Executive Committee discusses office operations: consent agendas, resource hub and expanded recording

The Executive Committee discussed a set of office and committee operational improvements designed to streamline meetings and improve access to resources. Vice Mayor and staff said they will create a SharePoint resource page to capture materials from conferences (National League of Cities) and committee presentations for use by council members.

Chairs described efforts to use pre‑prepared consent agendas, color‑coded committee reports (consent items highlighted in yellow; amendments in green) and to distribute consent materials in advance so committees can focus on substantive discussion. Staff said longer committees — budget and planning & zoning — already use this approach and the office will support other chairs who want to adopt it.

Members also raised the need to record or stream more boards and commissions meetings. Staff explained that location, bandwidth and staffing are the primary constraints; some off-site meetings require MNN (broadcast staff) to travel with equipment. A member asked if Zoom recordings could be uploaded to the Metro network, and staff agreed to relay the question to broadcast technicians.

To ensure the consultant captures council needs, members proposed collecting wider input through staff interviews, targeted working sessions with staff and council representation, and possibly a survey to allow members to provide written feedback anonymously. "I think people should at least be given the opportunity," a Pro Tem said about surveying members.

Next steps: staff will create the SharePoint resource library, continue the consent‑agenda practice where appropriate and follow up with broadcast staff about recording options. The consultant will be asked to consider member and staff input as an explicit deliverable.