Council discusses amendment to city charter/code to speed council access to executed contracts

Council member Middleton introduced an RL to amend City Charter and Code Chapter 5 to require the administration to provide council members access to contracts within two business days of request so council can monitor executed contracts more promptly.

Middleton said the change aims to address repeated delays in obtaining contract copies. Council members and legal staff discussed the types of contracts the change would cover and whether some contracts—such as engineering contracts with long specifications or federally prescribed CDBG/HUD form contracts—are appropriate for routine distribution. Council member Kavanaugh and other councilors suggested adding language that would require the administration to specifically re-notify council if substantive changes are made to a contract between council approval and execution, rather than triggering distribution for every form contract.

City legal and administrative staff said many contracts are final at council approval and only nonsubstantive changes (dates, clerical items) remain; exceptions include real-estate-sale contracts where council places conditions and the final contract can change. Council members asked the sponsor (Middleton) to refine the RL language to address substantive changes and to return an amended draft for committee consideration.