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HomeMy WebLinkAboutN-004 - Council Agenda Rpts CITY OF PASCO ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS Administrative Order No. 004 City Council Subject: Council Agenda Reports Initial Effective Date: June 27, 1978 Revised 0/0 Approved I. PURP SE To assure a consistent format and content of information presented for City Council consideration. This order prescribes the style and format of all agenda reports prepared for the City Council, the type of information to be included in the reports, and the deadline for receipt of these reports in the City Manager's office. II. DEPARTMENTS AFFECTED: All. III. POLICY: A. Style and Format of Agenda Reports: A specimen copy of the approved format for Council agenda reports is attached hereto as Exhibit A and is available electronically at: \\Solo\publications\Agenda Reports. Unless specifically approved otherwise by the City Manager, Council agenda reports shall be consistent with the attached example. B. Content of Agenda Reports: (1) REFERENCE(S): In this space list all of the reports, letters, or whatever the nature of your substantiating material that you will have attached to the covering report. If you have a report which you choose not to attach but which you believe the Manager or the Council might be interested in knowing about or is not readily copied (e.g., maps, formal reports, etc.), then list the report and indicate in parentheses where the report can be seen if one were inclined to want to read it (for example: Council packets only; copy available in the Finance Director's office or at the Pasco Library for public review). Any action requested of the Council relating to a specific piece of ground or property must be accompanied by a vicinity map which shall identify enough of the city and appropriate features (streets, alleys, etc.) to make it readily apparent to the reader the geographic location of the subject matter. All attachments should be in a form to be scanned electronically to facilitate placement of the report and its attachments on the city's website. Any referenced item attached to the report and illustrative in nature (maps, drawings, pictures, etc.) should be provided electronically to the communications office to facilitate preparation of the report's material in PowerPoint format for the televised Council meeting. The objective is to provide the Council with sufficient and appropriate information on the basis of which sound decisions can be made. Deciding what is enough is a subjective judgment you will have to make. What is suggested here is to avoid the tendency to overload the Council with repetitive information and unrelated information which is not necessary for the decision- making process. (2) ACTION REQUESTED OF COUNCIL/ STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: The action requested of Council will always differ, depending upon the type of meeting at which the matter is being considered. "Action" at Workshop meetings will necessarily be limited to discussion and/or consensus, as no formal action can be taken by Council during a Workshop meeting. Action at a Regular or Special meeting, however, will typically involve formal action by Council, in the form of one or more motions. For formal action, one should write clearly and specifically the decision one recommends the Council make regarding the subject matter of the report. Preferably, recommendations will be written in the form of the recommended motion for Council use, such as: MOTION: I move to approve the agreement with Franklin County for weed control and, further, authorize the Mayor to sign the agreement. A list of standard motions for City Council regular meetings is attached as Exhibit B and is available electronically at: \\Solo\publications\Agenda Reports. (3) FISCAL IMPACT: This section of the report should reflect (briefly and in summary format) the financial effect of the proposed action, without duplicating all of the information within the main balance of the report. Usually, a brief phrase to note the dollar expenditure and name of the fund absorbing the expenditure will be sufficient (i.e., "$24,000 general fund"). It is always advisable to note here if the proposed expenditure is not provided within the current budget Administrative Order No.004-"Council Agenda Reports" Page 2 (i.e., "will require a budget supplement"). If your report presents financial options for Council consideration, you may summarize the options here (if brief) or simply refer to the comparison of options you have provided in the Discussion section of the agenda report. (4) HISTORY AND FACTS BRIEF: Under this heading, one tells the who, what, when, why, where, and how of the matter. This generally should be a resume of the history of the matter being presented and should stand on its feet as to telling the uninformed what the issue is all about. What you put here is the encapsulated history of the issue. When a Councilmember or a citizen reads what you say under this heading, he or she should have a pretty good idea why the matter is on the agenda, what the problem is