Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Interlocal Cooperation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee discusses interlocal cooperation; debate over 180‑day 'adopt or reject' charter provision
Summary
A draft recommends more joint meetings with other local governments, an audit to identify interlocal opportunities and creation of a standing interlocal body; members debated a proposed charter requirement that the governing body adopt or reject committee recommendations within 180 days.
Committee member Jim presented an issue paper on interlocal cooperation and recommended several steps: regular joint meetings between Topeka and Shawnee County (and other local units), a review by auditor/manager/attorney staff to identify interlocal opportunities, and creating a standing body to promote ongoing interlocal cooperation.
Jim also proposed a more assertive procedural option: that when this committee delivers recommendations, the governing body would have 180 days to adopt or reject them (or formally set a new deadline). Several members raised concerns about the legal and practical consequences of a hard 180‑day deadline. One member said that if the governing body still needed information at 180 days it could be forced to reject the recommendation rather than extend the review; another member warned that budget or staffing constraints could legitimately delay action and that an automatic rejection at 180 days risked burying recommendations.
Committee members agreed to include interlocal cooperation options in the draft but expressed reservations about making a mandatory yes-or-no deadline part of a recommendation. Members discussed alternatives: recommending timelines for review and status reports rather than a charter-imposed automatic rejection mechanism and suggested the ICC or another existing convening body might be adapted for the role if membership and authority were adjusted.
Jim said the intent of a 180‑day provision was to prevent recommendations from languishing without a defined next step. The committee did not adopt a final position on the 180‑day language and asked staff to incorporate the discussion into the interlocal draft.
