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� <br />forward and has viewed Wednesday morning as the time to submit items. This has <br />several negative consequences for the operation of the council. <br />First, having council members place items on the agenda less than a week before the <br />council meeting inalces it difficult for the city manager and zY�e to effectively manage the <br />council's Ckme. The city manager is worlcii�g with staff months in advance of items <br />coming before the counciL The city manager is attempting to balance the issues the <br />council must deal with against the limitations on the council's time. In other words, <br />making sure that issues get dealt with early enough, making sure that there is sufficient <br />ti111e to deal with all issues, etc. As the mayor, I wori� with the city manager to try to <br />address those same concerns. In particular, I ain sensitive to time constraints that co�-�cil <br />members have on their time and the desire to have the public's business dealt with at a <br />reasonable hour. �i� other words, the city manager and I work hard to malce sure that all <br />issues are dealt with at meetings that do not extend into the middle of the night. The <br />addition of a number of last-minute items makes this task very difficult. <br />Second, the overuse of the right to place items o1� the agenda can have the conscqLZence <br />of a minority of the council monopolizing the work of the council. For example, despite <br />the majority's previously expressed desire not to take up a certain issue, the right to place <br />an item on the agenda could theoretically result in an item repeatedly being placed on the <br />agenda by a single council member; despite the council having addressed the item <br />previously. <br />Third, placing items on the agenda less than a weelz before the meeting can prevent the <br />council and staff from sufficiently vetting the item. For example, an individual council <br />— n�enzbar might have a cai7cel�t� about traffic issues in the city. Prior to a consideration of <br />— that issue as an agenda item, other council members might want additional information <br />— regarding traffic in the city. If f13e first the council hears about the item is when it appears <br />— on the agenda (or when the council member receives the en�ai� request on Wednesday) <br />— there is often not a chance to request or gather that ii�formatio��. <br />SUGGESTED SOLUTION <br />I propose that the council modifies its policy regarding the placement of items o�� the <br />agenda so that the deadline for s���missio�� of such items is 11 days before the meeting <br />This will have several effects. <br />First, it will enable the city manager and the council to better manage our time. Currently <br />the agenda is largely set by the Wednesday before the council meeting. When items are <br />added on Wednesday it often means that a iitll agenda becomes an oppressive agenda. <br />By knowing what the council requested items are at least five days before the agenda is <br />set, it will enable the city manager and the mayor to better manage the length of the <br />agendas. <br />Second, it will provide staff and the council with a chance to obtain addition inforn�ation <br />regarding the future agenda item. If staff has infonnatio�� that they think might be helpful <br />