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SPECIAL MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NOVI SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 1995 - AT 9:00 AM EST ACTIVITIES ROOM - NOVI CIVIC CENTER 45175 WEST TEN MILE ROAD
The meeting was called to order at 9:00 AM with Councilman Toth presiding.
ROLL CALL: Council Members Crawford (absent), Mason (present) Mitzel (present), Pope (present), Schmid (present), Toth (present) and Mayor McLallen (absent-excused)
Present (5) Absent (2-Crawford*, McLallen)
* Councilman Crawford arrived at 9:15 AM.
-ooo-
ALSO PRESENT: Edward F. Kriewall - City Manager David Fried - City Attorney Jim Wahl - Director of Community Development Geraldine Stipp - City Clerk
AGENDA
Mr. Kriewall asked for an amendment to the agenda to add a vehicle purchase.
Councilman Mitzel said this could not be done because this was a special meeting and all members were not present to consent to the amendment. It was decided this could wait until Monday, January 30th.
Councilman Toth advised the Council of the two packets of information that he passed out. He said one was a memo in regards to Mondays meeting and his thoughts on what the strategy should focus on. He said, secondly, he picked up the original rules from Gerry Stipp on a 3 1/2 inch diskette. He said he did a little formatting change, added two words and everything he added is shaded and there is also a list in the back showing the dates they were added. He said he also lined through some items that he thought should be stricken or modified.
Councilman Toth said this document had grown and he suggested that it be streamlined. Councilman Toth said he preferred to see the rules book refer to the appropriate documents; a lot of the rules refer to the Charter. He said he would prefer to see a simple sentence saying "the meetings will be held in accordance with the City Charter." He said he would also like to see certain policies written by the Charter and added into the rules in accordance to a policy. He thought the Audience Participation section was an area where all Council Members had some good ideas and thoughts. He said there are things in there that perhaps should be changed to make it fair to everybody concerned when we have a meeting.
Councilman Pope said he thought that the reason it was important to have the Charter references was not to lose sight that this is one document and that is the guide. He said he had no problem with the suggestion of having policies included because that is the reason for the document. Councilman Pope said it was talked about in Ordinance Review and a decision was made to make the rules and then a separate policy booklet. He said if Council prefers to put Council policies in so that they are all in one location he did not have a problem with that.
Councilman Pope said what is proposed are amendments to the original document. He said he liked graphically what was done but asked if it would be proper to take the additions to the document and go from 1 all the way through and treat those as amendments. He said there are 37 amendments to the document and that may be procedurally easier to do.
Councilman Toth said that would be fine and that he was trying to set the tone as to where his understanding was in regards to the document and what he did. He said they can be taken in any order.
Mayor Pro-Tem Crawford took the chair at 9:15 AM.
Councilman Mitzel said he believed that on December 12, 1994 Council had this on the agenda and there were actually rules approved, several amendments that passed and then it was tabled. He said technically that motion is still on the floor.
Councilman Pope asked who made the motion. Councilman Mitzel said it was either Councilman Pope or himself. Councilman Pope said if we have a motion to approve we can still amend these now. Councilman Pope said they are already in the copy that Mrs. Stipp gave Council.
Councilman Toth explained to Mayor Pro-Tem Crawford what he had missed. He told Councilman Toth that he passed out two documents and what they were.
Councilman Pope said in looking at Councilman Toth's draft he felt that they would have to go through page by page.
Mayor Pro-Tem Crawford suggested going through the document that was in the packets page by page, line by line and then add in Council's stuff and whatever else had to be added.
Mr. Fried said that Councilman Toth did an excellent job.
Mrs. Stipp, City Clerk, said there were a few changes made on the 12th that had been inserted in the packet copy. Those can be incorporated into the Toth document.
Councilman Mitzel suggested that as they go through section by section and that consensus be reached on each section before going on to the next section. He said that way Council can start putting together areas that we all agree on.
Mayor Pro-Tem Crawford said as they go through this document and if there is a majority that agrees on a certain section then he would hope that once the document had been completely modified it would also have a consensus to pass the total document.
Councilman Pope said he hoped Council would end up using this as a work group and then this item would get put on the agenda.
Mayor Pro-Tem Crawford said this would be on the agenda. He said if we can get a majority agreement section by section then hopefully the end result would be a document that would be supported by everybody even though you may not agree with every piece of it.
