(A) Purpose. The purpose of the Council Committee of the Whole is to identify, define and investigate issues and to determine by majority vote those questions of policy which are to be forwarded to the Council for decision. Action on any motion during Council Committee of the Whole meetings shall be interpreted as a determination regarding placing an item or issue on the agenda of a regular Council meeting, and shall not constitute a decision on the item or issue.
(B) Organization. The Committee of the Whole is organized as follows.
(1) Presiding officer. The Mayor is the presiding officer of the Committee of the Whole.
(2) Meetings. Council Committee of the Whole meetings are held following the regular Council meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month in the Council Chambers. Regularly scheduled meetings may be rescheduled when they fall on holidays or because of special circumstances as determined by the Council. Additional Committee of the Whole meetings may be held as determined by the Council. Efforts shall be made to avoid unnecessary delays in addressing policy matters and to provide a balanced agenda by distributing Council Committee of the Whole agenda items over the available meeting dates of each month.
(3) Agenda. Any Council member or the Mayor may request that an item be placed on the Council Committee of the Whole agenda. The request may be made at any Council or Council Committee of the Whole meeting. The request may also be made in writing to the City Administrator’s office, the request to be copied to each member of the Council. The Council Committee of the Whole agenda is prepared under the direction of the City Administrator. Extensive background development or staff research shall be provided for any agenda item only by Committee of the Whole majority vote. (This is consistent with the principle that the city government organization works under the direction of the Council and not under the direction of one member or of a minority of the Council.) Ongoing business items may be placed on the Committee of the Whole agenda by the City Administrator.
(4) Standing committees. The Council Committee of the Whole may recommend the establishment of standing committees. Each committee shall consist of not more than three Council members. The purpose of the standing committees is to study, discuss, review and receive citizen communication on policy issues and to report findings and/or recommendations to the Council Committee of the Whole or to the Council at a regular council meeting. The standing committee shall have no power to formally and finally decide any issue and their recommendation are to be viewed as advisory in nature.
(a) Any member of the Council shall be entitled to attend (and participate in the discussion before) any standing committee but the members shall be seated in the area reserved for the general public and are not entitled to vote or be counted in determining a quorum.
(b) The attendance by non committee members of the Council shall not be defined or construed as constituting a meeting of the Committee of the Whole or of a meeting of the full Council.
(1999 Code, § 7.09) (Ord. 2105, passed 11-9-1999; Ord. 2418, passed 7-13-2010)