HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 08/03/1999 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 120, 1999, AMENDI AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY ITEM NUMBER: 13
DATE: August 3, 1999
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF John Fischbach/
Steve Roy
SUBJECT :
Second Reading of Ordinance No. 120, 1999, Amending Section 2-32 of the City Code With
Regard to the Posting of Public Notice of the Meetings of Council Committees.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading.
i
i
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City Code provisions pertaining to open meetings presently require that all Council committee
meetings at which a majority or quorum is in attendance must not only be open to the public but shall
be held only after full and timely notice to the public. In the case of three-member Council
committees, this could be construed to mean that no two Council members who are on the same
committee can discuss any public business without the posting of notice. Ordinance No. 120, 1999,
which was unanimously adopted on First Reading on July 20, 1999, requires that any such
discussions remain open to the public but would not require the posting of the prior public notice
before they could occur.
s
G
't
E
K
i
f
i
e
f
ij
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY ITEM NUMBER: 28
DATE: July 20, 1990
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: John Fischbach/
Steve Roy
SUBJECT:
First Reading of Ordinance No. 120, 1999, Amending Section 2-32 of the City Code With Regard
to the Posting of Public Notice of the Meetings of Council Committees.
RECOMMENDATION:
t
Staff recommends adoption ofthe Ordinance on First Reading
I
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City Code provisions pertaining to open meetings presently require that all Council committee
meetings at which a majority or guorum is inattendapoemustzot only be open to the public but shall
be held only after full and timely notice to the P blic. Intttt case of three-member Council
committees, this could be construed to mean that no two Co4LI members who are on the same
committee can discuss any publibbusiness without tliepostingAnotice. The proposed amendment
would require that any such discussions remain open to the public but would not require the posting
of the prior public notice before they could occur. This public notice would be required only prior
to Council committee meetings at which formal action could be taken.
ANALYSIS:
Chapter 2,Division 2 of the City Code contains open meetings laws patterned after those of the state
sunshine law. As a home-rule munici aiity„1lowever the qV cantenact its own laws governing the
meetings of local officials. { '
S
Both the City and state law prYoxide that meetings :. the City ouncil and of Council committee
meetings must be open to the public. The definition of a"meeting" under the state and local laws
is substantially the same. Essentially,a"meeting"occurs whenever there is a gathering of a quorum
or three or more members,whichever is fewer, of the City Council or any Council committee,and
the central purpose of the gathering is the discussion of any public business. (Chance meetings and
social gatherings are excluded.)
Under these open meetings laws"full and timely notice to the public"is required whenever: (1)any
formal action could occur at the meeting.or(2)a majority or quorum is in attendance,or is expected
to be in attendance.
DATE: July 20, 1999 2 ITEM NUMBER: 28
In the case of three-member Council committees, two Council members constitute a majority or
quorum. Thus,these laws could be read as requiring that any two Council members who serve on
the same Council committee must provide"full and timely notice to the public'before they talk to
one another about any public business, even if the business does not pertain to the committee on
which they serve. Additionally, if two Council members serving on the same committee wish to
attend any kind of meeting with outside organizations,administrative staff or others to discuss any
kind of public business, one could argue that such a meeting would have to be construed as a
committee meeting, and public notice given of a committee meeting, even though no committee
business would be discussed.
In order to remedy these potential pioblems and clarify the int8nt of the City Code provisions
pertaining to Council committee meetings,stafs recnnmending that Section 2-32 of the Code be
amended. Under the proposed amendment,allieefings of committee members that pertain to any
public business would remain open to the public,but public notice would be required only when the
meetings of these committee members pertained to committee business and formal action could be
taken by them as a committee.
To ensure compliance with these notice provisions,a new subsection(b)would be added to Section
2-32 of the Code stating that any formal action taken in violation of the notice provisions of the Code
would be invalid. This language is similar to that contained in the state open meetings law. The
former subsection(b)of this section,pertaining to the removal of disruptive persons from Council
meetings,would be restated as a-dewsSectibn'I 35:
F