Proposal for a New City Hall
As readers of this blog might know, at the August 21, 2018 Work Session Council voted to place on the docket a resolution authorizing Mayor Gray and his administration to begin negotiations for a new city hall with CRM, the winning bidder. Due to possible conflicts of interest, three Councilmembers recused themselves for this vote. The vote of the remaining twelve Councilmembers was six to six. Mayor Gray cast a tie-breaking vote in favor of putting the resolution on the docket. It is important to note that this vote is not for approval of the proposal. It is only a first step that may or may not lead to final approval.
What follows is an overview of the steps remaining in the process. I hope this will clarify where we are on this particular issue while also providing insight into the workings of city government.
First, some general background about Council process. Every ordinance and resolution must receive two readings at Council Meetings. The primary purpose of Council Meetings is for approving legislation. In most situations legislation will follow a three-step track starting with vetting at Work Session(s), a first reading at a Council Meeting, and a second reading at the following Council Meeting, when a vote is taken for approval or disapproval. If a majority (eight votes) of Council votes for approval at the second reading, the proposed ordinance or resolution becomes law.
The city hall issue has only completed the first step, and the resolution authorizing the Mayor to negotiate with CRM is now on the docket for a first reading at the August 30, 2018 Council Meeting. Most often, by the time an ordinance or resolution reaches the docket, the outcome is settled. That might not be the case for the city hall issue.
The reason the Work Session city hall vote might not serve as a reliable proxy for Council’s ultimate action is due to different requirements for different types of votes. The Council Rules state that official actions by Council, such as voting on legislation, require a majority vote of all Councilmembers unless there is a stated exception in the rules. A majority vote of Councilmembers means a minimum of eight votes given the fifteen members serving. An exception that allows a lower threshold of votes is procedural action. A motion to place an item on the docket is a procedural action. That is why the motion from Work Session passed with only seven votes, including the tie-breaking vote from Mayor Gray. Procedural action only requires a majority vote of the Councilmembers present. It does not require a majority of all Councilmembers. The practical consequence of this background as it relates to this issue is that the resolution will face a tougher test at the August 30, 2018 Council Meeting. It will need eight votes to pass.
The resolution’s scope is also limited. Even if it passes it does not authorize acceptance of the CRM proposal. It only authorizes the administration to begin negotiations with CRM on the details of what will be contained in the final proposal.
Think of this process as moving through three phases. The first phase was the selection process—a committee of relevant professional staff identified a winning proposal. The second phase is Council legislatively authorizing the administration to undertake negotiations with the firm representing the winning proposal. The third phase is for Council to review and either approve or reject any agreement negotiated by the administration. Only the first phase is complete. The resolution on Thursday, August 30, 2018 will, if it passes, authorize the administration to move into the second phase and negotiate.
The negotiation process will allow the city to work with more specific and binding information. I support moving to this next step so that we can see all the details of what the proposal will mean for the city. Should Council vote to approve negotiations, we will still have the option to reject any negotiated contract, and we will have the additional advantage of having a more concrete plan to review.
This decision tree graphically displays the decision-making process for the city hall proposal. The box at the top represents Council’s recent vote. The August 30, 2018 Council Meeting action will correspond to the second box in the tree titled “1st Reading.”
