ADMINSTRATION COMMITTEE OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
The Administration Committee of the Legislative Council held a meeting on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, in the Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
Present: Chair Gary Davis, Mary Ann Jacob, George Ferguson, Jan Andras
The meeting was called to order at 6:33 p.m.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No one spoke during public participation.
COMMITTEE MINUTES
The Committee minutes from the meeting on May 18 , 2011, were approved unanimously. Mr. Ferguson moved approval of the minutes and the motion was seconded by Mrs. Jacob.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Proposed Changes to the Rules of the Legislative Council: The Committee reviewed proposed changes to the current rules of the Legislative Council discussed at the last Council meeting. It also reviewed written comments provided by Council members Kathy Fetchik and Kevin Fitzgerald after the Council meeting. After reviewing the comments, the Committee members decided to:
- Modify Section A 1-2 C to have the Council agenda issued three business days prior to the next Council meeting.
- Modify Section A1-3 A to remove the parenthetical language after Municipal Operations.
- Change the phrase “Voter Participation” to “Voter Comment.”
- Modify Section A 1-6 A to allow voters the ability to comment on any topic, including those not on the Council agenda, in the second voter comment period.
- Modify Section A 1-9 to add the phrase “an agenda item discussion in its entirety” to the last sentence of the opening paragraph.
- Modify the new Section A 1-15 to make more general the guidance to Council members on how to represent themselves when communicating on local government matters.
Mrs. Jacob moved that these changes be accepted and provided to the Council for its consideration. Mr. Ferguson seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Committee objectives: The Committee discussed the status of the objectives it was provided by the Council in March 2010. The Committee concluded that it had addressed, or town government was in the process of addressing, all the objectives.
Mr. Davis noted that if the Council approved the proposed changes to the Council rules later that evening, this would likely be the final Administration Committee meeting. Mrs. Jacob raised the issue of when the new committee structure should go into effect if it received Council approval. After discussion, the Committee’s general consensus was that the new committee structure should be put into effect as quickly as possible.
Mr. Davis thanked the Committee members for their hard work in achieving the Committee’s objectives.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No one spoke during public participation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m. Mr. Ferguson moved that the meeting be adjourned, and Mrs. Andres seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
Submitted by Gary Davis
* Minutes are not finalized until approved at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
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