Committee asks staff to map workload before changing standing committee structure

Discussion of future common council standing committee structure for 2026 was continued March 11 after committee members asked staff to return with a workload analysis and recommendations.

The chair summarized the prior meeting’s discussion and said committee members broadly favored keeping the current four standing committees but wanted the staff to analyze workload distribution. Alder Lowe said she favored leaving the structure "as is" and shifting workload within current committees. Alder Arnie and others recommended staff examine citizen committee meeting frequency and the expectations placed on volunteer committee members so workload is balanced across the council and volunteers.

City Administrator Archambault said staff previously performed a similar exercise and can produce recommendations by the next cycle, roughly one month. Alder Moldenhauer and others asked that staff look across multiple years to account for ebbs and flows in issue volume — for example, village and transportation projects had concentrated agendas in past years — rather than rely on a short snapshot. Alder First asked staff to identify items that no longer come to particular committees so work is not counted twice.

The committee voted to hold the item until staff returns with suggested distribution of responsibilities and an analysis of meeting frequency and workload. A motion to hold passed unanimously; staff agreed to provide recommendations at the committee’s next meeting.