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Council considers ordinance to streamline warrant approval; signatures to change next month
Summary
Council introduced an ordinance amending city code section 2-188 to remove the long-standing practice of three council members sitting to initial warrants; proponents said the change preserves voting oversight while reducing time spent on routine bill signing.
The council reviewed a proposed ordinance amending section 2-188 of the city code to change the process for payment of bills and approval of warrants.
A council member explained the historical practice required three council members to sit and initial paper warrants, a process described as time-consuming and originally adopted as an accountability measure. The proposed ordinance would remove the sitting/initialing requirement while preserving the council’s right to review and vote on warrants; the speaker said the city would continue to receive warrants and vendor lists electronically from the treasurer for review.
The presenter said the change would not take effect immediately; it is planned to go into effect next month and the city still needs signatures on warrants for the current month. No formal vote was recorded on July 21; council members discussed logistics and agreed that staff would prepare the ordinance for the next meeting so that the revised process could begin in the following month.
Next step: ordinance to be finalized and returned for formal consideration next month.
