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03-05-2019 Council Rules of ProceduresCouncil Rules of Procedure Ethics Code Council Rules of Procedure City Council Meeting March 5, 2019 Proposed changes come from discussions with the Deputy Mayor and other notes staff has made over the past year. Not briefing all housekeeping changes that are presented with rules changes (ex. Correcting formatting, scriveners error, clarifying language without changing substance, adding designee or correcting a staff position, etc.). They are in the strike- through version in the resolution. Rule 2.1 Regular Meetings Discussion Regular Council meetings will begin at the hour of 7:00 6:30 p.m., and will adjourn no later than 10:00 p.m. To continue past this time of adjournment, a majority of the Council must concur. Rule 2.2 Order of Council Meeting Agenda Aligns Rule 2.2 with current practice Added “Council Committee & Regional Committee Reports” to occur immediately after “Proclamations and Presentations.” Deleted last sentence of Rule 20.4, which directs the use of staff-prepared summaries in lieu of verbal reports on committees at council meetings. Added Deputy Mayor Report Added Citizen comment at first reading of ordinances Removed references to ordinances on the passing as consent items. Rule 6.8 “lay on table” Modified local rule to conform with Roberts Rules on purpose and usage of the motion to “table” an item. Also clarified that the preferred method to postpone consideration of an item is with the mechanism of “motion to postpone to a certain time.” Rule 6.19 announcing vote results Modified rule to conform with current practice. “At the conclusion of any vote, the Mayor or City Clerk will announce the results of the vote.” Rule 3.2 Agenda Approval Changed rule for agenda setting to expressly state what happens if the designated Committee Chair declines to participate in agenda setting. (The designation will fall to the next Chair on the list). Rule 11.1 (1) Family Member Definition for Excused Absences Conforms the definition of “Immediate family member” with the employee guidelines/best practices. “Immediate Family is defined as the employee’s parent, spouse or domestic partner, children, sister, brother, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, aunt, uncle, step-relations equivalent to those listed, and no other persons.” Rule 11.4 Remote Participation Changed to allow three instead of two councilmembers to attend council meetings remotely. Limits the number of councilmembers who may attend council committee meetings at two. Rule 16.4 Gratuities Added language to incorporate the City’s Travel Expenses Reimbursement Procedures requiring that a gratuity may not exceed 15%. Rule 16.12 First Class Air Travel Added exception to prohibition on first class travel to allow first class travel when necessary to accommodate a medically authorized condition. Rule 19.14 Advisory Bodies - training Changed allotted time for orientation to conform with recent changes to state law mandating PRA/OPMA training. Increases allotted time to train newly appointed members from 30 to 90 days consistent with RCW 42.30.205 & 42.56.150. Rule 19.9 Interview Process for Advisory Bodies Changed to bring Rule 19.9 up to date with current practice Council interviews applicants at a Special Council Meeting. Any Councilmember who attended the public interview is eligible to vote on the recommendation to full Council. Full Council shall vote on the appointment at a Regular Council Meeting, unless the appointment is made under Rule 19.12 (which is the process to be used when insufficient applications are received). Section 20. Council Committees 20.1 - Added Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) to the list of Council Committees 20.4 - Deleted last sentence that said written reports would be prepared in lieu of verbal committee reports. New Social Media Policy Explains the scope and restrictions of representations made by individual councilmembers online. Requires that councilmembers comply with archiving requirements to comply with PRA. Provides some guidance on how to conform with OPMA Section 14 – Council Representation & Social Media 14.1 Modification of the paragraph to include statements made in a social media context: Public communications shall model the same professional behavior displayed during a Council meeting and other community meetings, and reflect well on the individual Councilmember, the City Council as a whole, and the community. Councilmembers must clearly state that the views expressed do not represent those of the City Council or the City of Federal Way. Section 14 – Council Representation & Social Media 14.3 SOCIAL MEDIA   Social media posts such as blogs, Facebook, and Twitter may be used by Council Members to communicate with the public, provided the following guidelines are used: To comply with the Public Records Act (PRA), Council Members shall follow those archiving procedures outlined in Rule 17.3 Social Media Records. Social media shall not be used to conduct City Council business other than to informally communicate. Public notices, items of legal or fiscal significance that have not been released to the public, and discussion of quasi-judicial matters may not be included in Council Member media posts. Section 14 – Council Representation & Social Media, continued Responses to media posts shall be limited by the provision of the Open Public Meetings Act so as not to constitute an open public meeting if a quorum of the City Council was to participate. In order to demonstrate openness and willingness to listen to the entire community, Council Member posts on social media sites should be made through a public-facing page or by marking individual posts available to the public as a whole. Disclaimers, per Council Rule 14.4 are used. If a Council Member makes a factual error in a public communication, it should be corrected as soon as the error is discovered. Blog posts may be corrected by amending a previous post with a note that a correction was made. Section 14 – Council Representation & Social Media, continued Councilmembers are encouraged to maintain social media sites with settings that can restrict user’s ability to comment in order to avoid inadvertent discussions that may violate OPMA. 14.4 Social Media Disclaimers Social media postings shall include, or reference a link to, disclaimers that state: The views expressed represent the views of the author and may not reflect the views of the Federal Way City Council or official City policy Responses to the communication by other Council Members may be limited by the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act under which a policy discussion must be held in an open public meeting if a quorum of the City Council Participates. Comments posted in response to a Council Member-initiated communication may be subject to public disclosure under the Washington State Public Records Act. Section 17 - Public Records & Social Media Adds section to cover social media records Councilmembers who use social media platforms that are supported by the City’s archiving software are required to enroll the account with the social media archiver. Posts made to unsupported platforms must be screenshotted and emailed to the Councilmember’s City-archived email account. Comments posted in response to a Councilmember-initiated communication may be subject to public disclosure under the PRA. Section 22 – Miscellaneous Added a section to cover the use of City-owned equipment for social media. “Use of City-owned equipment to update personal social media sites or e-mail accounts is subject to Employee Guideline Section 9.7 (Office Equipment Use Guidelines and Procedures), which allows for incidental use of city equipment for personal needs provided the activity does not cause the City to incur additional cost or liability or pose additional risk to security, privacy or conflict with any other City policy. Use of City-owned equipment or e-mail accounts for campaign purposes is prohibited by RCW 42.17A.555.” Questions?