Council General Government Committee

Summary

Meeting Overview

The General Government Committee met on February 5, 2013, at 11:00 a.m., with Steve Kay presiding. The committee addressed six agenda items, taking four votes and hearing five public comments during the session. The committee approved the selection of a Vice-Chair and the approval of a summary, while deferring decisions on an amendment to Section 4.104 of Council Rules and a Website Linking Policy. An informational presentation on the Metro Employees Credit Union Lease and PSA was also provided, and the committee approved items referred to it for consideration.

Attendance

The following individuals were present at the meeting on February 2, 2013:

• Steve Kay
• Jenny Scutchfield
• Linda Gorton
• Chris Ford
• Shevawn Akers
• Diane Lawless
• Julian Beard
• Harry Clarke
• Ed Lane

No absences or late arrivals were recorded.

Votes and Decisions

Approval of the November 13th, 2013 Meeting Summary 0:00

A motion to approve the November 13th, 2013 meeting summary was made by Ed Lane and seconded by Julian Beard. The motion passed unanimously.

Amendment of Section 4.104 of Council Rules 10:39

Linda Gorton moved to amend Section 4.104 of Council Rules to give the Mayor authority to execute certain agreements. This motion was withdrawn and did not proceed to a vote.

Transfer of Franchise Agreement Issue to Budget and Finance Committee 35:22

Linda Gorton moved to transfer the franchise agreement issue to the Budget and Finance Committee, with a second by Chris Ford. This motion was withdrawn and did not proceed to a vote.

Motion to Adjourn 38:26

A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Harry Clarke and seconded by Linda Gorton. The motion passed unanimously.

Budget and Financial Actions

The meeting included discussion of a lease and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Metro Employees Credit Union. No specific dollar amount or resolution number was provided in the available meeting materials.

Public Comment

Five speakers addressed the committee on various matters of transparency and policy implementation.

Linda Gorton spoke twice during the public comment period. In her first comment 4:25, she requested greater public access to documents executed by the Mayor, proposing that these documents be made available in Legistar with complete details including contract names, amounts, and services rendered. Later in the meeting 25:17, Gorton asked for clarification regarding family membership eligibility in the credit union, seeking confirmation about which relatives qualify for membership and noting that immediate family and siblings should be included, but not extended relatives.

Harry Clarke addressed the committee 7:12 with a related transparency concern, suggesting that the public should have access to documents executed by the Mayor. He recommended that these documents be linked directly from the docket in Legistar to enhance transparency and public access.

Julian Beard raised a concern about operational flexibility 16:22, expressing worry that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) should not restrict the credit union's ability to adapt its services. He emphasized the importance of maintaining common-sense flexibility in business operations.

Keith Horn offered a procedural suggestion 32:26, recommending that the committee be provided with a visual example demonstrating how the linking policy would appear on the website. He indicated this would help committee members better understand the practical application of the proposed policy.

Contested Items

The February 2, 2013 meeting included three areas of significant disagreement among council members:

Transparency of Mayor's Executed Agreements

Vice Mayor Gorton and other council members raised concerns about public access to documents executed by the Mayor. The core issue was that such agreements were not automatically part of the public record unless specifically placed on the meeting docket. Council members emphasized the need for transparency and public access to these documents. The committee resolved this dispute by agreeing to ensure that documents executed by the Mayor would be made available in Legistar, the city's legislative management system.

Scope and Flexibility of the MOU with Metro Employees Credit Union

Council member Julian Beard and others expressed concern that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Metro Employees Credit Union was too restrictive. They argued that the agreement should not limit the credit union's ability to adapt and modify its services in response to changing business needs. The council members emphasized the importance of business flexibility and the need for common-sense interpretation of the MOU's terms, rather than rigid adherence to its specific language.

Inclusion of November 13th Recommendations in Website Linking Policy

Vice Mayor Gorton questioned whether all recommendations from a November 13th summary had been fully incorporated into the current draft of the website linking policy. This procedural dispute prompted a request for further review and clarification to ensure that previous recommendations were not overlooked in the policy's development.

Vice-Chair Selection

Steve Kay was nominated and elected as Chair of the General Government Committee without dissent. 0:00

The key speakers involved in this agenda item were Steve Kay, Julian Beard, and Ed Lane.

No Vice Chair was selected at this time. The outcome of the vote on the Chair position was approved.

Approval of Summary

The meeting summary from November 13th, 2013 was presented for approval. 0:00

Key speakers on this item included Ed Lane and Julian Beard.

The summary was approved without dissent, and no corrections were offered by attendees.

Outcome: The November 13th, 2013 meeting summary was approved.

Amendment of Section 4.104 of Council Rules

1:03

This agenda item addressed proposed amendments to Section 4.104 of the Council Rules, which would modify the process for the Mayor to execute certain agreements without requiring prior Council approval.

Proposed Changes

The amendment included several specific modifications:

• Revising the language from "when" to "after" in relevant provisions
• Reducing the financial threshold from $20,000 to $19,999
• Replacing the term "remove" with "place on docket"
• Removing subsection G, which addressed change orders

Discussion and Speakers

The following council members participated in the discussion: Glenda George, Linda Gorton, Chris Ford, Julian Beard, and Harry Clarke.

Outcome

The motion was withdrawn to allow for further review of the proposed changes. The item was deferred, indicating that the Council did not proceed with a vote at this time and intends to revisit the amendment at a future meeting.

Metro Employees Credit Union Lease and PSA

Sally Hamilton provided an update on lease negotiations with Metro Employees Credit Union 11:22. The discussion focused on formalizing a long-standing relationship between the organization and the credit union through official documentation.

Key Points

Hamilton explained that despite the established relationship with Metro Employees Credit Union, no formal agreement had previously existed. To address this, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is being developed to document the terms and conditions of the arrangement.

Participants

The agenda item involved discussion among Sally Hamilton, Piper, Chris Ford, Julian Beard, and Linda Gorton.

Outcome

This was an informational presentation. The lease agreement and MOU will be presented to the group at the next meeting for further consideration and action.

Website Linking Policy

The Council discussed the final draft of the CAO policy on external website linking 26:20.

Participants and Discussion

Key speakers in this discussion included Keith Horn, Scott Shapiro, Linda Gorton, Harry Clarke, and Diane Lawless.

Concerns Raised

Participants raised concerns about whether all recommendations from the November 13th summary had been incorporated into the final draft of the policy. This indicated that reviewers wanted to ensure previous feedback had been adequately addressed in the current version.

Additionally, a request was made for a visual example to better understand how the policy would be implemented in practice. This suggests that Council members felt a concrete illustration would help clarify the policy's application.

Outcome

The policy was deferred for further review, indicating that the Council did not approve it at this time and intended to revisit it after addressing the raised concerns and potentially incorporating the requested visual example.

Items Referred To Committee

33:31

During this agenda item, the council addressed several matters that had been previously referred to committee. Multiple items were removed from the referred list during the discussion.

Items Removed from Referred List:

• General Services Link recommendations
• Abatement of tall grass
• Nuisance abatement days
• Ordinance 4-75
• Smoking in parks
• Sponsorship procedures

Franchise Agreement Discussion:

The franchise agreement issue was considered for potential transfer to the Budget and Finance Committee. However, this action was withdrawn pending clarification on the matter.

Key Participants:

The discussion involved Chris Ford, Diane Lawless, Linda Gorton, Harry Clarke, and Ed Lane.

Outcome:

The items referred to committee section was approved.