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Council committee unveils draft proclamation policy and digital archive
Summary
The Metro Council Executive Committee reviewed a draft policy to streamline proclamations, proposed limiting ceremonial printed versions, and launched a digital archive that will publish proclamations monthly; members raised questions about printing allowances and costs.
The Metro Council Executive Committee reviewed a draft policy on Nov. 25 that would streamline ceremonial proclamations and create a digital archive of proclamations for public access. Vice Mayor, presiding at the Executive Committee meeting, said staff produced a printable ceremonial version and a digital copy intended for social sharing and that an online archive will be updated monthly.
The policy as presented would standardize outputs: a ceremonial copy with seals and ribbons and a printable digital version optimized for social media distribution. "You'll get, 1 as proposed, 1 ceremonial copy, which is the 1 with 2 seals," the Vice Mayor said while explaining the two-format approach. Miss Cruz told members the archive will be categorized by signed date and that items signed in December will not be uploaded until the following month to avoid posting before presentation.
Members sought clarity on how many printed copies would be supplied and who may print additional copies for constituents. Chair Parker asked whether members could request digital files to print plain paper copies for schools or youth groups; the Vice Mayor and Miss Darby said members may print the digital version themselves but staff will limit ceremonial printed sets to conserve budget and staff time. The Vice Mayor cited sample costs: "five copies with ribbons, that's $30; 10 copies with the gold embossed folder, you know, that's $55," and noted the council had produced roughly 120 proclamations so far this term.
Several members asked that the policy explicitly allow members to provide additional plain-paper copies for constituents and requested a pathway for occasional exceptions — for example, to hand out multiple copies to visiting school groups. The committee set a feedback deadline for mid-December and asked staff to return an updated draft reflecting members’ input.
The committee also asked staff to finalize a process that emails the printable digital version to requestors when ceremonial copies are issued and to ensure monthly uploads to the meeting center so proclamations are preserved on record. The committee did not take a formal vote at the meeting; staff will accept written feedback through Dec. 16 and return a revised draft for further consideration.
