Brookings council seeks joint comment on pending state house bill, asks city manager to draft letter

The City Council of Brookings signaled consensus on Feb. 24 to have the city manager draft a joint letter to the state legislature addressing a pending house bill, and councilors asked for an expedited review so the document could be submitted before the legislative deadline.

Councilors said a single, council-endorsed letter would carry more weight than individual submissions and asked colleagues to provide proposed edits quickly so the city manager could consolidate them. The city attorney advised that if a clear majority approves the draft, the city manager may submit the testimony on the city’s behalf; otherwise councilors may submit individual comments.

Councilor Parade introduced a proposed draft and invited other councilors to add material. Councilors who spoke said they supported the draft language and stressed the importance of speaking with a united voice on issues that affect Brookings. Several councilors asked for a brief turnaround; staff said they would attempt to prepare a consolidated letter for council review and submission within the legislative timeline. The transcript records repeated references to the short time window for submission and the need to send copies to councilors for final review.

The direction recorded in the meeting was procedural: staff were asked to consolidate councilor input and prepare a city-endorsed letter for submission if a majority of the council agreed. No formal motion or vote appears in the transcript excerpt authorizing the final sign-off; councilors indicated verbal consensus to proceed.