(A) There will be mutual respect from both staff and Council members of their respective roles and responsibilities when and if expressing criticism in a public meeting.
(B) No individual Council member or City Council committee have authority over the city staff or employees.
(C) The Council sets city policies and goals, the city staff implements and administers the policies and goals. City staff is controlled by executive limitations, reasonable interpretation and monitoring.
(D) The Council members may seek information from staff members regarding the operation of their department, but will not attempt to change or interfere with the operation or practice of any city department or personnel except by directing their concerns about policy to the Council at large.
(E) During a City Council meeting, all requests for information shall be directed to the Presiding Officer who may then redirect the request to the appropriate staff. At other times, if the request for information would entail an effort that would require time to be spent in researching and/or preparing a response, the request shall be made directly to the Council at the next scheduled meeting.
(F) Council members shall not attend meetings with city staff unless requested by staff or the Council.
(G) Requests to the City Attorney for advice shall not be made by a Council member, except with the concurrence of the majority of the Council present in person or by speaker phone. The city shall not accept financial responsibility for any legal requests to the City Attorney made by private citizens. Before requesting research or other action by the City Attorney, the Council is encouraged to consider consulting with the City Recorder to ascertain whether the request of action can be accomplished more cost-effectively by alternate means. Outside a Council meeting, a Council member should make requests of the City Attorney through the City Recorder. The rare exceptions to this are issues related to the performance of the city staff and unique and sensitive personal, yet city business-related requests. The City Attorney shall in either case provide any written response to the full Council and City Recorder.
(H) The City Recorder shall keep a written running list of all actions to be done as determined by the Council during Council meetings. The list shall include “what is to be done, by whom, by when, what has been done and when” and be available at all times during and between meetings.
(Ord. 2007-01, passed 4-5-2007)