PROLOGUE - Page 5
1. Add: First sentence of shaded area, Deleting "newly elected" from said sentence. Delete last sentence of paragraph.
DEBATE AND DECORUM - Page 5
Councilman Schmid recommended that everything be deleted except the first paragraph. He said he saw this as common courtesy, common sense and to be led by the Mayor and responsible Council Members.
Councilwoman Mason said she would like to see it remain in because it is Roberts Rules of Order Revised and she did not think Council should be debating the way we do debate. She said Council had to get rid of some of that and follow Roberts Rules of Order Revised.
Councilman Toth said he favored what Councilman Schmid was saying and thought that the Chair should have control. He said he would like to see most of those removed and a sentence added in to state that "the actual conduct of the meeting shall be as per the Chair" because we serve under a number of different Mayors and Mayor Pro-Tems and everyone had their own style.
He said he had a problem with the 6th rule that "Council Members are not to speak directly to each other or to a staff member." He said those are things that are consistently done and a lot of times it is done for a reason. He didn't think it was being done to be adversarial and certain Chairs have allowed this to occur others have not.
Councilman Mitzel felt that the first two sentences under Debate and Decorum should be left which stated "Where these rules or the City Charter are silent, "Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised" shall govern the proceedings of the Council. The City Attorney shall act as Parliamentarian." He felt the rest could be left out.
Mayor Pro-Tem Crawford felt it should be left in as a gentle reminder. He didn't feel it infringed on the style of whoever the Chair was; all these things would apply no matter what the style was. He said his interpretation of the sentence referring to speaking to staff was that you must first obtain the floor through the Chair and then you could speak to the staff.
Councilman Schmid said most legislative or decision making bodies have a meeting before the meeting called a caucus. He said they decide in that caucus all the questions that are coming before the board and then when they get on the floor it is almost a done deal and the debate is limited. He said everything that comes before Council is brand new, it is seen Thursday night before the meeting so it has to be debated vigorously and in detail at the Council meeting.
Mayor Pro-Tem Crawford asked if anyone had a proposal.
Councilman Pope said he proposed the Council delete the balance of the section after "Parliamentarian" or all the bullets down to Suspension and Amendment of Rules.
AGREE DISAGREE
Schmid Crawford Toth Mason Pope Mitzel
Council agreed to delete the above mentioned section.
SUSPENSION AND AMENDMENT OF RULES
A.1. Organization - Add: List all 7 Members including the Mayor and the Mayor Pro-Tem with election dates.
A.1.2. Senior Member - Page 6 - Change to Councilman and Councilwoman and next to Councilman Toth's name after Appointed Add February 1987 (elected November 1987)
Councilwoman Mason asked why she did not receive Councilman Toth's draft of Rules and Organization one week ago like everyone else. She felt that these handouts should be given to everyone at the same time. She felt at a disadvantage because everyone has had this for one whole week and she received it this morning.
Mr. Fried said Councilwoman Mason's complaint was legitimate and Council agreed but that Councilman Toth acted independently.
Councilwoman Mason stated she would leave the meeting.
Mayor Pro-Tem Crawford asked Councilwoman Mason to stay because they needed her input and did not know if it was worth continuing with 5 people.
Councilwoman Mason left the meeting at 9:45 AM.
Councilman Toth said Councilwoman Mason received the document from Mrs. Stipp. He stated at the beginning of the meeting that the document that was given to members tonight was exactly that document plus his comments and suggested changes. Councilman Toth said Councilwoman Mason knew this.
A.2.1. Meeting Requirements - Page 6
First sentence, "Meetings shall be held at 8:00 p.m." add local time after 8:00 p.m.
A.2.2 Organizational Meeting - Page 6
Delete "newly elected" from second sentence.
A.3.1. Written Notice - Page 6
After twenty-four hours' add "(24 hrs.) and omit deletion and leave in "written" following (24 hrs.) and in first sentence, after "purpose of a special meeting and" add "written notification."
A.3.2 Alternate Days for Special Meetings - Page 7
Delete "other than Mondays, on Thursdays", and add "on open Mondays and if not possible, then on Thursdays".
A.4. Joint Meetings - Page 7
Add "local" before school boards and "other" before municipal governments.
A.5 Executive Sessions - Page 7
Councilman Pope said he thought that the two thirds was required under the Open Meetings Act and Mrs. Stipp agreed. Mr. Fried will check on this.
B: AGENDAS
B.1 Agenda - Regular Meetings - Page 8
Second Sentence after submitted by Add: "(close of business (nominally 5:00 p.m. local time) Wednesday (preceding the scheduled meeting date) in order to be placed upon the next regular meeting day's agenda,".
