The Clayton City Council voted 4–1 on Jan. 7 to adopt a redlined update to its Council Guidelines and Procedures, after a lengthy discussion about how agenda requests are submitted and recorded.

The changes were presented by City Manager Chris as non‑substantive language cleanups and standard updates; they were described in a redline and a clean packet provided to council members. The council ultimately approved the updated guidelines, but debate focused sharply on a provision describing how future agenda requests are made and handled.

Council Member Tillman said the revised wording — changing language about how items get on the agenda from “which scheduled meeting the agenda item will appear” to “whether it will appear” — would reduce transparency and allow the mayor and city manager to privately decide not to place an item on a future agenda. “Which and whether are totally different,” Tillman said during the public discussion portion, arguing the change could prevent the council and the public from knowing what requests have been made.

Mayor Treviano and City Manager Chris said the changes were intended to help the mayor and city manager assess staff resources and scheduling, and that a written request requirement already existed in earlier versions; Chris said the update mainly clarifies and cleans up language. After public commenters urged more openness, the council asked staff to provide a visible log or report of pending agenda requests so other council members and the public can see outstanding items. Council Member Ania and the city manager agreed staff would develop a process to publish pending requests and report back.

Public testimony on the guideline changes featured multiple residents who urged the council to retain in‑meeting verbal agenda requests, preserve council reports and protect the practice of reporting committee activity aloud. Several residents said the proposed revisions felt like an effort to limit public visibility into council business. The council’s final vote to adopt the updates was 4 in favor, 1 opposed (Council Member Tillman).

The city manager said staff will return with a proposal for a published pending‑agenda log and a clearer approach for council reports and committee summaries so the public and council members can track requests and status.

Votes at a glance: Motion to adopt updated Council Guidelines and Procedures — approved, 4–1.