SUBJECT:
Title
A Resolution of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Erie Amending the Board of Trustees Rules of Order and Procedure
Body
DEPARTMENT:
PRESENTERS: Malcolm Fleming, Town Administrator; Kendra Carberry, Town Attorney; Heidi Leatherwood, Town Clerk
TIME ESTIMATE: 15 minutes
only required for non-consent items
FISCAL SUMMARY:
Cost as Recommended:
Balance Available:
Budget Line Item Number:
New Appropriation Required:
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution approving proposed amendments to the Board of Trustees’ Rules of Order and Procedure.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
In 2003 the Board adopted Rules of Order and Procedure to guide the conduct of Board meetings. Since that time, the Board has amended the Rules 7 times to incorporate applicable changes in State law and to improve the effectiveness with which the Board conducts meetings. Working collaboratively, the Town Administrator, Town Attorney and Town Clerk have identified additional changes and recommend amending the Rules again to update the provisions to make them consistent with current State Law, to reflect new procedures for publishing the agenda and to clarify certain aspects of how the Board conducts meetings.
They proposed amendments include:
1. Adding specific provisions regarding the Advance Agenda.
2. Changing the day for publishing the agenda packet from Thursday to Friday, and providing for electronic publishing instead of posting. Although staff strives to publish the agenda packet on Thursdays, that is not always possible, especially when an item is considered by the Planning Commission or other advisory Board the week before the Board meeting and all parties want to expedite the turnaround. Thus, amending the Rules to provide for Friday publishing will avoid violating the Rules (which has occurred routinely for many years).
3. Adding a section clarifying the Election Related Actions that happen at the 1st Board meeting after the municipal election (the newly elected members shall be sworn in, the Board shall elect the Mayor Pro Tem, the Board shall appoint the Town Officers (Town Administrator, Town Attorney, Town Treasurer and Town Clerk) and the Town Clerk shall swear in said Officers.
4. Clarifying that the Public Comment time during the early portion of the meeting agenda is for matters not on the agenda, and that public comments on matters that are on the agenda are taken when those matters are discussed by the Board. This change will clarify the Board’s Rule to facilitate a consistent record so someone watching a meeting (or reviewing the record of the meeting) can see all comments related to an item, grouped with that item, instead of potentially missing comments that without this change in the Rules could otherwise be given at the beginning of the meeting.
5. Consolidating separate agenda categories for Proclamations, Resolutions and Ordinances under the “General Business” category, to make it easier to organize and order the agenda to be most conducive to public involvement and the efficient use of the Board’s, presenter’s and Town staff’s time.
6. Deleting requirements for swearing in anyone who comments in a public hearing, as that is not legally required.
7. Allowing for remote/virtual meetings as provided for in the Town’s Remote Meeting Policy.
8. Deleting the reference to a motion to refer, as no one uses this, and a motion to continue is the same thing, and easier.
9. Numerous grammatical corrections.
10. Deleted Section 8, pertaining to Ordinances and Resolutions, and some sections of Section 9, because they repeated provisions from other sections, incorrectly in some instances and inconsistently at best, and because the last provision in Section 8 requiring the Town Clerk to keep copies is already required by State law, so is not necessary for Board rules.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution
2. Trustees Rules of Order and Procedure (clean draft)
3. Rules of Order and Procedure (showing proposed amendments in strikeout (delete) and underline (add) format).