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<br />e <br /> <br />Mr. Boles noted that the City Council does not have to remain neutral on all <br />issues. It is a council policy that when a councilor in the minority is <br />taking a position on an issue, he or she must state explicitly that it is not <br />the council's position. <br /> <br />C. Council Working Relationships <br /> <br />Mr. Rutan raised a concern that council discussion has been increasingly <br />plagued by argument and debate, rather than productive discussion. <br /> <br />Mr. MacDonald agreed with Mr. Rutan that some of the arguing that has taken <br />place recently has been unproductive and said that councilors need to be <br />aware of the distinction between making a speech and stating a perspective. <br /> <br />Mayor Miller noted that councilors usually know when something that they say <br />or the manner in which they say it will irritate another councilor; the coun- <br />cil should make a better effort to avoid this. Mr. Robinette also noted that <br />it is the responsibility of the person speaking to ensure that the message he <br />or she communicated was received as intended. <br /> <br />Mr. Boles pointed out that a variety of philosophical positions exist on the <br />council. However, it is possible to attack another councilor's position on <br />an issue without attacking the person. <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />Mr. Nicholson said that he does not feel that the debate which has taken <br />place has, for the most part, been unproductive. He concurred with Mr. Boles <br />that it merely represents the wide variety of positions that exist on the <br />council. <br /> <br />Mr. Gleason reminded the council that this issue was raised during recent <br />process sessions, from which it created a ground rule: We speak for our- <br />selves. He noted that making jokes about other councilors' comments has been <br />the source of hard feelings recently and asked the council to be more re- <br />spectful of this. <br /> <br />After discussion, the council reinforced the need to respect other council- <br />or's opinions and positions on issues. It recognized that there is a place <br />for humor during council discussion, but that councilors should be sensitive <br />to other councilor's feelings. <br /> <br />D. Council Protocol on Close Votes <br /> <br />Ms. Ehrman said that she is concerned about the process that the council <br />followed on the Blue Water Boats Metro Plan amendment. She said that the <br />Mayor violated the ground rule "we speak for ourselves" when speaking for <br />Councilor Rutan on the issue. In doing this, the council lost any bargaining <br />ability it might have had at the Metro Policy Committee (MPC). <br /> <br />Mayor Miller explained that in stating Mr. Rutan's position on the issue, he <br />was simply trying to save costly and unnecessary staff work. He said that he <br />had discussed the issue with Councilor Rutan and was aware of the position he <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council <br />Quarterly Process Session <br /> <br />June 5, 1991 <br /> <br />Page 3 <br />