Charter & Rules committee recommends overhaul of Rule 9 on subcommittees to full council
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Summary
The Holyoke Charter & Rules committee voted Dec. 9 to recommend a reorganization of Council Rule 9 that consolidates subcommittee duties, clarifies reporting and meeting rules, and removes obsolete references to a separate 'office of industrial affairs.' The committee approved sending the revised rule to the full City Council.
Chair Meg McGrath Smith opened the Dec. 9 Charter & Rules meeting and outlined a proposed rewrite of City Council Rule 9 to consolidate scattered references about subcommittees into a single, clearer section. "The current section 9 is on the left, and the proposed draft of the revised section is on the right," she said, describing a draft that groups committee descriptions, voting/meeting/reporting rules and a standing-committees list.
The committee discussed concrete edits intended to improve navigation and remove outdated language. Councilor Bacon said he reviewed the draft and "the content was all there just in different locations," and the chair noted she removed a sentence referencing two-thirds votes because the solicitor advised two-thirds votes do not originate in subcommittees. Members also debated whether the DGR (development, government and relations) entry should refer to a now-obsolete "Office of Industrial Affairs" or instead name agencies such as HEDIC/HEDEC or the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority; Councilor Murphy Romaletti recalled the phrase historically referring to HEDIC and recommended using broader "community development" language or naming the modern agencies.
The committee clarified how committee reporting should be recorded. Members questioned a rule that "all reports shall be in writing," noting that minutes and recorded meetings already create a written record. The chair proposed language requiring that the committee chair give a verbal report at the next full council meeting and that minutes of all committee meetings be completed and shared with the full council.
After discussion and minor edits, Councilor Bacon moved to recommend the reorganized Rule 9 to the full City Council as amended. The motion carried on roll call, with Councilors Bacon, Murphy Romaletti and McGrath Smith voting in favor. The committee will forward the revised language to the council for consideration.
The committee also debated a separate scheduling rule (Rule 9.I) to prohibit subcommittees from meeting at the same time or on the same night unless previously approved by a majority of the full council; members discussed thresholds and concerns about open-meeting law and agreed to include "majority vote of the full council" as the approval threshold before recommending that change to council.
The vote sends the reorganized Rule 9 and the clarified scheduling language to the full City Council for review and potential adoption.
