03/20/2007 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 3/20/2007 Committee. Law Director Dubelko said there is an ordinance-it simply has not been amended. If Council wishes to send it back to committee, it certainly can. It will be second read tonight and can be on third reading at the next meeting. The discretion and the power lies with City Council to do with the ordinance what it wishes, but it doesn't have to go back to committee. Councilman Ryan noted there is a specific Rule of Council that says the Finance Committee will recommend the budget. Council can change their rules by motion. There is also a rule that states rule changes go to the Intra- Governmental Relations committee for consideration. Law Director said the rule had been complied with. The recommendation from committee was made. The motion simply was not approved by the whole of Council. Councilman Gareau made a motion to amend Ordinance 2007-17 to incorporate the corrections of the Finance Director as they need to be addressed because they were oversights on the part of the administration. (During the framing of the motion, Councilman Ryan asked to be recognized, but the Council President declined. Mr. Ryan motioned to change the ruling of the chair, but the motion did not receive a second.) Councilman Gareau explained his motion to amend did not include the amendments recommended by the Finance Committee, but simply the corrections as presented to Council from the Finance Director. The motion was seconded by Council Member Dailey Jones. Law Director said he would anticipate Mr. Ryan's point is that the rule requires all amendments to the appropriations ordinance to be recommended out of the Finance Committee. If those were recommended by Finance Committee, Council can vote. The issue can be split. Councilman Gareau said he believes the recommendation out of the committee included those amendments from the Director of Finance. He understood everybody was in agreement with them. Councilman Tallon said the amendments were submitted as one, that's why he recommended it. Councilman Gareau said he was dividing the question. Councilman Miller inquired whether this could not be done when the item goes back to the Finance Committee? Can that not be submitted with its next recommendation if it were to make a second recommendation? Councilman Gareau said he did not know what the future holds at this point in time. The only thing he is fairly certain of is that everybody seems to be in agreement about the clerical errors. The legislation is on second reading, but it would have to go through a motion to suspend this evening. If that does not pass, it will go on to third reading at another meeting. And the other amendments might come in again. He just wants to try to clean it up so that the Finance Director can actually put the clerical changes in the legislation because some of them are fairly crucial and substantive and are significant dollar amounts. Councilman Miller said those changes are procedural errors that do need to be included, and he does not anticipate that will be any problem for the Finance Committee to recommend them again as part of a package. It is a normal course of business to correct minor errors. Councilman Tallon asked the Law Director if the motion was proper, and the Law Director answered absolutely. The Finance Committee has to recommended the budget, and it has. As he understood the original motion, the Finance Committee recommended all the amendments and revisions. That motion failed. Mr. Gareau is properly asking to split the motion and deal with some of it now. President Kennedy called for the roll call on the motion to incorporate the clerical corrections, which were approved and recommended by the Finance Committee, into Ordinance 2007-17. Roll call: Gareau, 6