III. - Agenda.

a.

Notice. The agenda is generally distributed to council members no later than the Thursday preceding the council meetings, whether regular, special, or continued meetings. Items will generally not be added, but may be added or deleted by the agenda committee or by a majority of council. Whenever practicable, notice shall be given of all agenda items by publication of the title or a general description thereof in the Boulder Daily Camera on the weekend preceding the council meeting. However, failure to give such notice shall not invalidate any action taken by the council, and such provision shall not apply at all to items adopted by emergency.

b.

Council Agenda Committee (CAC). Items are placed on the agenda by the staff, with the approval of the members of an agenda committee in attendance at a meeting called by the mayor to review the agenda, which normally takes place in the manager's office on Monday mornings. In addition to the mayor and the council member designated as the acting mayor (generally referred to as the mayor pro tem), the council designates a third council member for six to seven weeks at a time (depending on the council meeting cycle) to serve on the agenda committee. A sign-up list is circulated to council members. Replacements are solicited from all remaining council members whenever an agenda committee member cannot attend a meeting. If more council members wish to attend than there are vacancies, the mayor makes the appointment. Meetings of the agenda committee are open to the public and the press/media, but are not advertised. No more than four council members may attend an agenda committee meeting at any time. "Drop-ins" should notify the mayor in advance whenever possible. Presence of staff members at agenda committee meetings is subject to the discretion of the city manager.

c.

Agenda Review. The agenda committee holds an agenda review to review the successes and the difficulties of the council in dealing with agenda items during the preceding calendar quarter and to schedule agenda items for the next calendar quarter, when such items are known in advance. Council members who wish to have the entire council address an agenda issue should identify the issue and ask the agenda committee to schedule a discussion under Matters.

d.

CAC Mission. Representing the views of the entire city council, the agenda committee: 1) sets the agenda for council meetings and study sessions; 2) comments on written agenda materials to assure that all reasonable questions anticipated from the public and any member of the council are answered; 3) acts as a sounding board for staff; 4) informs the city council and staff of emerging issues; 5) requests that staff supply information to the council concerning emerging issues; and 6) discusses correspondence and email to the mayor and the city council and responses to open comment. The agenda committee assigns the responsibility for drafting and signing such responses. But individual council members may respond as well, at their discretion. 7) The agenda committee determines when boards and commissions should be requested to address the council concerning their deliberations, and when matters should be referred back to a board or commission before council action is scheduled. Generally, it is expected that boards and commissions with an adopted mission statement that includes a certain area of concern will be asked to advise council about any agenda item dealing with that area of concern. 8) The agenda committee also establishes check points for council input on important staff projects. 9) Agenda committee minutes are made available to the council by email. Approved draft agendas and the council calendar for the upcoming meeting agendas are attached to the minutes.

e.

CAC Ground Rules.

1.

No Decisions. The agenda committee should not make a "decision" on anything except for specific decisions relating to the council agenda and assignment of correspondence for a response. If a scheduling item is controversial, the CAC shall bring the matter to the entire council.

2.

No References. Agenda committee members should avoid reference to the meeting in debate, as by statements such as: "This was discussed in the agenda committee meeting," or "We dealt with that question in the agenda committee meeting." Above all, there should be no reference to any "decision" having been made by the agenda committee.

3.

CAC Communications with Council. If, as a result of an agenda committee meeting, the committee determines that it is necessary to contact the remaining council members to convey information or to obtain advice about proposed staff action, staff should contact each available council member. Council members, including agenda committee members, generally should not be involved in such communications. But this does not restrict any council member from contacting other council members and conveying any information or requesting any advice or action. Agenda committee members and other council members may communicate with other council members about any matter, but such process should not substitute for staff action as set forth above, and is subject to the "open meeting" requirements of state law (§ 24-6-402(2)(d)(III), C.R.S.).

4.

CAC to Focus on Council Concerns Rather Than Personal Point of View. It is not appropriate for agenda committee members to use the agenda committee meeting to advance their own political agendas or points of view. This is conceded to be difficult to avoid, especially when three council members are discussing an upcoming decision, but it is essential.

5.

CAC Not to Indicate Council Support. Prior to approval by the council, the agenda committee and staff are prohibited from indicating any city commitment to city sponsorship or support of an event or to city support for a development proposal.

6.

Questions to CAC. Council members are urged to send questions, comments, and suggestions to the staff or to members of the agenda committee prior to its meeting. The agenda committee will endeavor to discuss all such questions, comments, and suggestions at its meeting.

7.

Postponement of Issues. It is acceptable for members of the city council to ask for postponement of issues to accommodate a brief absence, when the rescheduling will not inconvenience other council members and the individual council member has a significant interest in the particular issue being decided. However, no council member has a right to require such a change, and the decision of the CAC is generally treated as final, although the council is, as always, the final decision maker.

8.

No Rule of Three. Meetings of the CAC shall not be used to indicate a "rule of three" for information/research requests. See Section X, Research and Study Sessions, Subsection A, Information/Research Requests/Rule of Three.

9.

Tuesday Meetings. CAC shall not schedule council meetings on dates other than Tuesdays without polling all council members for their availability. CAC shall not schedule meetings on the fifth Tuesday of any month without the prior consent of council.

10.

Consent Items, Urgent Items, Time Budget, and Order of Agenda. The CAC designates potential consent items, so that they can be dealt with in a summary fashion. The CAC also designates urgent items, for which delay is not possible or inadvisable, so that the council can deal with such items prior to adjournment. The CAC sets the order of the agenda and sets a time budget for each item. Based on the estimated time budget, CAC shall not schedule any meeting with an expected adjournment time after 10:30 p.m.