§ 2-611. Staff and council relations with boards, commission and committees

(a) Staff support and assistance may be provided to advisory boards, commissions, and committees. Advisory bodies, however, do not have supervisory authority over city employees. While staff may work closely with advisory bodies, staff members remain responsible to their immediate supervisors and, ultimately, the city manager. The members of the commissions, boards, or committees are responsible for the functions of the advisory body. The chairperson is responsible for committee compliance with the municipal code and/or bylaws. Staff members are to assist the advisory boards to ensure appropriate compliance with ordinances, Charter, state and local laws and regulations.

(b) Staff support includes: (1) preparation of an agenda; (2) preparation of reports providing a brief background of the issues, a list of alternatives, recommendations, and appropriate backup materials, if necessary; and (3) preparation of minutes of advisory body meetings. Advisory body members should have sufficient information to reach decisions based upon a clear explanation of the issues. It is important to note that city staff seeks to not influence boards, commissions and committees, but provide objective information to help the boards, commissions and committees in their decision making process. Staff should provide information on options considered along with a summary of pros and cons of each option. Any prior direction by city council on a particular issue should be provided by staff to any board, commission or committee considering the issue.

(c) The role of the city's boards, commissions and committees is to perform the specific functions established in state statues, city ordinances, resolutions, or minute orders as applicable and to advise the city council about the topics assigned.

(d) If a city council member should attend a meeting of a board, commission or committee, the member shall not take part in the meeting nor address the board in any manner whether by questions or statements. A city council member shall not attempt to influence the decisions of boards, commissions and committees, either directly or indirectly, nor express an opinion to a board, commission or committee about its actions unless at a city council meeting. Boards that require a city council member to be a member of that board are exempt from this policy provision.

(e) All instructions to boards, commissions and committees by the city council shall be in writing.

APPENDIX

- From the League of Kansas Municipalities

These tips are non-binding and not policies, but are good starting points for a successful Council-Manager form of government.

Tips for Successful Public Service

• Learn all you can about your city, its operation, its financing. Do your homework. Know your city ordinances.

• Devote sufficient time to your job and to studying the present and future problems of your community.

• Don't burn yourself out on the little things. Save some energy for the important matters.

• Don't act as a committee of one. Governing a city requires a team effort —practically and legally.

• Don't let honest differences of opinion degenerate into personality conflicts.

• Remember that you represent all the people of your community, not just neighbors and friends.

• Take your budget preparation job seriously. It determines what your city does or doesn't do for the coming year and will influence decisions and actions in future years as well. The budget is the most important policy development tool available to govern a city.

• Establish policy statements. Written policy statements let the public and the city staff know where they stand. They help the City Council govern, and writing them provides a process to develop consensus. "That's the way it's always been done" is not good enough either to stay out of trouble or to get things done.

• Make decisions on the basis of public policy and be consistent. Treat similar situations similarly.

• Don't be stampeded into action. Don't be misled by the strong demands of special interest groups who want it done now, their way. Your job is to find the long-term public interest of the community as a whole, and you may be hearing from the wrong people.

• Don't be afraid of change. Don't be content just to follow the routine of your predecessors. Charge your appointed officers and their employees with being responsible for new ideas and better ways. Listen to what they have to say.

• Don't give quick answers when you're not sure of the real answer. It may be embarrassing to appear ignorant, but it can be more embarrassing and damaging to tell a person something that is wrong.

• As an individual, even if you're the mayor, don't make promises you can't deliver! Most decisions and actions require approval of the City Council, and that takes a majority vote.

• Don't spring surprises on your fellow Council Members or your city staff, especially at formal meetings. If a matter is worth bringing up for discussion, it is worth being on the agenda. While surprises may get you some publicity, at the embarrassment of others, they tend to erode the "team" approach to governance.

• Retain competent key employees. Pay them well. Trust their professional judgment and recognize their responsibilities.

• Don't bypass the system! You have a city manager. Council Members should stick to policy-making and avoid personal involvement in the day-to-day operations of the city.

• Don't let others bypass your system—insist that people such as vendors or service providers first work with your city staff. If direct contact with Council Members is advisable, this should be with the Council as a whole, not on a one-to-one basis.

• Learn to evaluate recommendations and alternative courses of action. Request your staff to provide options. Encourage imaginative solutions.

• Be concerned with the long-term future to avoid unnecessary expense and delay and to avoid taking short-term gains at the expense of long-term losses.

• Balance personal rights and property interests. Balance the possible harm to a few versus the good of the many.

• Be concerned with the total development (physical, economic, social) of your community.

• Visit other cities, particularly those with a reputation of being well run. Get to know the officials of neighboring and similarly sized cities.

• Don't act as if the city operates in a vacuum. Cities must work within the intergovernmental system to be effective. Keep in contact and cooperate with your federal, state, county, and school officials.

• Keep your constituents informed, by such means as a weekly "open letter" in the local newspaper, radio interviews, or news releases. Be friendly and deal effectively with the news media. Lack of good communications is one of the big problems of cities.

• Remember that what you say, privately and publicly, will often be news. Avoid overpublicizing minor problems.

• Appoint citizen advisory committees when you need them, but be prepared to follow their advice if you use them.

• Have some goals and objectives. What do you want to accomplish this year? Next year? What do you want the city to accomplish this year? During the next five years?

• Be a leader as well as part of the team of elected and appointed officials who were selected to make your city an even better place to live.

• Having a practice of "no surprises" between the council and staff, and vice versa, fosters a productive working relationship.

(Ord. No. 10-11-862, § 2(Exh. A), 11-15-2010)

(Ord. No. 10-11-862, § 2(Exh. A), 11-15-2010)