standard development
contracts, calls for bid, reports of administrative actions and proposals, leases and
agreements previously approved in principle, reports for filing or setting dates for
public hearings, approval of payment of contracts, approval or denial of claims,
award of bids, or any other item the City Manager considers routine and non-
controversial.
· The City Council Agenda sheet shall include the following statement:
"Those items on the Council Agenda which are considered routine and non-
controversial are included as part of the Consent Agenda. Items may be removed
from the Consent Agenda at the request of any Councilmember or the City
Manager.
401.2 Removed Consent Agenda Items
401.3 Presentations
· The City Manager may schedule presentations before the City Council giving
preference to presenters and topics that relate to City governmental business.,
Presentations are not action items.
401.4 Public Hearings I Town Meetings
401.5 Old Business
401.6 New Business.
401.7 Other Business - Including Community Events and Councilmember Reports
· Members of the City Council and staff may present items under Other Business
that will be discussed and deliberated for the first time. These items should, for the
most part, be informational. The City Council has the authority to request action or
take a formal position on the item(s); however, this shall be done on an item-by-
item basis.
401.8 Adjournment
402: CITY MANAGER TO DETERMINE AGENDA: It shall be the responsibility of the City Manager
to prepare and decide the City Council agenda. The City Manager shall be responsible for
overseeing and reviewing the preparation of all agenda items.
402.1 If a member of the publiC requests to appear before the City Councilor requests an
item to be placed on the Council agenda, the City Manager shall determine whether
the item should appropriately be considered by the City Council at a regular meeting.
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402.2 If the City Manager determines that an item should not be placed on a City Council
agenda, the City Manager may recommend that the individual appear at a City Council
Forum.
402.3 The City Manager shall maintain a list of items scheduled to appear on meeting
agendas. The City Manager shall endeavor to manage the anticipated length of
Council meetings in order to assure each matter receives full and fair consideration,
and that the meeting can be concluded by 11 p.m.
402.4 The City Council maintains final authority to approve, disapprove or modify the
agenda.
403: The presiding officer may call a recess at any time during the meeting. Except for recesses for
executive sessions, the presiding officer shall announce the length of the recess. The purpose
of the recess is to provide the City Council, City staff and the public attending the meeting with
a short rest period from the Council business.
404: Unless waived by motion, second and majority vote, no agenda item shall be initiated after 11
p.m. If a motion to extend the meeting is tendered, it shall include the time the meeting is to
be adjourned. A meeting, once extended, must be adjourned at the time specified in the
approved motion to extend.
SECTION 500:
QUORUM AND VOTING PROCEDURES
501: At each meeting, a majority of all the members elected (3 out of 5) shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business.
502: The voting options available to the City Council when a vote has been initiated are: aye - an
affirmative vote; nay - a negative vote. A Councilmember may abstain only when they have a
disqualifying conflict of interest.
503: Except as authorized in Minn. Stat. 471.88, a public officer who is authorized to take part in
any manner in making any sale, lease, or contract in official capacity shall not voluntarily have
a personal financial interest in that sale, lease, or contract or personally benefit financially
therefrom. Minn. Stat. Section 471.87
504: A public official or local official elected to or appointed by a metropolitan governmental unit
who in the discharge of official duties would be required to take an action or make a decision
that would substantially affect the official's financial interests or those of an associated
business, unless the effect on the official is no greater than on other members of the official's
business classification, profession or occupation, must take the following actions:
504.1 advise the City Attorney of the potential conflict of interest as soon as possible,
preferably before the meeting; and
504.2 The City Attorney shall determine whether a disqualifying conflict of interest exists.
504.3 Any Councilmember shall orally inform the City Council of the potential conflict and
abstain from any participation in that agenda item.
505: The purpose behind the creation of a rule, which would disqualify public officials from
participating in proceedings in a decision-making capacity when they have a direct conflict of
interest in its outcome, is to insure that their decision will not be an arbitrary reflection of their
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