HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOW 2010-02-22 Item 4D - Council - Discussion of City Council Draft ProceduresITEM INFORMATION
CAS NUMBER: 10-021
ORIGINAL AGENDA DATE: FEBRUARY 22, 2010
AGENDA ITEM TITLE City Council DRAFT Procedures
CATEGORY Discussion Motion n Resolution 1 1 Ordinance Bid Award
U Public Hearing ❑Other
Mtg Date Mtg Date Mtg Date
SPONSOR Council Mayor Adm Svcs DCD Finance Fire Legal P&R Police PW
SPONSOR'S
SUMMARY
Mtg Date 02/22/10 Mtg Date Mtg Date Mtg Date
One of the 2009 -10 Council goals is to approve and implement standard operating
procedures for the City Council. Two procedures are currently in draft format and full
Council discussion on the content of each is requested.
Additionally, a draft City policy is coming forward to full Council as an information item,
since its content directly affects Council.
REVIEWED BY COW Mtg. CA &P Cmte F &S Cmte
Transportation Cmte
Utilities Cmte Arts Comm. Parks Comm. n Planning Comm.
DATE:
RECOMMENDATIONS:
SPONSOR /ADMIN. Council President
COMMI 1 "1'EE
Fund Source:
Comments:
COST IMPACT /FUND SOURCE
AMOUNT BUDGETED APPROPRIATION REQUIRED
EXPENDITURE REQUIRED
MTG. DATE
01/11/10
COUNCIL AGENDA SYNOPSIS
Initials
Meeting Date Prepared by May x� view 1 zrncil review
02/22/10 KAM 1 f,(A)
MTG. DATE 1 RECORD OF COUNCIL ACTION
ATTACHMENTS
Informational Memo dated 02/17/10.
DRAFT Council Procedure: Tracking Council Goals.
DRAFT Council Procedure: Distribution of Information
DRAFT City Policy: Response to Citizen Inquiries.
ITEM No.
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TO: Tukwila City Council
FROM: Dennis Robertson, Council President
BY: Kimberly Matej, Legislative Analyst
DATE: February 17, 2010
SUBJECT: City Council DRAFT Procedures
MEMORANDUM
City of Tukwila
City Council
One of the 2009 -10 Council goals is to approve and implement standard operating procedures for the
City Council. Compilation and implementation of this document as complete is expected to be a
lengthy process.
As DRAFT procedures are formulated, it seems as if it will be most efficient for the Council to review
the individual procedures and provide feedback. Council review of a completed standard operating
procedure manual should be Tess burdensome if the initial review of DRAFT procedures is conducted
via this method.
The following two procedures are currently in draft format and full Council discussion on the content
of each is requested:
Tracking Council Goals
Distribution of Information
Additionally, a draft City policy is coming forward to full Council as an information item, since its
content directly affects Council. That policy addresses Responding to Citizen Inquiries. In regards to
this policy, I am interested in seeking direction from the Council as to the best way to ensure that
citizen inquires are reviewed by the Council on an annual basis in order to identify any broad policy
implications.
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DRAFT COUNCIL PROCEDURE
Tracking Council Goals, Initiatives and /or Projects
The City Council formally commits to Program Goals as outlined in the Biennial Budget
document. Additionally, throughout the year, the Council may formulate special initiatives and
projects during the course of regular business. These commitments and initiatives often become
projects that are assigned to one of the four standing committees of the Council for
development, action and /or review.
It is understood that regular, on -going and priority City business can and will affect the workload
of each Council standing committee. However, it is essential to ensure that reasonable progress
is being made towards accomplishing Council goals, initiatives and or /projects. The success of
these projects is directly dependent on the commitment of the Council to be effective as
standing committees in response to applicable ownership of each project.
In order to assist in this process, the following procedure will ensure efficient and timely tracking
of the status of such commitments.
Goals, initiatives and projects whether committed to for
process and document, or informally during t
tracked via the Council Projects Status -tem.
biennial budget
iness, will be
All Council related •.f tia es and pro -cts b: tr- ed wi be entered into the
Council Pr Sta us System y the Cou it P esi•ent, egisl- ive analyst or their
design
The char of ea• C•u cil s dndin• corn mite will, o at 1 -ast a quart -rly +asis during a
COW, resort •n t e s -t s of the ojects assigned t eir .tanding co m' ee.
Standing om itt =e c ai s s o d resort pr ject •tatu. e Council President no less
than quart ly s• th :t th- oun it 'roje ►t. St :tus stem can be updated.
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DRAFT COUNCIL PROCEDURE
Distribution of Information to Councilmembers
Often, the strength of a Council decision is based upon the expertise, experience and
knowledge of the entire Council. In order for the Council to make strong, supportable decisions
it is important for all Councilmembers to receive information and /or supporting materials in the
same venue and time, if at all possible.
