MONROE - Some Monroe Common Council members are frustrated with the changes to standing committees they have had to implement since settling a lawsuit regarding state open meetings laws in late 2015.
Namely, that they are not allowed to ask questions and provide opinions during meetings of committees of which they are not members and also are not privy to information discussed in closed-session proceedings of those committees.
Alderman Ron Marsh proposed during a Judiciary and Ordinance Review committee meeting on Jan. 30 to "do away with committees all together." He especially rebuked the idea that all council members would not be given information discussed during committee closed sessions, though other members noted those sessions rarely happen.
"It's not fair to me as an alderperson to not be given all the information before I vote," Marsh said. "If I'm going to rely on a third party to give me information, you better believe I'm not going to vote on it."
Mayor Louis Armstrong contended that placing trust in committee members to thoroughly research issues before making recommendations is necessary to the role of standing committees.
Still, the question of whether an open meetings law could be violated has left some council members upset with the situation or uneasy with the idea of attending meetings as private citizens, which City Attorney Dan Bartholf said is allowed.
"They can attend just like anybody else, but they cannot participate because they'd be considered acting in their official capacity," Bartholf said.
Private citizens, per official meeting rules, are not allowed to engage with aldermen during committee or council meetings unless noted in the agenda.
Alderwoman Brooke Bauman said she is no longer attending any committee meetings for fear of a perceived violation. In contrast, fellow council member Chris Beer agreed with Marsh about the duty of knowing every aspect of a proposed resolution or ordinance change before deciding in full council proceedings.
Another issue is the size of committees.
Currently the makeup of the Board of Public Works is president Charles Koch, vice president Tom Miller, Jeff Newcomer and alternate Reid Stangel. Since the membership of the committee was dropped to three full members, Koch has expressed disagreement with the limited scope of two to three people making decisions regarding the Department of Public Works. He said large projects concerning large amounts of money should include more of the council.
In an effort to change that, but still meet lawful requirements, the council recently set a public hearing date for an ordinance that would remove alternate members and instead make each committee a group of four.
"Once you hit five, it's presumed to be more than half of the members," Bartholf said.
Members of each of the six standing committees are appointed annually by the mayor after city elections.
If the ordinance were passed Feb. 22, it would take effect April 18.
Namely, that they are not allowed to ask questions and provide opinions during meetings of committees of which they are not members and also are not privy to information discussed in closed-session proceedings of those committees.
Alderman Ron Marsh proposed during a Judiciary and Ordinance Review committee meeting on Jan. 30 to "do away with committees all together." He especially rebuked the idea that all council members would not be given information discussed during committee closed sessions, though other members noted those sessions rarely happen.
"It's not fair to me as an alderperson to not be given all the information before I vote," Marsh said. "If I'm going to rely on a third party to give me information, you better believe I'm not going to vote on it."
Mayor Louis Armstrong contended that placing trust in committee members to thoroughly research issues before making recommendations is necessary to the role of standing committees.
Still, the question of whether an open meetings law could be violated has left some council members upset with the situation or uneasy with the idea of attending meetings as private citizens, which City Attorney Dan Bartholf said is allowed.
"They can attend just like anybody else, but they cannot participate because they'd be considered acting in their official capacity," Bartholf said.
Private citizens, per official meeting rules, are not allowed to engage with aldermen during committee or council meetings unless noted in the agenda.
Alderwoman Brooke Bauman said she is no longer attending any committee meetings for fear of a perceived violation. In contrast, fellow council member Chris Beer agreed with Marsh about the duty of knowing every aspect of a proposed resolution or ordinance change before deciding in full council proceedings.
Another issue is the size of committees.
Currently the makeup of the Board of Public Works is president Charles Koch, vice president Tom Miller, Jeff Newcomer and alternate Reid Stangel. Since the membership of the committee was dropped to three full members, Koch has expressed disagreement with the limited scope of two to three people making decisions regarding the Department of Public Works. He said large projects concerning large amounts of money should include more of the council.
In an effort to change that, but still meet lawful requirements, the council recently set a public hearing date for an ordinance that would remove alternate members and instead make each committee a group of four.
"Once you hit five, it's presumed to be more than half of the members," Bartholf said.
Members of each of the six standing committees are appointed annually by the mayor after city elections.
If the ordinance were passed Feb. 22, it would take effect April 18.