Council Action Requested:
Whether to amend the Lancaster County Code to Relating to Parliamentary Procedures for Council Meetings to Reinstate Certain Standing Committees and Provide for Procedures Relative to Same in Order to Comport with Existing Lancaster County Practices and Procedures.
Points to Consider:
During the height of the COVID Pandemic, County Council adjusted its rules of procedure on August 10, 2020 in order to more efficiently govern the County in the context of COVID protocols and public safety. The changes included providing for remote meetings and electronic voting, but also tweaked several processes of meeting procedures from meeting notices and public comments to general debate and updated Roberts Rules of Order.
It has been discovered that several sections of the Code pertaining to Council's rules of procedure for Council meetings were inadvertently deleted during the updating process for COVID. Such omissions include any references to standing committees of the Council and how they are created. Further, there is no codified structure for the Committee of the Whole and how it is to operate or function.
The draft ordinance re-establishes the Committee Structure as a function of the County Council, and the process and procedures for how the committees will operate. The Ordinance language incorporates what was in the County Code related to the Committee Structure prior to August 2020 and includes some tweaks such as formally re-establishing the Administration Committee, formally creating the Committee of the Whole, and outlines how ad hoc committees may be formed.
These rules are solely at the Council discretion and direction, so when this omission was found in the County Code, Administration felt the need to inform County Council of this situation and recommend a potential remedy.
Funding and Liability Factors:
Not applicable.
Recommendation:
Amend the Code relating to Parliamentary Procedure and Council Committees.