B.1.2. Agenda Format for Regular Meetings - Pages 8, 9 & 10
Add STARTING TIME in large bold letters and position in the extreme upper left corner.
D. After Approval of Agenda Add (See B.1.3. and B.1.1.4 on Page 10)
E. Special Reports, Committee Reports, Etc. (Information Only) Delete Shaded Area
G. Public Hearings - Special Assessment Hearings Delete Shaded Area
I. Consent Agenda - After Approval or Removals Add (See B.1.3. and B.1.4. on page 10
J. Administrative Questions - Delete
K. Matters for Council Action - Part - 1 Change Letter "N" to Letter K before "Matters"
L. Matters for Council Action - Part II Change Letter "P" to Letter L before "Matters"
M. Consent Agenda - Change Letter "Q" to Letter M before "Consent Agenda", #2 - End of sentence Delete "over $5,000." and add "per ordinance."
N. Audience Participation No. 3 - Change Letter "R" to Letter N before "Audience".
O. Committee Reports - Delete entire shaded area
P. Manager's Reports - Delete entire shaded area
Q. Attorney's Reports - Delete entire shaded area
R. Communications - Received by the Agenda Deadline Change Letter "S" to Letter "R" before Communications
B.1.3. ADMINISTRATIVE CONSULTATION - Page 10
Delete all of the shaded area including (via the City Manager)
B.1.4. AGENDA APPROVAL - Page 10
Delete second paragraph.
B.2.2. AGENDA FORMAT FOR SPECIAL MEETINGS - Page 10
Delete in its entirety
C: AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION RULES - Page 11
Add first sentence - "Members of the audience shall be given the opportunity to speak at the meeting within the following guidelines.
C.1 AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION RULES - Page 11
Add: "No member of the audience shall address the meeting unless recognized by the person in charge of the meeting (hereinafter Chair) for that purpose."
Delete: "Any member of the audience may ask to speak on any matter under consideration at any meeting or they may address the Council during Audience Participation.
Add: A recognized member of the audience addressing the the meeting (hereinafter Speaker) shall direct all of their commentary to the Chair.
Add: Each Speaker may first address the Council for a period of time not to exceed three (3) minutes -- unless the Chair grants additional time. Persons representing an Association or Group with a voted position may speak for a period not to exceed five (5) minutes -- unless the Chair grants additional time.
Delete: After all Speakers have had the opportunity to address the Council for their allotted period of time on the subject matter (or during general Audience Participation), and if there is sufficient time remaining -- the Chair may grant a second interval for Speakers to speak on the subject (or during general Audience Participation.)
Add: No Speaker shall continue to address the meeting after being advised by the Chair that the Speaker's time for addressing the meeting has expired.
Add: There shall be no audience repercussions by voice, clapping or otherwise, showing approval or disapproval of any commentary made by the Speaker or member(s) of the public body.
Add: Council Members will not respond during general Audience Participation - all matters will be referred to Administration who will provide appropriate reports as to action taken ALSO ADD AFTER taken: unless Administration can promptly respond.
Add: Committee Reports will not be accepted during Audience Participation.
Councilman Toth asked Council to quickly look at the following pages for discussion at the next meeting:
Page 17 Table F-1. Advisory Implementation Committees Established by City Council.
Page 19 Table F-2. Boards/Commissions Established by Charter/Ordinance
Page 20 Table F-3. Council Representation on Regional Bodies/Inter-Governmental Bodies.
Councilman Toth also asked Council to look at Page 23, Council Personnel Policies. He said this was totally new and these were his thoughts and ideas on the subject.
Mr. Fried said, regarding Page 21 Standards of Conduct, he wanted to throw out one more thing that he thought Council should think about; there is no method of enforcing the standards of conduct unless something is added.
Councilman Pope asked if he was saying that Council should put in either by Ordinance or by statement that if you violate this you are causing a misconduct of office.
Mr. Fried said some words to that effect. He said he was suggesting it not saying Council should do it; if you want to enforce this then you should do something about it otherwise if can't be enforced.
Councilman Pope asked what remedies there are. He said a misconduct of office is covered in the Charter.
Mr. Fried said if it is classified as a misconduct of office then it covers it; if you don't do it then it doesn't. He said he was talking about committee members.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 AM.
MAYOR PRO-TEM
CITY CLERK Date approved:
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