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Cabot council adopts ordinance to formalize committee structure and create nominating committee
Summary
The Cabot City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2 of 2025 to establish committee organization and nomination procedures, including a nominating committee and clarified rules for moving items from work sessions to regular meetings; the council also invoked an emergency clause to make the changes effective immediately.
The Cabot City Council on Jan. 6 adopted Ordinance No. 2 of 2025, a measure that formalizes the council’s organization, establishes standing committees and a nominating committee, and clarifies how work-session items move onto regular-meeting agendas.
Council members voted to waive the usual second and third readings so the council could debate and amend the ordinance at the same meeting. After discussion about whether to adopt the packet version or replace it with a substitute labeled “Ordinance 2B,” the council approved the amended ordinance and unanimously passed the emergency clause to make it effective immediately.
Proponents said the ordinance mostly codifies existing practice while adding clarity. One council member said the draft “puts in writing” procedures the body has used informally and praised the nominating committee as a way to reduce confusion when appointing members to outside commissions. Council members discussed procedural details including Section 5 language on work sessions and Section 11 language on committee assignments and the timing for members to submit committee preferences in December.
Council members also debated procedural mechanics: whether to amend the packet version or adopt the substitute and the need for at least one amendment because the draft listed three potential nominees for two committee slots. City staff and members walked through how nominations would be processed — the nominating committee would typically forward nominees to the full council, with the council voting if the nominating committee failed to reach agreement.
The ordinance’s adoption was followed by a roll-call vote to invoke the emergency clause so the changes take effect immediately; the motion carried on a unanimous vote.
The council did not identify any required outside approvals for the procedural changes. The council chair said staff would notify members of the nominating committee and accept committee-preference submissions to implement the new schedule before the next meeting.
