Agenda - 03-01-2007-4 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Proposed Order of Business for BOCC Regular Meetings At the retreat on January 19, 2007, discussion concerning BOCC regular meetings focused on creating an agenda format that was respectful of the public attending the meeting as well as streamlining the process to create a more orderly and efficient order of business. The following recommendations are proposed for Board discussion. • Start time for regular Board meetings should be moved up to 7:00 pm with an adjourmiient time of 10:00 pm. Such a move will allow adequate time for everyone to have dinner and still make the meeting on time. The earlier start will enable citizens to attend the public meeting and still get home at a reasonable hour to relax and prepare for work the next day. Commissioners are not malting important decisions late at night and staff is not at a disadvantage the next day from having worked for more than 14 hours on meeting day. • Special presentations, proclamations and recognitions are acts of celebration and should take place at the beginning of the meeting. Such special guests can stay for the remainder of the meeting but are not being held captive to endure items not of interest to them. • Decisions on items on the consent agenda should be made earlier in the meeting to allow citizens in attendance for those items to leave as soon as the Board has voted. Routine and non-controversial appointments and resolutions can appear on the agenda under the consent portion. • Public hearings, regular agenda items and reports constitute the bulk of the meeting and should be considered prior to public comments on issues not on the printed agenda. Resolutions that are liltely to generate discussion can appear under regular agenda items. Public comments should not be added to the agenda and considered for Board action at the same meeting in which they are presented. Such items should be referred to staff for analysis and future Board consideration. • Board comments and the county manager's report can be made after the majority of the county's business has been conducted. Under Robert's Rules of Order, issues brought up under Board comments for which the commissioners want to make a decision can be added to the agenda by a majority vote. • Generally appointments can be made under the consent portion of the agenda. However, if there are appointments the Board wishes to discuss, they can be made at the end of the meeting since the interested parties are generally not in attendance at the meeting. • Closed session remains at the end of the order of business but consideration should be made for removing it from the agenda and convening closed session meetings prior to the regular board meetings. • Any item on the agenda, regardless of the section under which it is listed, can be moved up on the agenda if a significant number of citizens are in attendance for the discussion and the commissioners wish to address it in a timely manner.