withdraw2024-017
Withdraw 2024-016 through 2024-022 without prejudice.
2024-017 · POLICY · 2024
An Ordinance to adopt changes to Amesbury City Council — 14th Session Rules by revising Rule 11-A Standing Committees.
Reorganizes the Amesbury City Council's standing committees. Establishes a Committee of the Whole, creates a Joint Education Committee with the School Committee, and allows smaller sub-committees with at least five members. Expands how committees gather testimony and make recommendations, affecting council and school district governance.
withdrawn CITYWIDE
- STEP 1SubmittedMAR 12 2024
- STEP 2 · CURRENTWithdrawnJUL 23 2024
AI summary · plain-language
This ordinance revises Rule 11-A, Standing Committees, of the Amesbury City Council Rules for the 14th Session. It authorizes committees to invite or compel testimony and to make various types of recommendations (positive, negative, with changes, or none). It establishes a Committee of the Whole comprising all nine councilors to oversee Budget, Finance, Audit, Planning, Ordinances, Administration, and Rules, and it allows creation of sub-committees with a minimum of five members. The ordinance also creates a Joint Education Committee to improve communication between the City Council and the School Committee, with quarterly meetings and designated ex officio participants, aiming to reduce redundancy, ease quorum administration, comply with Open Meeting Law concerns, and enhance public access to informational proceedings.
Key provisions
§1 Allows committees to invite or compel testimony from any source as needed and to issue positive, negative, with changes, or no recommendations.
§2 Creates a Committee of the Whole consisting of all nine councilors to handle Budget, Finance, Audit and Planning, Ordinances, Administration, and Rules.
§3 Authorizes the Council to create sub-committees with at least five members.
§4 Forms a Joint Education Committee with the School Committee (3 members from each body) meeting quarterly, with ex officio members (Superintendent, business manager, facilities director, Mayor, CFO).
Discussed at meetings
City CouncilREVISED City Council Meeting
City CouncilOrdinance and Administration Committee Meeting
amend2024-017
Incorporate the changes from 2024-017 into 2024-002 and to return 2024-017 to the full City Council with no recommendation.
2024-0172024-017
City Council**TO BE HELD AT SENIOR CENTER** City Council Ad Hoc Rules and Procedures Committee of the Whole Meeting
amend2024-017
Strike 11-A, items 1, 2, 3, and all of 11-A1 from 2024-017.
amend2024-017
Amend 2024-017 to increase committee size to be five members with three City Council members and two non-council members appointed by the council president, with voting rights for all five members.
amend2024-017
Amend 2024-017 to require all presentations to City Council be done at a first reading, with committees able to request staff presence at committee meetings for subsequent questions or clarifications.
amend2024-017
Amend 2024-017 to allow any committee to meet as a Committee of the Whole, subject to council vote and approval, as necessary to review items which require a larger discussion.
amend2024-017
Amend 2024-017 to allow for audio recordings of committee meetings to be made available for review by City Councilors should they not be able to attend a committee meeting.
amend2024-017
Amend 2024-017 to allow for the current chair of a committee to remain chair of a Committee of the Whole if said Committee of the Whole is formed from their committee.
amend2024-017
Clarify that rule 2-B applies to the creation of ad-hoc committees 6 that the creation of such committee is subject to a vote of the City Council.
City CouncilCity Council Ad Hoc Rules and Procedures Committee of the Whole Meeting
refer2024-017
Split the question on 2024-017 to consider only re-establishing the Joint Education Committee and positively recommend that portion to the Ordinance and Administration subcommittee while asking them to re-consider language for members of the administration to be non-voting invitees.