1/5/2024 Special Called Meeting Recap
Last Friday’s special called meeting was brief - less than ten minutes. You can watch the video on our YouTube page.
There was a motion made by Councilmember Carn to treat all of the items as a consent agenda and that motion passed unanimously.
For those of you who may not be familiar with a regular meeting versus a special called meeting, here is the difference, according to the Georgia Municipal Association:
Regular Meetings
Regular meetings are official meetings held periodically to consider municipal business, make policy decisions, approve contracts, establish budgets, and enact ordinances or resolutions. Their time and frequency are usually specified in the city charter or by ordinance.
Special Meetings
These meetings are usually convened to discuss and vote on one or a limited number of specific issues. For example, a special meeting may be held to take action on a controversial rezoning request. Because there may be a number of people wishing to comment regarding the request, holding a special meeting to address the issue is an effective way to avoid an otherwise long and drawn out regular meeting. Special meetings may also be convened during an emergency.
Section 2-21 of ordinances prescribes that as Mayor, I can call a special called meeting “whenever in [my] discretion the exigencies of the case shall require such meetings.” Also, “whenever a majority of the members of the council request” a special called meeting, the Mayor shall call one. In the case of Friday’s meeting, this was a request of all of the council members.
The agenda at Friday’s meeting was unusually long for a special called meeting. The following items were listed:
1. Consideration of funding for the swearing in ceremony for newly elected officials February 3, 2024, at the Georgia International Convention Center.
2. Second reading of Ordinance 2023–06 to amend the Charter to separate the Municipal Court from the Police Department.
3. Consideration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration and participation.
4. Consideration to approve One Talent-501c3 to disburse the Jack P. Longino Scholarship Fund in the amount of $8,000.00 for deserving students and subsequent future applicants.
5. Consideration of the College Park organizational orientation.
6. Consideration of adjusting City Council discretionary accounts.
7. Consideration to approve and establishing the Six West Development Committee.
8. Consideration of City Council Legislative Assistant reorganization.
9. Discussion of College Park Police presence at council meetings.
10. Consideration of funding for The Main Street Academy (TMSA) carline roadway stripping at Lakeshore Drive in the amount of $19,000.00.
As you can see from my earlier post, there was no supporting documentation for the items listed. Typically our agendas are put together through the city manager’s office and the council agenda memos outline the issue being considered and any documentation necessary for evaluation. This agenda was not coordinated through the city manager’s office. Councilmember Carn shared via e-mail the topics that needed consideration.
Our city attorney informed the city manager we could not address item #2. Councilmember Carn discussed a number of amendments to the agenda, including:
1. Funding for the swearing in ceremony for newly elected officials in the amount of $15,000.
4. Consideration of the College Park organizational orientation to be denied and for all created changes within the College Park organizational structure be returned to its former state to include with no hiring of a Deputy City Manager.
5. Consideration of adjusting City Council discretionary accounts to $10,000 along with $10,000 travel expense.
7. Consideration of City Council Legislative Assistant reorganization to have assistant report to Mayor and Council and administratively to the City.
9. Consideration and action of setting effective January 16, 2024 as follows: Workshop Session 6:00 pm; Regular Session 7:30 pm; and Executive Session concluding the Regular Session.
It was unusual to deal with this as a consent agenda, as the items had not been advertised to the public in that manner, nor had there been any discussion at an earlier work session.
I anticipate that while the agenda packet for Tuesday’s meeting has been uploaded to the city’s website, there will be some additions to it when we get to the meeting. I think this is a practice that should be avoided as much as possible, as it does not allow the public the opportunity to review documents prior to the meeting. Sometimes there will be a time-sensitive last minute item that cannot be avoided. But we should work to provide you as much information as we can legally share (issues regarding real estate, litigation, cybersecurity and personnel are ones we discuss in executive session).
I’ll provide my preview for Tuesday’s meeting this weekend. Hope to see you there!
