Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Civics topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council work session narrows communication budget uses, asks staff to draft new policy language
Summary
Council members discussed allowable uses of district communication budgets, agreed staff should tighten rules for donations and outside sponsorships, and asked for a revised policy and an application/reimbursement form for outside requests.
Council staff and the city attorney's office led a May 13 work-session discussion on a proposed update to the council's communications budget policy to clarify permissible uses, public-benefit standards and processes for outside requests.
Jennifer Bruno of council staff presented draft policy language and a questionnaire-style process staff would use to evaluate outside requests. The council asked staff to ensure the policy complies with state statutory constraints the City Attorney referenced, including Utah code cited during the briefing (public-benefit considerations) and applicable fiscal-procedures requirements.
What the council agreed: Members generally approved a working set of uses for council-member-initiated communications (newsletters, postcards, mass mailings, flyers, printing, and advertising) with no council-imposed per-item dollar limits beyond each member's total allocated communications budget. Members asked staff to tighten language to make clear that communications must promote city government information, council initiatives or invite engagement with city government.
Outside requests and sponsorships: Council members distinguished between (a) outside events where a council member participates or receives credited sponsorship recognition and (b) outside events where the council is not credited and simply asked for cash to support another organization's event. For the latter, the council said staff should implement tighter limits: outside requests where no sponsorship credit is offered should be reimbursed and limited (staff discussed a suggested 10 percent cap of a council member's allotment for such requests). For sponsored outside events (where the council receives credit or a booth/speaking opportunity), council members indicated there should be greater flexibility.
Donations and ethical safeguards: Members said outright donations to nonprofits with no public benefit or city credit would not be an appropriate use of communications budgets. The City Attorney's Office advised council staff to ensure the policy aligns with municipal conflict-of-interest rules and the Utah Municipal Officers and Employees Ethics Act. Members asked staff to add explicit language excluding purchases that would create private benefit, and to require documentation and reimbursement-based payments when outside organizations seek support.
Process and forms: Council staff will draft a short written form that outside requesters must complete, describing purpose, public benefit, whether the council will receive sponsorship credit or a booth, and required receipts for reimbursement. Staff will return a revised policy incorporating the council's straw-poll guidance and sample form for final consideration.
Ending: The work session produced policy direction and a request that staff return with revised draft language, a template application for outside requests and clarifying references to statutory authority; two outstanding budget requests that might be affected by the policy were left for council determination through those revised procedures.
