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Resident and council members raise concerns about agenda posting and clerk access to website; council asks staff to resolve process
Summary
A resident said the Jan. 16 agenda was not posted on the city website in time; council debated whether council should have independent access to publish agendas and minutes. The clerk and administration said the clerk will be granted broader access once training and quality controls are completed.
A member of the public told council that the Jan. 16 agenda appeared to be missing from the city website. The speaker, Raymond Anthony, said he checked the website shortly before the meeting and could not find the agenda.
The exchange prompted a lengthy procedural discussion in which the city clerk and the administration described the current workflow: the clerk compiles agendas and minutes, submits them for administrative approval, and staff then posts them to the public website. The clerk said the site maintains an activity log showing timestamps for submissions and approvals and provided statistics showing most agenda uploads are approved quickly; the clerk also offered to share the activity logs with council members.
Several council members pushed for the clerk to have direct publishing control for council pages to speed publication and reduce administrative bottlenecks. Administration representatives said the city had planned to expand the clerk’s permissions after the clerk demonstrated consistent correct posting (the administration cited past typographical and procedural errors as the reason for a staged handover). The mayor said he supports giving council the tools but wants quality-control steps in place before handing over full access.
Council asked that the clerk and the administration meet after the meeting — with the council president included — to resolve the process and reduce delays so agendas and minutes are posted in advance of meetings. The clerk and council president agreed to follow up.
Ending: Council asked staff to meet and resolve the access and approval workflow and to report back so the public-facing agenda posting can be timely and transparent.
