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City attorney proposes slimmed bylaws; council agrees to subcommittee review
Summary
The city attorney presented a draft of reorganized bylaws and rules of procedure, recommending they be split from rules of order; council agreed informally to form a small subcommittee to review the draft and return a recommendation before year end.
Centennial — The city attorney urged council Tuesday to adopt a streamlined, council‑specific bylaws document and recommended formation of a small review subcommittee to finalize language before returning a recommended draft to the full council.
Bob Weidner, deputy city attorney, told the council that separating bylaws (the city’s operational rules) from rules of order (parliamentary procedure) would produce a shorter, clearer document tailored to local practice. “In government, if we don't have a rule, there's no obligation to comply,” Weidner said, emphasizing that written bylaws set expectations for meetings, quorum and attendance.
Why it matters: bylaws and rules of procedure govern how a legislative body sets meetings, forms subcommittees, handles public hearings and responds to absences. Weidner said the current combined 27‑page document contains legacy material and unnecessary procedural detail; the proposed clean version removes that material and leaves a concise set of operational rules for council review.
What was proposed and council response Weidner described key topics included in the draft: meeting types (regular, special, study and emergency), agenda setting, quorum thresholds, attendance limits, public‑comment and decorum rules, subcommittee formation, and a process to remove a council member if needed. He recommended council appoint three members to a review subcommittee to walk line‑by‑line with clerk and city attorney staff. The attorney estimated the review could be completed before year end.
Councilmembers generally supported using a subcommittee to ‘‘beat up’’ the draft in a small group before bringing a clean recommendation to the full council. The mayor and several councilmembers agreed to participate; staff will circulate a redline version and the committee will meet to refine language and return a recommended draft for council consideration and training.
