Title
Discussion about Councilmember Reports at Meetings
Recommended Action
City Manager Recommendation:
Discuss and provide guidance.
Report
Issue:
Shall General Government Committee recommend an amendment to Council's Guidelines regarding Reports?
Staff Contact:
Cathie Butler, Communications Manager, 360.753.8361
Presenter(s):
Cathie Butler, Communications Manager
Background and Analysis:
A regular agenda item for Council business meetings is "Councilmember Reports."
Here is the current statement about Councilmember Reports from the Council's Guidelines:
3.9 Councilmember Reports
Councilmember Reports are intended to allow Councilmembers an opportunity to share brief updates on committee and Council assignments and to seek guidance and direction. Councilmembers should do their best to be concise and restrict their remarks to these topics. Generally, Councilmember Reports should be no more than 5 minutes each.
For reports about Council Committee actions, the Committee's chair should give a brief recap of the substance of the Committee's discussion and recommendations. Items needing Council action or discussion will be scheduled for a subsequent Council meeting, so that all Councilmembers and the public have background information on the topic and any recommendations.
It is staff's observation that the "Councilmember Reports" item has evolved and lengthened over the years. Initially, the Report was a brief recap of information about significant issues/actions related to Councilmember interlocal assignments and to share how the Councilmember intended to "vote" on Olympia's behalf. If Council agreed that substantive discussion and/or action was needed, the topic was scheduled for a subsequent Council meeting. In recent years, Councilmembers have also used this portion of the agenda to:
* Recap discussion at Council Committee meetings
* Seek substantive discussion and/or direction on Interlocal assignment and/or Council c...
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