Loading...
09.f3 General Information about Council Meetings [24947-23376/3657937/1] 1 MEMORANDUM To: Scandia Mayor and City Council From: Amanda Johnson, City Attorney Date: August 19, 2025 Re: General Information about Council Meetings This memo is designed to provide the Council with information regarding the different types of Council meetings and recommendations about additional efficiencies the Council could choose to incorporate into their meetings. Because the rules about Council meetings also apply to City commissions, this memo can be shared with new Council or Commission Members to give them general information about how City meetings are conducted. 1. Meetings 101 A meeting is a gathering of a quorum of public officials to discuss, decide, or receive information on official matters over which they have authority. State law includes requirements for council meetings such as ensuring quorum, open meetings, public notice, and others. It is important to understand the different types of meetings and their associated notice requirements to ensure that the public is adequately informed of public action. 2. Types of Meetings A. Regular Meetings These are meetings held on a schedule established by the Council at the beginning of each calendar year. The schedule of meetings must be kept on file at the City office so that the public may reference it. The Council may adjust the agenda at the meeting if necessary, adding or subtracting items. B. Special Meetings If a meeting will be held at a different time or place than the regular meetings, it is a special meeting. The City must provide at least three days’ notice for a special meeting and the Council cannot change the posted agenda. C. Work Sessions If regularly scheduled, these are regular meetings. If not regularly scheduled, these are special meetings. Importantly, the Council cannot take official action at a work session (e.g. passing an ordinance, authorizing a project, approving a land use application). These meetings are used to [24947-23376/3657937/1] 2 discuss topics, obtain information from staff, and provide direction to staff on items that will need to be brought back to the Council for official action. Often these meetings are used to get into “the weeds” on topics and allow the Council to have a more casual discussion about a given topic. If the Council needs to take official action at a work session, it needs to be noticed as a Special Meeting. D. Emergency Meetings These are special meetings called due to circumstances that require immediate action, as much notice as possible must be provided. E. Closed Meetings The public is not allowed to attend closed meetings. The meeting must still be properly noticed so that the public is aware it is occurring. These can only be done in the following specific situations:  Labor negotiations,  Performance evaluations,  Litigation discussions,  Property transactions,  Security reports,  Misconduct allegations, and  Discussion of data that is not public. Each exception has specific rules and procedures associated with it, so it is important to discuss possible closed sessions with the city attorney. F. Annual Meeting Once a year, the Council must conduct certain business such as swearing in new members, designating an official newspaper for notices, appointing officials or acting officials, and other procedural business. The annual meeting may be a regular meeting or a special meeting, if it is scheduled separately. 3. Recommendations for Meeting Efficiency There are many ways to make meetings more efficient. Below are just some options and ideas for the Council. Council has the authority to determine the process and procedures they want to use for their meetings. [24947-23376/3657937/1] 3 A. Public Comment One agenda item that can take up a lot of time is the public hearing section of a meeting. It is important that residents have an opportunity to express their views on items of public concern, but public hearings need not be an unlimited time for comment. To avoid running afoul of First Amendment concerns, any rules that are established should be applied equally to all residents, topics, and meetings. For example, the Council may establish rules limiting the total number of speakers, limiting the time allotted to each speaker, requiring speakers to sign up in advance of the meeting, or limiting speaking slots only to residents of the city. Additionally, the Council should not respond to questions or issues raised during public hearings. The purpose of the public hearing is to ensure that those who wish to speak are afforded an opportunity to do so. Council discussion or deliberation on issues should be reserved until the issue has been added as an item on a future meeting agenda. B. Rules of Procedure Another important step in making meetings more efficient is to ensure the Council has adopted rules of procedure. Establishing the procedures for motions, resolutions, and other meeting actions can ensure that meetings run smoothly. One rule of procedure that can make meetings more efficient is to establish how the Council would like to use the consent agenda. i. Using the Consent Agenda The consent agenda is a way to combine routine, non-controversial items into one item for voting. This keeps meetings moving quickly and allows the Council to quickly move routine business along, reserving meeting time for topics requiring deliberation and discussion. The consent agenda is typically prepared by the City Administrator. The consent agenda may contain items any items that do not require a public hearing, but typically a consent agenda includes items such as the approval of the previous meeting’s minutes, renewal of contracts or agreements with vendors, commission or committee appointments or resignations, commission or committee reports; authorization of resolutions, and approval of bill payments. The Council can then make a motion to approve all actions on the consent agenda and vote once to do so. Even if an item starts on the consent agenda, a Council Member may make a motion to remove the item from the consent agenda to discuss the item in more detail because approving or denying the item. ii. Continuing an Item Sometimes, as the Council discusses an item on an agenda, it becomes clear that additional work is needed on the item. Instead of continuing to discuss the item, it may be best for a Council [24947-23376/3657937/1] 4 Member to make a motion to continue the item to a future meeting. This will allow Staff additional time to gather more information for the Council to allow a more effective conversation. 4. Conclusion This memo is designed to give Council a general summary of the types of meetings, what can occur at the various types of meetings and some ideas about meeting efficiency. Ultimately, Council has the authority to determine how they want to operate their meetings.