Richfield council reviews meeting order, debates rules of decorum and approves agenda and consent items

RICHFIELD, Minn. — The Richfield City Council on April 8 discussed proposed revisions to its rules of procedure and decorum and the order of business for council meetings, then approved the night's agenda, minutes with clerical corrections and the consent calendar.

The discussion, led by City Manager Rodriguez and supported by City Clerk Friedrich and the city attorney, focused on a staff draft of updated meeting procedures that staff plan to return to the council for formal action at a future meeting. City Manager Rodriguez told the council staff would bring a revised packet back for consideration: "we would be bringing it back to you, hopefully, in 2 weeks." Mayor Mary Supple said the order of business was time sensitive for setting new agenda templates for upcoming agenda‑management software.

The draft proposes moving the Pledge of Allegiance immediately after call to order, placing approval of the agenda early in the meeting, moving minutes and disbursements into the consent calendar (with council authority to pull items for separate discussion), and updating language around open forum and member conduct to reflect current practice. Council members debated several specifics: whether the Pledge should precede agenda approval, whether minutes should remain on the consent calendar, and how strictly to limit member discussion.

Resident Kathleen Balaban, who spoke during open forum on the city's staff report about meeting procedures, urged the council to assert its role in writing meeting rules. "This is code, not resolution," Balaban said, asking elected officials rather than staff to draft the final language. The council discussed that point and staff noted the existing rules were last formally revised on Feb. 14, 2017.

Council members generally agreed to place the Pledge of Allegiance before agenda approval and to include minutes under the consent calendar while retaining the ability to pull items for separate consideration. On open forum timing, council members favored lengthening the default public comment window from 15 minutes to 30 minutes with a clear option to suspend remaining speakers until the end of the meeting if needed; one council member said the 30‑minute cap would be a defensible default "and the council has the opportunity to extend it." The council also discussed making the presiding officer's ability to request a spokesperson discretionary (changing phrasing from "shall be proper" to "may request").

On abstentions, the city attorney and staff said the current city code requires unanimous approval for a member to abstain except where law requires abstention. The city attorney advised that changing that requirement would require an ordinance amendment to the city code; council members discussed adding a practice that a member who takes a discretionary abstention should not participate in the discussion for that item.

No final ordinance or rule changes were adopted on April 8; staff will return with revised language for council action at a later meeting. In the meantime the council made several routine approvals for the meeting's business:

- Approval of the agenda: The council approved the April 8 agenda by voice vote.

- Approval of minutes: The council approved minutes of recent meetings with two clerical corrections noted on the record.

- Consent calendar: The council approved the consent calendar, which included: a contract award for the Lift Station 7 replacement project (bid to Boulder Creek Inc.); the appointment of a youth member to the Human Rights Commission; an agreement with Independent School District 280 to administer the 2025 and 2027 school board elections; and a resolution designating Fidelity Investments as a depository to receive a bequest for Woodlake Nature Center.

City Attorney Teachin and City Clerk Friedrich participated in the discussion and said staff would align the rules with current law and the city charter where necessary. City Manager Rodriguez said the council could split the work — adopting agenda templates first and returning later with fuller updates to the decorum and enforcement sections.

The council indicated it does not plan to finalize the rules at the April 22 meeting if additional legal review and drafting is required.

Ending: Staff will return with revised rules and an updated staff report before the council is asked to adopt new procedures; until then the council will proceed with the agreed changes to the order of business for agenda templates.