Here is a proposed draft for Art 3 sec 3.14, hopefully I added this correctly
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Article 3 section 3.14 proposed draft
- Thread starter Gene Harris
- Start date
Yes, Gene, you post and attachment were added correctly.
Stepping back and reflecting on yesterday's discussion, I believe we are trying to accomplish the following in Sec 3.14:
- Preserve the current Charter requirement to represent constituents by compelling a council member participate in every vote except the two limited exceptions.
- Introduce the notion that an abstention will be counted as a NO vote rather than just a non vote.
- Ensure NO abstentions are noted as such in the minutes rather than just no, preserving the record of the abstention while counting it as a NO.
- Compel council members cite a reason for the record, and documented in the minutes, for abstaining
Section 3.14 Voting.
It adds clutter and is unnecessary, but I would not be opposed to even adding "It is required that Council Members take and voice positions on behalf of the Citizens in all actions requiring a vote." prior to the above paragraph to provide rational and context to the section.
Your edits preserve what I would like to see changed and I like your wording. I had a revised version but I don't think it is necessary now. Both Aubrey and Celina call out no votes and require a minute entry, I think it is needed.
In a separate thread, Lynda proposed this language:
Section 3.14 Voting. Members of the Council present shall vote and have their votes recorded in the minutes upon every action requiring a vote. Only in the event the vote involves a Council Member's conduct or conflict of interest shall that Council Member abstain, and the reasons for the abstention shall be noted in the minutes. A Council member must vote, absent a required abstention, on every action requiring a vote; a failure to vote absent a required abstention shall be a violation of the Rules of Procedure and counted as “Not in favor” of the action voted on. The rules set forth in Section 11.05 shall control conflict-of-interest issues unless a more restrictive provision is established by State law.
To which I replied:
I would not state it's a Violation of the Rules of Procedure. ROP are fluid, subject to change by any council, and subservient to the Charter. Abstaining from voting is and should be a Charter violation, absent one of the two legitimate abstentions, because it is contrary to 3.14.
I've updated the attachment with both proposed options-see attached.
Section 3.14 Voting. Members of the Council present shall vote and have their votes recorded in the minutes upon every action requiring a vote. Only in the event the vote involves a Council Member's conduct or conflict of interest shall that Council Member abstain, and the reasons for the abstention shall be noted in the minutes. A Council member must vote, absent a required abstention, on every action requiring a vote; a failure to vote absent a required abstention shall be a violation of the Rules of Procedure and counted as “Not in favor” of the action voted on. The rules set forth in Section 11.05 shall control conflict-of-interest issues unless a more restrictive provision is established by State law.
To which I replied:
I would not state it's a Violation of the Rules of Procedure. ROP are fluid, subject to change by any council, and subservient to the Charter. Abstaining from voting is and should be a Charter violation, absent one of the two legitimate abstentions, because it is contrary to 3.14.
I've updated the attachment with both proposed options-see attached.
Took a look at what Chat GPT had to say about how to record an abstaining vote. The suggestion was to simply record it as abstained. This seems to have merit as making up a vote essentially and recording yes or no arbitrarily, skews the actual voting record.
What was the final decision for 3.14 wording? I saw a thumbs up from Robert for suggestion to record votes as abstained, if the council member does in fact abstain, rather than arbitrarily assigning a yes or no. If I missed it or am simply not remembering it has been crazy for me the past couple weeks.
We voted to keep this language as posted above on 12/19.
Section 3.14 Voting
Members of the Council present shall must vote and have their votes recorded in the minutes upon every action requiring a vote. A Council Member may abstain Oonly in the event the vote involves a Council Member’s conduct or conflict of interest shall that Council Member abstain. If a Council Member abstains for any reason from a vote, the Council Member must cite a reason for the abstention and that reason will must be recorded in the minutes. Abstentions will be treated as a “NO” vote and recorded as “No by abstention” in the minutes. The rules set forth in Section 11.05the Charter and the Ethics Policy shall control conflict of interest issues unless a more restrictive provision is established by State law.
Fix typo on the word "Oonly"
Thank you! I'll correct.