10/20/1989 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council Board Room--Hilton Hotel October 20, 1989 4 p.m. . . COUNCILORS PRESENT: Ruth Bascom, Robert Bennett, Shawn Boles, Debra Ehrman, Bobby Green (until 6:30 p.m.), Freeman Holmer, Roger Rutan, Emily Schue. FACILITATOR: Sharon Thorne The special meeting of the Eugene City Council was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. Sharon Thorne summarized the threefold purpose of the session as being to 1) understand each other's views; 2) clarify differences; and 3) affirm a definition of the council's roles with which the majority agree. e I. COUNCIL ROLES Referring to the questionnaire councilors completed for the session, Sharon suggested focusing attention on those topics on which councilors differ the most in their levels of satisfaction. Councilors agreed to explore their perceptions of the council's performance in six areas. A. To support decisions made by the council though your individual belief may differ from that of the council Councilors discussed different definitions of "support." They focused on th~ difference between actively supporting and being quiet on an issue, not sabotaging a council decision, working with constituents who oppose a council decision, determining the will of the public, and how individual actions can affect the council's ability to govern. They reached agreement that before a vote has been taken, councilors are free to express their personal views. Once a vote has been taken and a decision made, councilors are to support that decision by not yenerating citizen opposition and by being judiCiOUS in describing their own opposition. Consensus: Council reaffirms that councilors may debate/differ/engage in any form of opposition before the council has decided an issue. After decision, councilors are expected to support the decision made. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 20, 1989 Page 1 Goals Session