The Rules Subcommittee met on Wednesday, April 8. See the report and meeting video.
Approved and recommended to the Programs & Services Committee
- 180-day requirement and withdrawal of docket items — 4-0. The two items involved the language of the 180-day requirement for docket items to be discussed by the referred committee and the ability for docketers to withdraw items without a committee vote of No Action Necessary. The ability to withdraw items was seen as a way to reduce committee and Council time spent on items that the docketers are no longer interested in pursuing.
- Financial Audit Advisory Committee composition — 4-0. Change to allow the Finance Committee Chair to designate another Finance Committee member in their place on the Financial Audit Advisory Committee.
- Roll call vote order — 3-1 (Baker opposed). Change to a rotating alphabetical start rather than always A–Z. A councilor suggested the current format may influence councilors whose names fall later in the alphabet. The Chair noted that the City Clerk’s office had previously expressed concern that a rotating format could render votes invalid if not followed correctly. The committee recommended changing the order alphabetically each meeting, except for the president.
No Action Necessary
- Robert’s Rules of Order visual aide — 4-0. A councilor asked whether a visual aide on motions could be produced after a recent City Council meeting saw uncertainty about a “Call of the Question” motion. The committee suggested such a tool would be better placed in the City Council’s “Best Practices” document rather than the rules themselves.
Held
- Meeting minutes/report for City Council meetings — held pending consultation with the City Clerk’s office, which would be responsible for producing a report on First Call items, which are unanimously approved without discussion.
- Auto Licenses — held pending consultation with PS&T and the Law Department about whether auto dealer licenses could be processed by an administrative body rather than a legislative committee.
- Committee Composition Requirements— held for further discussion. The current requirement of one councilor per ward on each committee can prevent councilors with relevant professional expertise from serving on committees where that expertise would be valuable.
Present: Councilors Baker (Chair), Krintzman, Oliver, and Charm.
Also present: Councilors Roche, Dahmubed, and Malakie.
City staff: Miles Starkey, Committee Clerk.
