Council preserves three-touch idea, tweaks meeting-extension rule and reorders agenda items

City councilors on Sept. 30 reviewed proposed rules intended to reduce late surprises in council decisionmaking (a so-called "three-touch" rule), discussed the order of business on regular agendas, and changed the draft meeting-extension language to allow a one-hour extension for any meeting by majority vote.

Supporters described the three-touch rule as a transparency measure to give council members and the public repeated notice about significant items before final action. "I love this one because ... I don't like surprises," Council member Ball said. Some members objected to mandatory language; Council member Spencer and others preferred the softer phrasing "should" rather than "must," but the council ultimately agreed to keep the stronger "must" language in the draft for now and noted the council may waive the rule when necessary.

Councilors also debated the meeting-extension rule. The draft originally stated the council may extend "any meeting except for a special meeting" for up to one hour. After discussion, the body decided to strike the exception so that — subject to the council's ability to suspend rules — any meeting may be extended by a majority vote for up to one hour. The change was explained as a way to avoid situations in which a single dissent could abruptly end a meeting in the middle of business.

The council discussed adjustments to the order of business, including moving informational reports and council comments earlier in the agenda so outside agencies and residents would not have to wait late into the evening. Councilors asked staff to ensure consistency across chapters that describe meeting content and to drop a duplicated "council reports" listing.

Council scheduled a special meeting for Oct. 14 to continue work on the governance manual.