HomeMy Public PortalAbout2016-10-24 RO_cmte_mtg_Referral_rulesWatertown Town Council
Committee on Rules & Ordinances, Meeting October 24, 2016
Report: November 9, 2016
The Committee met at 7 pm in the Louis Andrews Conference Room. Present were Councilors Kenneth
Woodland (chair), Lisa Feltner (vice -chair) and Aaron Dushku (secretary).
The agenda for the meeting was to cover the topics of using URL web -addresses to link to files on meeting
agendas and on proposed new rules for committee referrals.
Including Internet URL's in meeting agendas
Councilor Woodland acknowledged a concern that having links on agendas might not actually serve as an
adequate way to put residents 'on notice'. If the town included a link or a reference to a link in the full text of the
agenda item, that might be inaccessible to all residents and against the law. In his committee meeting agendas,
Councilor Dushku has been using links to provide background information on agenda items but not to serve as
the noticed items themselves (e.g. as an 'attachment'). The Committee decided to consult with the town's legal
counsel to ascertain if URL placement on an agenda might be construed as inappropriate 'notice' and about
which way URL's might be used to provide additional information on these public documents.
New rules for committee referrals
Councilor Woodland proposed an amendment to the Council Rules section 11 to add section 8. In speaking about
referrals, he expressed that often, if the town staff had been consulted beforehand, committee meetings may
not have been required. Some discussion ensued about the de facto discretionary role of the committee chair as
a decision -maker in prioritizing meetings vs. the Woodland proposal of a required consultation with staff. Each
method might be employed to more -efficiently dedicate the time of a town councilor and staff member.
Councilor Woodland's proposed amendment to Rule 11 of the Rules of the Town Council would add section 11.8,
that would read as follows:
11.8. No member(s) of the Town Council shall make a referral(s) to any standing Committee(s) without first
having communicated the essence of said referral(s) to the appropriate Department Head(s) and/or Town
Personnel and received a substantive response from said Department Head(s) and/or Town Personnel regarding
said referral. No member(s) of the Town Council shall make a referral(s) to any standing Committee(s) without
first asserting to the Town Council that the aforementioned required communication took place and further
inform the Town Council of any recommendations, critiques and/or any other relevant information expressed
from said Department Head(s) and/or Town Personnel. Referrals customarily made to Committee on an annual
or otherwise regular basis are exempt from this provision.
Needing more time to consider the amendment fully, the committee agreed to continue the discussion at a later
date.
The meeting adjourned at 8 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Aaron Dushku, Secretary
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