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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

How to read the Agenda for Tonight's or any City Commission Meeting.



CITY OF BLOOMFIELD HILLS
City Commission
Agenda for Regular Meeting June 11, 2013

The regular meeting of the City Commission will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at City Hall 45 E. Long Lake Road Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304. Phone 248.644.1520, FAX 248.644.4813.

1. Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance
2. Consent Agenda 
A. Bills Payable for May 2013.
B. Department Reports:
a. Treasurer
b. Public Safety
c. DPW
d. Building
e. Engineering
D. Minutes:
a. City Commission Special Meeting held May 1, 2013.
b. City Commission Regular Meeting held May 14, 2013.
c. City Commission Special Meeting held May 21, 2013.
E. Correspondence:
a. Memo from City Manager – City Goals.
b. Memo from Finance Director – DPS Overtime.
c. Resolution from Oakland County – Planning and Economic
Development Resolution.
d. Standard & Poor’s Credit Report.

 The Consent Agenda listed above  is usually the second order of business and thus the second agenda item. It contains house keeping items and notes of correspondence. Of note here is the inclusion of the minutes of from the May 1st, May 14th, and May 21st City Commission meetings. By law as per the Michigan Open Meetings Act all minutes of public meetings of a body like City Commission meeting must be made available in eight working days after the meeting is held. These are long overdue. The minutes are  draft minutes subject to change before the final minutes are approved  via  the Consent Agenda.  Commissioners received copies of the draft minutes in their agenda package which was delivered last Friday. Residents will see the final approved minutes when  posted on the City's web site. The last published meeting minutes  currently on the web  site  are the April 9th 2013 minutes. The Video of the May 14th Meeting in which  City Commissioner decides to "explore " outsourcing of the Public Safety Dispatch is now available on the City's web site. The outsourcing topic as the proverbial agenda item #4 is the first item .discussed on the video.
Usually the consent agenda is approved  (all items A to Z }by a single voice vote.

3. Recognition of Citizens in the audience. 
Here residents may speak for  up to three minutes on any topic that is not on the evening agenda. Usually no one does. Thus the first three agenda items are dispatched in less than five minutes making the fourth agenda item the first "real item." That is the case tonight.Estimated start time for agenda item #4 could be as early as 7:35pm.

4. The Commission will introduce Director of Public Safety David Hendrickson.

Other items follow and are numbered sequentially. Like horses in a race,agenda items may be added or scratched up until the start of the meeting..  Their order may be changed. A finalized agenda is usually available at the door.

5. The Commission will consider approval of water and sewer rates to be
billed for actual consumption beginning July 1, 2013 and approve the
resolutions authorizing new water and sewer rates.

6. The Commission will consider budget amendments as presented by
Finance Director / Treasurer Karen Ruddy. City Commission Agenda
June 11, 2013

7. The Commission will consider approval of a three-year contract with
Oakland County Equalization for assessing services.

8. The Commission will discuss goals for 2013 – 2014.
Here you may ask yourself  are their goals your goals or ones you think are important to the City. You may also ask if not why not .

9. The Commission will consider a memo on the K-9 unit from Director of Public Safety Hendrickson.
This item is discussed in detail in an adjacent post.

10. The Commission will hear City Manager comments.
11. The Commission will hear an update on individual lead responsibilities.
12. The Commission will consider other business.

These last three  seemingly innocuous items appear at the end of virtually every agenda and often belie discussions of significant importance. Tonight it is expected that the the progress of the City Commission's outsourcing of Public Safety Dispatch will be discussed .


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