This policy is not intended to bypass or supplant the Council standing committee process. It is
applicable to instances in which an individual or small group of Councilmembers research,
request or are given information that may assist them in their policy making role.
In addition to regular, comprehensive memorandums written by City staff directly to the
City Council, all written informational material requested by individual Councilmembers
will be distributed to all Councilmembers with a notation indicating which councilmember
requested the information. This may occur via e -mail, or a hard copy may be distributed
to each Councilmember.
If the information that a Councilmember requests is not r y available •r cannot be
provided with minimum interruption in staff workl Council will
be required to request technical assist- deve op a repo. i,' to s aff research or
respond to requests for information or ,ervi
In some instances mati Co time critical or
sensitive in n_ ure. Even t ese s nc= it s ini munication
with Councilm =tubers is co si .ten a d ti ely. To e sur- th co sistency, t ese types of
communication. sh��u be din ed th1ougr th
Last Updated by Matej, Page 1 of 1, 2/17/2010
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DRAFT Feb. 17, 2010
TITLE: Citizen Inquiry Response, Tracking and Reporting
PURPOSE: To ensure that citizen inquiries directed to the City Council are appropriately
addressed and resulting actions are appropriately communicated.
STATEMENT OF POLICY: Tukwila's City government exists to serve the citizens of the
community. Tukwila citizens expect and deserve responsiveness from their elected officials
when they bring forth a concern or inquiry concerning City business. It is the policy of the City
Administration to ensure that:
Citizen inquiries are promptly acknowledged;
Citizen inquiries are forwarded to the appropriate City Official for review and response;
Responses are well reasoned, complete and accurate;
Appropriate action is taken as may be warranted by the facts; and
The City's response to the inquiry and any action taken is communicated to the City
Council and other interested parties.
It is further recognized that the demands placed upon City operations are high and it is the
responsibility of City Department Directors, under the supervision of the City Administrator and
under the policy guidance of the Mayor, to prioritize response to Citizen inquiries in light of all
other Departmental responsibilities.
PROCEDURES: The Mayor's Office has established and will maintain an electronic Citizen
Inquiry Tracking System. This Tracking System will be maintained on a shared drive within the
City's internal computer network.
Access to the Tracking System will be "Read Only" for all system users with the exception of the
following City officials, who shall have the ability to enter and modify information in the
Tracking System: City Council Analyst; City Administrator or designee; and Department
Directors or designee. When an update or change is made to the information in the Tracking
System, the individual making the change and the date shall be recorded.
The following procedures will be followed to document, address, track and communicate the
outcome of Citizen inquiries received by City Council members:
1. Inquiries received during City Council and Council Committee meetings will be
acknowledged by the official conducting the meeting. Discussion of the inquiry should
be limited to ensuring the inquiry is clearly understood. An immediate response by either
elected officials or staff should be avoided in all but the most simple and straight forward
inquiries. In all other cases the inquiry shall be entered into the Tracking System by the
Council Analyst, City Administrator or Administrator's designee within one business day
of the meeting.
citizeninquiries2clean 02/17/2010(2:15PM) sjl
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DRAFT Feb. 17, 2010
2. Inquiries received via the City Council e -mail account shall be entered into the Tracking
System by the Council Analyst within one (1) business day of its receipt.
3. Inquiries received by an individual City Council should, at that member's discretion, be
forwarded to the Council Analyst within one (1) business day. The forwarded
information shall include name and contact information for the citizen as well as a brief
description of the inquiry. The Council Analyst shall enter the inquiry in the Tracking
System within one (1) business day of receipt from the elected official. In the event the
Council Analyst is not available, the City Administrator or Administrator's designee
shall fulfill this function.
4. The Council Analyst and the City Administrator shall coordinate to ensure that duplicates
of the same inquiry are not entered on the Tracking System.
5. The City Administrator or Administrator's designee shall within three (3) business days
of an inquiry's entry in the Tracking System either:
a) respond to the inquiry and update the Tracking system to reflect resolution; or
b) refer the inquiry to the appropriate Department Director or Director's designee,
update the Tracking System to reflect the referral, and inform the citizen regarding
the referral.
6. The Department Director or Director's designee shall within five (5) business days of
receipt of a referral, either:
a) respond to the inquiry and update the Tracking system to reflect resolution; or
b) contact the citizen with an estimated timeframe for responding to the inquiry, and
enter this information in the Tracking System.
7. The Department Director or Director's designee shall update the Tracking System to
ensure it accurately reflects the status of the inquiry at all times. Upon resolution of the
inquiry, the Department Director or Director's designee shall update the Tracking System
to reflect resolution.
8. The City Administrator shall review the status of active citizen inquiries during weekly
Council Agenda Review meetings as requested by the City Council President. The
Council President will report the status of citizen inquiries to the full Council at the
President's discretion or in response to Council request.
It is recognized that in some cases the appropriate response to a citizen inquiry will be to
acknowledge receipt of the inquiry and inform the citizen that no further action can or will be
taken.
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