Common Council Will be Asked to Approve Communication Policy

The practice of reading of communications and letters during Common Council will come to an end if the aldermen and alderwomen approve changes being proposed by the Ordinance & License Committee.

The committee is recommending that a policy be approved that would require any communications that are desired to be given to the full Common Council be submitted to City Hall by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Copies of the communication or letter would then be placed in the aldermanic packet, which currently goes out to the Common Council on Fridays or Saturdays.

City Administrator Lori Luther commented during the Monday night meeting that the packets could be completed Thursdays in the future to allow extra time for aldermen to review the information in the packets.

Alderman Vance Skinner brought the issue before because he felt communications were not being handled consistently.

Alderwoman Joan Francoeur said she had similar views and wanted the Common Council to address the best way to get communications and messages to all the aldermen besides reading the letters during the Common Council.

City Clerk/Treasurer Tom Neill said he reviewed practices of other cities nearby and none of the cities read the communications out loud during Common Council meetings.

“The purpose of bringing this to O&L tonight was to start that process and hopefully bring it to the Common Council as an agenda item so that we could more formally address it,” Skinner said.