Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes – sections 301 and following, require you to post notice of time, date, and location of a city council or town board of trustees meeting, along with the meeting’s agenda in public view for a regular or special meeting. Beyond meeting the letter of the law, a smartly constructed agenda will aid in the goal of holding a professional business meeting by use of a robust consent agenda, removal of administrative items from the agenda, and following the “4 Rule” best practice for municipal meetings.
A robust consent agenda contains items that are routine and can be acted on with one motion and one vote. Any individual member of the governing board can request that an item be removed from the Consent Agenda for separate individual consideration. Additionally, any item(s) that “smell” like they are administrative should go on the Consent Agenda.
The “4 Rule” is the four things that should appear on an agenda:
✓ The Future
✓ Policy/Culture
✓ Monitoring Results
✓ Decisions that exceed the authority delegated
The Future of the organization is infrequently on the agenda. At least several times a year the future should be on the agenda. This allows discussion by the governing board to give staff guidance, and to have policymakers updated on the progress of ongoing or upcoming projects or initiatives
Policy/Culture shouldn't take much time, as our cities and towns are mature organizations. Any action related to policy decisions, or the culture of the organization, should be to make small incremental adjustments designed to fine-tune existing policies.
Effective reporting or monitoring results is a result of the governing body directing staff on the frequency, content, and format of reporting. We recommend the governing body instruct staff on reporting requirements, or in monitoring results, in the form of a resolution contained in a Resolution Book. This not only informs current policymakers and staff but also future staff and future governing board members on the reporting requirements.
Authority should be pushed down as far as it can go, and information pulled up as high as it will come. Delegation of authority frees up policymakers to focus their time on the things that only they can do. Consider delegation of authority in the form of spending limits, budget controls, and authority to sign documents and make operational decisions within the boundaries of the annual budget, city charter, and state law. Monitoring results and delegation of authority go hand in hand. Don’t delegate additional authority with sufficient reporting requirements.
A smartly constructed agenda not only informs the public on items the governing board will discuss and/or act on, but it will also additionally aid the elected officials in understanding their role, focus their time on their work and not administrative work, and over time produce better outcomes.
