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Minutes for the Nominating and Rules Committee meeting on November 9, 2004.
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City of Jonesboro
Minutes of
Nominating and Rules Committee
November 9, 2004
Huntington Building
The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m. by Alderman McCall. Members present were: Tim McCall, Alec Farmer, Chris Moore and Cecil Province. Others in attendance were City Clerk Donna Jackson, Mayor’s Assistant Aubrey Scott, and Keith Inman with the Jonesboro Sun.
PROPOSED CHANGES IN RULES AND PROCEDURE
City Council Meeting - 1st & 3rd Tuesdays - Councilman Farmer moved, seconded by Councilman Moore to recommend to the full Council an ordinance changing the regular meeting dates to the first and third Tuesday of the month with an effective date of January 1, 2005. The decision was made to leave the deadline time the same, 10:00 a.m. the Thursday prior to a council meeting. All voted aye.
City Council Committees placing items on the agenda - Councilman Farmer moved, seconded by Councilman Moore to allow city council committees containing four or more council members to add an item to the agenda after the agenda deadline with a unanimous vote of the committee. It was explained this would be for emergency type situations and should not be used to get around the established procedure for placing items on the agenda. The deadline for agenda items would remain 10:00 a.m. the Thursday prior to a council meeting. All voted aye.
Unapproved Committee Minutes - Discussion was held regarding the distribution of unapproved committee minutes to the full council for informational purposes. For legal reasons, City Clerk Donna Jackson expressed some reservations in providing minutes that have not been officially approved by committee members, but stated she understood the need to keep everyone informed. She also explained it is not always possible to have the minutes prepared within a week of each committee meeting due to regular meeting times being changed, and the length of some of the committee meetings. One suggestion was to limit the minutes to motions and votes, but several committee members wanted detail of the discussions to be included. Ms. Jackson was asked to research other cities and report back to the committee at their next meeting.
Rental Policies - It was determined that the City Attorney should research and develop a rental policy for all city properties that currently do not have such a policy, and should include a written agreement clarifying responsibilities of the parties involved. Discussion was held regarding the policy for renting the City Council Chambers and the Haworth Room with Councilman Province stating the policy should be absolute, and recommended not renting either room for security reasons.
Phase 2 Storm Water Runoff Ordinance Review Committee- Councilman Moore moved, seconded by Councilman McCall to recommend a Phase 2 Strom Water Runoff Ordinance Review Committee, made up of 8 to 12 members appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Jonesboro City Council. The purpose of the committee would be to make recommendations for the implementation of the Clean Water Act. All voted aye.
Boards and Commission Appointments - Discussion was held regarding official Boards and Commissions. Councilman McCall explained many of the boards and commissions have not been appointed in accordance to state law, and are not meeting regularly. It was recommended that an Oath of Office be filed with the City Clerk by each appointed member that would include the term of office and its responsibilities. Ms. Jackson explained by state law all official board members and commissioners are required to file a Statement of Financial Interest form, but without a complete list there is no way to assure this is being done. It was determined that minutes of all official boards and commissions should be on file with the Office of City Clerk, and suggested the new administration could help implement this practice.
Committee of the Whole - The recommendation was made to look at going to a committee of the whole which would meet twice a month for the purpose of reviewing items to be placed on the agenda and hearing committee reports. It was explained a “Consent Agenda” could be used in order to adopt non-controversial agenda items. The decision was made to revisit the idea in six months allowing time for the new administration to adjust and make recommendations.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, Councilman Farmer moved, seconded by Councilman Moore to adjourn. All voted aye.