CC Minutes - 04/12/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ms. Nathanson said she would not support the motion to strike the sentence in its entirety. She said the purpose of the sentence was to provide the council with instructions on how to conduct business. She noted that she has witnessed a considerable number of poorly written ordinances and other documents being passed as the result of the council attempting to write by committee. Mr. Papd concurred with Ms. Nathanson. Mr. Kelly offered a friendly amendment to Mr. Meisner's motion. He suggested that the sentence be rewritten to read: "Generally, councilors should give direction to staff and bring back amended ordinances for council consideration." Mr. Meisner accepted the friendly amendment. The amended motion passed unanimously, 6:0. · (Page 6): Typographical correction requiring no amendment: The section entitled "Councilor Request for Staff Assistance" should be numbered 8. · During the March 15 meeting of City Council, Mr. Kelly proposed, and the City Manager agreed, that the "15-minute rule" on staff presentations would be codified; however, such codification is absent from the current draft. Propose the inclusion of the following language: "Except for extraordinary circumstances, the total time for staff and outside presentations on a single agenda item shall be no more than 15 minutes." Mr. Kelly moved, seconded by Mr. Meisner, that the following language be included on page 1, under the "Work Session" section: "Except for extraordinary circumstances, the total time for staff and outside presentations on a single agenda item shall be no more than 15 minutes." Mr. Meisner said he would support the motion because the proposed language codifies what the council has requested of staff. He stressed that the proposed amendment does allow for exceptions in extraordinary circumstances. The motion passed, 5:1; with Mr. Pap~ opposed. · (Page 1): Under "Time of Meetings:" Request an explanation of why the original draft described "regular meetings" and the latest draft describes "formal meetings." "Regular meetings" is a term used several places in the City Charter, whereas "formal meeting" is never used in the charter. The new draft defines the first "formal meeting" of the month as the "regular meeting," thus pointing out that the council has only one "regular meeting" per month. This has charter implications in such sections as election of council president and attendance requirements of the councilors (Section 23). It may also have code implications. Mr. Klein explained that the City Charter requires that the City Council describe one monthly meeting as a "regular meeting." It has been the council's practice to deem its first evening meeting each month a "regular meeting." He said the council can amend Section 2.007 of the City Code to identify the meeting of its choice as the "regular meeting." Mr. Kelly requested that staff bring back to the council draft language of such an amendment. Mr. Meisner moved, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, to add to paragraph 1 of Section 6 on page 4 a third sentence stating that the Intergovernmental Relations Committee is the standing committee of City Council. The motion passed unanimously, 6:0. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 12, 1999 Page 7 7:30 p.m.