Title
Adjustments to Commission Policy 1-3, Public Meetings
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Staff recommends the City Commission review and discuss proposed changes to Commission Policy 1-3, Public Meetings, and provide direction for staff.
BACKGROUND:
Commission Policy 1-3, Public Meetings, was adopted March 5, 1997. There has been some suggested changes and staff felt the best way to address these were to incorporate them into this policy.
The suggested changes include:
1. Limit all city boards, commissions, and committees to adjourning their meetings no later than 10:00 p.m. or extended to no later than 11:00 p.m. with unanimous agreement of the governing body present at the meeting.
2. All city boards, commissions, and committees to providing a minimum of action minutes, so a change from always providing summary minutes to some action minutes and summary minutes where necessary.
As you may recall, the City Commission updated their Rules of Procedure in 2015 to include the adjournment time of meetings. In support of change number one listed above, it is being proposed that all city boards, commissions, and committees impose this same time limit. There are several times over the last year that the Planning Commission, Historic Review Board, and other meetings have been later than 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. As a City that would like to encourage more citizen participation, as City Commission Goal #4 states, it is hard to expect working volunteers to attend meetings that go extremely late and still get up and go to work in the morning.
As background to suggestion number two listed above, the City has fallen behind and is constantly struggling to keep up with various boards and committees meeting minutes. Moving to action minutes would reduce staff time, save money, and resources, while allowing staff to catch-up and stay up on the various minutes. There has been suggestions from a citizen to keep up on all the City's boards, committees, and commission mi...
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