With the JoCo mandate lifted our governing body needs to get back to normal operations.
Last night's council committee meeting was a step in the right direction. All members of the governing body were in physical attendance.
As we go forward it is imperative that certain things regarding council meetings need to be done:
1. Continue with all members physically present. Say sayonara to Zoom.
2. Move business from the floor back to its position on the agenda as specified in PS-7. This nonsense by the mayor of having it near the end of the meeting is exactly that, nonsense. She should be ashamed of herself for her comments of 3/8/21 that staff has priority over citizens.
3. Take action to remove both the city attorney and the city manager from sitting on the dais at council meetings. We are the only city in the area that does this. I have brought this up before and even provided pix of other city's meetings. They are not elected members of the governing body. They belong either in the gallery with other members of the staff or at a table in the well. If comments from them are needed (like with other staff members) they can proceed to the podium or if at a separate table, have that table equipped with a microphone. This will eliminate the whispering comments that periodically take place. Get their comments live and on the record. We hear about transparency......now prove it.
4. With budget time approaching, the council needs to direct staff to research what it would take to bring the city attorney position on as a full time employee as opposed to the current contractor situation. As the city grows we need this to be a full time employee position under the direction of the council. A study was done a few years back and the idea was rejected at that time. Let's make it happen now.
