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Council amends code to formalize agenda order, remote attendance; reinserts public comment at start
Summary
Council approved an ordinance change to align the written agenda with practice, add explicit authority for remote electronic attendance and amended the ordinance to reinsert public comment after roll call and before consent items.
The Moline City Council moved to amend the municipal code to match how agendas have been prepared in practice, add explicit language allowing remote electronic attendance, and clarify placement of public comment.
City attorney Mr. Atkins explained staff found inconsistencies between two sections of the code governing commissions and the order of business. "We opted for eliminating the project coordinator position since there had never actually been such a position," Atkins said, describing a cleanup of ordinance language to reflect practice. On the order-of-business ordinance, Atkins said the package aligns the ordinance with how agendas have been prepared and adds remote electronic attendance for both Committee of the Whole and council meetings so authorization would not be illegal in certain circumstances.
Councilmember Schmidt proposed and won an amendment to reinsert public comment near the start of the meeting: "I'd like to make a motion to amend this change to reinsert public comment after the establishment of quorum," he said; he later restated to place it "after remote electronic attendance if necessary and before consent agenda." The amendment passed on voice vote and the ordinance was adopted as amended after further council discussion about how public comment should appear on round-table or single-meeting evenings.
Why it matters: The ordinance change cleans up inconsistent language and explicitly authorizes remote electronic attendance for both meeting types the city runs. Council members stressed the prominence of public comment; Schmidt said public comment "needs to be at the start of every meeting without exception," while others noted flexibility is required on nights with only a single council meeting.
Next steps: The amended ordinance will be reflected in future agendas and staff said the change reduces confusion when preparing agenda packets. Council asked staff to consider further edits if needed for round-table meetings.
Ending: The council approved the ordinance amendment as amended to reinsert public comment at the start and to permit remote electronic attendance on both meeting types.
