Item B: City Council Process Session

Home Browse Search

ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: City Council Process Session Meeting Date: October 27, 2010 Agenda Item Number: B Department: City Manager’s Office Staff Contact: Keli Osborn/Beth Forrest www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5406/541-682-5882 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY This work session is part of an ongoing opportunity for the City Council to discuss how it conducts its business. The council meets periodically to talk about its processes and operating agreements. BACKGROUND The most recent process sessions occurred in June and August 2010. To recap, the council has affirmed the following: 1.Postponing action or work session items at a councilor’s request Staff presented a suggested “Out of Office Notification” form in an earlier packet and it is included as Attachment A. The form is intended to facilitate requests and tracking. It can be provided by email or hard copy and a supply of printed forms will be in the council office. City Council review of the proposed tentative working agendas provided as part of your Consent Calendar also offers a chance to note the intersection between councilor absences and critical meetings. Staff will avoid suggesting goals and process sessions, as well as certain other topic- specific meetings, when councilors forecast an absence. 2.Constituent contacts The council agreed that staff should respond to service and operational questions and complaints that come to the Mayor and City Council, and inform the council of the outcomes. Reports from the Public Service Officer will be provided to the council every two weeks, summarizing staff responses, and council also will receive copies of acknowledgements to constituents that a request has been received and when to expect a response. CMO staff will continue to refine reporting on customer and citizen contacts, including those which occur in departments. The council has provided direction or requested options for the following: 1.Requests for contingency funds The council asked that staff offer stronger criteria for approving expenditures from contingency funds. These are included in Attachment B. To support these deliberations by council, staff will make the criteria available at council meetings – through an agenda item summary when the request is anticipated. 2.Work session polls as part of regular council business Councilors in August voted to require a response to polls in a timely manner. As polls obtain sufficient votes, the Mayor and City Manager review the list of pending items, their relationship Z:\CMO\2010 Council Agendas\M101027\S101027B.doc