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County administrator proposes new pre-committee review of resolutions and ordinances
Summary
Eau Claire County's administrator told supervisors the county will implement a procedure to have resolutions and ordinance changes reviewed by the administrator, corporation counsel, and finance director before placement on the board agenda, aiming to catch attorney and fiscal issues earlier.
The county administrator introduced a new pre-committee legislative review and approval process intended to ensure resolutions and ordinance changes are reviewed by the county administrator, corporation counsel, and the finance director before being placed on the county board agenda. "We discovered that there were several resolutions that may not have been seen by an attorney in our office until after they were already placed on the county board agenda, and we determined that probably wasn't good practice," the administrator said.
Under the new procedure, any resolution or ordinance with potential fiscal impact will be routed through assigned attorneys and the finance director for review and comment; the administrator said the change is intended to reduce late legal reviews and flag financial impacts earlier in the process. The administrator added the policy will be implemented at the committee level first and department heads will be advised.
Board members asked whether the change will delay amendments made from the floor at committee. The administrator said time frames are included in the process and that truly time-sensitive items could be expedited, but encouraged supervisors to bring forward items with prior notice so staff can be present to assess amendments' propriety.
The administrator and staff framed the change as an operational improvement that will help ensure legal sufficiency and identify fiscal impacts before items reach the full board.