that brings the issue to the Council, who originated the request, how it got to the Council, who all has been involved in the issue, etc. A good practice to follow is to forget for a moment that you know anything about the issue, and place yourself in the shoes of the uninformed reader, and say to yourself, "If I read this, would I know enough of the history and facts to know why this matter is on the agenda?" The caution is to not be too skimpy with facts if they are needed to properly set the stage in the reader's mind, but not including a lot of unnecessary details that only seem to confuse or distract from the central issue. (5) DISCUSSION: Under this heading, one lays his or her arguments on the line, and arrays for the reader the most viable of the available alternatives. If one has a particular alternative to defend, then here is where one spells out the reasons why the particular alternative deserves the approach. Again, put yourself in the reader's place and consider whether or not you have made a convincing argument for your case. (6) OTHER COMMENTS: Under this heading, if required, one can add remarks or comments that were not appropriate under other headings. Also, here is where the City Manager can add some additional comments if he/she feels it is necessary. C. Consideration Cycle: The decision making process for City Council actions generally will involve at least two meetings. The initial presentation of an item for Council consideration will normally occur at a Workshop meeting (exceptions are routine actions of an administrative nature, such as acceptance of construction, setting of required public hearings, approval of final plats, etc.). If Council determines, at the conclusion of Administrative Order No. 004-"Council Agenda Reports" Page 3 the Workshop discussion, that the item is ready for formal action, the Mayor will direct the matter be placed on a Regular meeting agenda (usually, the following week). Some items will require further discussion and/or additional information and, therefore, formal action will be delayed accordingly. Agenda reports prepared for the Workshop meeting may require modifications in preparation for formal action; the Department Manager responsible for the initial report is responsible to assure the agenda report is modified appropriately for formal action. D. Deadline for Receipt of Agenda Reports: The deadline for receipt of agenda reports is Thursday noon prior to the Monday night Council meeting. Reports not in on time will be held over until the next succeeding Council Workshop. The desirable objective is for each department manager to advise the City Manager's secretary on Monday about the agenda reports that will be forthcoming from that department during the week but before the Thursday noon cut-off date. Late reports will not be tolerated unless specific permission is given by the City Manager prior to Thursday noon to do so. Late reports will generally relate to emergency conditions beyond the control of the department manager and over which he/she had no control. Late reports not covered by the emergency exemption will be returned to the department manager for re- submittal at the next succeeding Council meeting. Administrative Order No.004-"Council Agenda Reports" Page 4 EXHIBIT A AGENDA REPORT FOR: City Council (Date) TO: Gary Crutchfield, City Manager FROM Workshop Mtg.: mm/dd/yy Regular Mtg.: mm/dd/yy SUBJECT: I. REFERENCE(S): 1. 11. ACTION REQUESTED OF COUNCIL/ STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: mm/dd: Discussion mm/dd: MOTION: I move to 111. FISCAL IMPACT: IV. HISTORY AND FACTS BRIEF: A) B) V. DISCUSSION: A) B) EXHIBIT B STANDARD MOTIONS FOR CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETINGS ACCEPTING WORK PERFORMED: MOTION: I move to approve Resolution No. , accepting the work performed by (name of company, etc.) under contract for the (description of work performed). OR MOTION: I move to approve Resolution No. , accepting the work performed by (name of company, etc.) in the amount of S , including sales tax, for the (description of work performed). SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING: MOTION: I move to set 7:00 p.m., Monday, 200_ as the time and date to conduct a public hearing to consider (purpose of public hearing). SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR STREET VACATION: MOTION: I move to approve Resolution No. , setting 7:00 p.m., Monday, 200 , as the time and date to conduct a public hearing to consider the proposed vacation of (street description). ORDINANCE: MOTION: I move to adopt Ordinance No. , an Ordinance (describe purpose of Ordinance) and, further, authorize publication by summary only. REZONE ORDINANCE: MOTION: I move to adopt Ordinance No. , granting a rezone of (brief property description) from to , as recommended by the Planning Commission and, further, authorize publication by summary only. EXAMPLE OF A MOTION APPROVING AN AGREEMENT: MOTION: I move to approve (agreement) with (name of organization, company, etc.), (description of agreement) and, further, authorize the (Mayor or City Manager) to sign the Agreement.