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Council urges fire board to fix overages; declines to adopt electronic-communications resolution
Summary
Mayor Marble asked the council to request that the fire board itemize over-budget expenditures; Chief Roomsburg said he would address it. Council also discussed a proposed resolution banning texting during meetings under the Open Meetings Act but took no action.
Mayor Linda Marble asked the council for permission on Oct. 6 to write to the fire board requesting that over-budget items be placed on separate line items showing intended use, citing attorney guidance that over-budgeted line items require additional detail. Marble said there were "around five budget adjustments" that created overages.
Councilmembers generally supported asking the fire board for corrected budgeting. "I would make sure it gets taken care of," Fire Chief Roomsburg said when asked; Chief Roomsburg later provided a report explaining the over-budgeted amounts. Councilmembers Tipken and Hawes said an additional line item makes sense and Hawes said he saw no reason the mayor shouldn't write the letter.
Separately, Marble introduced a proposed resolution stating that texting between council members during meetings is a violation of the Open Meetings Act and said it is distracting when presenters are present. Councilmember Glen Hawes questioned whether a local resolution was necessary because the statute already covers the issue, and several members noted they would step out for emergency calls. No motion was made to approve the resolution.
The council approved placing certain consent-agenda items and later approved routine election-related resolutions; it also scheduled a town-hall on the rental ordinance for Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. The fire-board budget request and the electronic-communications proposal are expected to be followed up in subsequent council correspondence and meetings.
