Inter Governmental Committee

Summary

Meeting Overview

The Inter-Governmental Committee met on November 17, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. at the Lexington-Fayette Government Center, located at 200 East Main Street in Lexington, Kentucky 40507. Andrea James presided over the meeting, which included consideration of two agenda items. The committee approved a proposal regarding Council Standing Committees and Streamlining Council Role, and received an informational update on Committee Items. During the meeting, the committee took 21 votes and heard 5 public comments. The meeting also included 2 agenda items for discussion and action.

Attendance

The following individuals were present at the meeting on November 17, 2009:

• Andrea James
• Jim Gray
• Linda Gerton
• Chuck Elbinger
• Tom Blues
• Diane Lawless
• Julian Beard
• Cheryl Feigel
• Kevin Stinnett
• K. C. Crosbie
• George Myers
• Jay McChord
• Doug Martin
• Peggy Henson
• Ed Lane

No absences or late arrivals were recorded.

Votes and Decisions

The meeting included 21 voice votes, all conducted without recorded roll call tallies. The following motions passed:

Committee Structure and Terms 11:43 Andrea James moved to change appointment terms of committees from the vice mayor's term to two years, aligning with district council member terms. The motion passed.

Standing Committees Established 27:08 Andrea James moved to establish standing committees including Planning, Social Services, General Government, Public Safety, Public Works, Environmental Quality, and Budget and Finance. The motion passed.

Committee Size and Membership 48:00 George Myers moved to adopt five-member standing committees with the Budget and Finance Committee retaining 10 members. The motion passed. 1:07:59 Diane Lawless moved to require each council member to serve on at least two standing committees. The motion passed.

Failed and Withdrawn Motions Tom Blues, seconded by George Myers, moved to increase the quorum of five-member standing committees from three to four 27:38. This motion failed. Diane Lawless moved to increase standing committee membership to six members and maintain 10 on Budget and Finance 36:21. This motion was withdrawn.

Committee Additions and Jurisdictions Tom Blues, seconded by George Myers, moved to add Economic Development as a standing committee 43:42. The motion passed. Subsequent motions approving jurisdictions for Planning and Zoning, General Government, Budget and Finance, Public Safety, Public Works, and Environmental Quality committees all passed. 1:34:58 Cheryl Feigel, seconded by K. C. Crosbie, moved to approve the Economic Development Committee's jurisdiction with broad language including partner agencies and all economic development matters. The motion passed.

Procedural Changes Tom Blues moved to change "Work Session" to "Committee of the Whole" in Section 2.204 1:55:59. The motion passed. 1:57:04 Diane Lawless, seconded by K. C. Crosbie, moved to replace "mayor" with "vice mayor" as the referring authority in Section 2.204. The motion passed.

Additional Amendments Linda Gerton moved to amend Section 2.202 to specify that standing committee meetings are held in the Council Chamber or Fifth Floor Conference Room 1:38:21. The motion passed. Tom Blues moved to change "removed" to "deferred" for items requested by council members in Section 4.104 2:00:51. The motion passed.

Adjournment Diane Lawless moved to adjourn the meeting 2:04:17. The motion passed.

Public Comment

Five members of the public provided comments on proposed committee structure changes during the meeting.

George Myers 20:32 advocated for smaller committees, arguing that five-member committees would increase focus and accountability. He cited the effectiveness of LINC committees, which operate with only three members.

K. C. Crosbie 1:03:22 raised concerns about the proposed Economic Development Committee structure, suggesting that including all 15 council members would be counterproductive. Crosbie argued that such a large committee would undermine the stated goal of achieving sharper focus.

Diane Lawless 1:05:48 addressed concerns about council member workload, acknowledging that serving on three committees could be overwhelming. However, Lawless argued that the time saved by eliminating work sessions would offset this burden and urged council members to commit fully to their roles.

Linda Gerton 1:37:13 suggested a logistical change, recommending that standing committees be held in the Council Chamber rather than the Fifth Floor Conference Room to allow for better television coverage.

Tom Blues 1:40:06 expressed concern about terminology, noting that renaming "Work Session" to "Committee of the Whole" could create confusion. Blues pointed out that "Committee of the Whole" is traditionally used for quarterly meetings, and changing this terminology could be misleading.

Contested Items

The November 17, 2009 meeting included three significant areas of disagreement among council members.

Standing Committee Membership

Council members were divided over whether five members per standing committee was an adequate size. The primary concerns centered on quorum requirements and workload distribution. A motion to increase the quorum threshold to four members failed to pass. Subsequently, a motion to expand committee membership to six members was introduced but ultimately withdrawn, leaving the five-member structure in place.

Economic Development Committee Structure

A heated discussion emerged regarding how the Economic Development Committee should be organized. One faction argued that the committee should be a standing committee with all 15 council members participating, ensuring broad representation and involvement across the full council. The opposing view held that a focused committee with fewer members would better serve the goal of efficient, targeted governance. The debate reflected differing philosophies about inclusivity versus operational efficiency, though the outcome of this dispute is not specified in the available records.

Meeting Terminology

A procedural dispute arose over whether to rename "Work Session" to "Committee of the Whole." Council members disagreed about this terminology change due to confusion with existing quarterly meetings and the different procedural rules that would apply under the new name. This disagreement highlighted concerns about clarity in meeting designations and their associated governance procedures.

Council Standing Committees & Streamlining Council Role

6:34

The council discussed a proposal to restructure the city's standing committee system to improve alignment with government operations and streamline the council's role.

Proposal Overview

The restructuring plan included several key changes:

• Reducing committee size to five members, with the exception of the Budget and Finance Committee
• Realigning standing committees to better correspond with government departments
• Establishing a new Committee of the Whole meeting to replace Work Sessions
• Adding an Economic Development Committee
• Revising referral procedures for council matters

Key Participants

The discussion involved Andrea James, George Myers, Tom Blues, and Diane Lawless, who contributed to the deliberation on the proposed changes.

Outcome

The council approved the proposal to restructure the standing committees and streamline the council's role. The approval moved forward the plan to implement the new committee structure, establish the Committee of the Whole, and add the Economic Development Committee as part of the reorganization effort.

Update on Committee Items

This agenda item was included on the November 17, 2009 meeting agenda but did not receive substantive discussion. It served as a placeholder for the main agenda item and was not addressed in detail during the meeting.

No key speakers were identified as presenting on this item, and no specific concerns or debate points were raised. The item remained informational in nature without generating discussion or action items.