In case people didn’t know, there is an APM that was recently revised that talks about getting agendas to the clerk’s office by noon on Friday.
Oh, right, first thing is first. What is an APM? It’s an Administrative Procedure Memorandum, kind of executive orders, I guess. The mayor writes them and that’s the end. There are many and they cover mutliple topics.
I did a quick search of the ordinances to find where he gets the authority to do it, and I couldn’t find it. My guess is it comes from this.
3.03 MAYOR.
(1) The Mayor shall be elected on each odd numbered year for a term of two (2) years. Beginning
with the 1991 Spring Election, the Mayor shall be elected every other odd numbered year for a
term of four (4) years. The Mayor shall devote his entire time to the duties of the office of Mayor.
The Mayor shall have the general supervision of all City officers and heads of departments in the
performance of their official duties.
Here’s the email about the updates to the APM:
Below are links to newly-created Mayor’s Administrative procedure Memorandum 2-44 – Volunteers/Unpaid Interns and revised APM 3-2 – Meeting Notices. A link to the newly-revised Index is included as well.
Revisions to APM 3-2 include:
· Updating references to MGO Section 3.44 to 3.71
· Adding procedure #6 (page 2), “Appearances by Telephone”http://www.cityofmadison.com/mayor/apm/index.cfm
http://www.cityofmadison.com/mayor/apm/2-44.pdf
http://www.cityofmadison.com/mayor/apm/3-2.pdf
State laws require notices to be posted at least 24 hours before the meeting. Otherwise there is a violation of the state open meetings laws.
In addition to that, portions of APM 3-2 reads in part:
Besides posting agendas, each week the City Clerk prepares a list of meetings for the following week. In order for meetings to appear on the list, they must be reported to the City Clerk no later than noon on Friday for meetings being held the following week. In the event that a meeting is cancelled or a meeting room changed, the City Clerk should be notified immediately. Failure to do so results in confusion and inconvenience for committee members and the public and may result in an unlawful meeting.
The City Clerk shall retain copies of the weekly meeting lists, along with any changes. The City Clerk need not retain copies of agendas after the meeting is over. The governmental body shall retain copies of agendas, along with attendance, minutes, copies of documents supplied to members at the meeting, and other records of the body.
So, this is the Mayor’s order, and if he really cared, he could probably get these people who are consistently late, to get their agendas in by noon on Friday. If he cared.
Another issue to consider, and even more reason why the Mayor should care:
In addition, all meeting notices will include information on how to obtain an interpreter in order to assure that individuals with hearing impairments or limited English proficiency may participate fully in City government. The City’s Affirmative Action Division, as part of the Language Assistance Program, shall be responsible for determining the wording for this notification as well as the languages that the notice shall appear in. The notification will automatically appear on all meeting notices that are prepared using the Legistar system. Agency staff for committees whose meeting notices are not prepared using the Legistar system may obtain the appropriate wording for the notice from the Affirmative Action Division. This notice shall appear at the top of agendas and will include a contact person’s name and telephone number.
The Affirmative Action Division will review necessary census and other data periodically to determine whether the languages used should be modified and will be responsible for obtaining necessary translations of this notification.
Agencies staffing meetings for which an interpreter is requested will bear the financial burden of providing the interpreter. If an interpreter cannot be obtained, the matter should be postponed until an interpreter can be provided, if at all possible.
And, on the agendas, this appears in four different languages (English, Spanish, Hmong and Russian):
If you need an interpreter, translator, materials in alternate formats or other accommodations to access this service, activity or program, please call the phone number below at least three business days prior to the meeting.
How do you do that when the meeting are posted on Monday for:
Tuesday, October 5
Meeting: GOLF SUBCOMMITTEE
Date: 10/5/2010 4:00 PM
Location: 3330 ATWOOD AVE.
(sent at 9:58, with 6 hours and 2 minutes to spare before missing the statutory deadline, but people who need interpreters, translators, materials in alternate formats or other accommodations to access this service, activity or program don’t have time to request one.)
I’m not sure why this was posted at 7:07, I think it was on the weekly schedule earlier, otherwise it wouldn’t have made my list by 7:35
Meeting: COMMON COUNCIL ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE, MAY CONVENE INTO CLOSED SESSION
Date: 10/5/2010 4:30 PM
Location: ROOM 108 CCB
Wednesday, October 6
Meeting: BOARD OF ASSESSORS
Date: 10/6/2010 8:00 AM
Location: ROOM 101 CCB
(sent at 9:09, so people could not contact them on time if they needed interpreters, translators, materials in alternate formats or other accommodations to access this service, activity or program.)
Thursday, October 7
Meeting: SOLID WASTE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Date: 10/7/2010 4:45 PM
Location: 1501 W. BADGER RD.
(sent at 2:40 on Monday, so people had 2 hours and 5 minutes to notify staff if they needed interpreters, translators, materials in alternate formats or other accommodations to access this service, activity or program)
Meeting: MADISON METROPOLITAN SEWERAGE DISTRICT, MAY CONVENE INTO CLOSED SESSION
Date: 10/7/2010 2:00 PM
Location: 1610 MOORLAND RD.
(sent at 9:43, so people had 4 hours and 17 minutes to notify staff if they needed interpreters)
Friday, October 8
Meeting: MADISON WATER UTILITY WORKING SESSION WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ADVISORS
Date: 10/8/2010 6:00 PM
Location: 119 E. OLIN AVE. ROOM A&B
(sent at 2:28, so people had more than a day to notify staff if they need interpreters, translators, materials in alternate formats or other accommodations to access this service, activity or program, in fact, they have until the end of the business day today!)
Oh, and on Tuesday, this meeting is cancelled:
Meeting: PUBLIC ART STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE MADISON ARTS COMMISSION on 10/5/2010 5:00 PM at ROOM LL-110 MMB has been cancelled.
I thought I’d try to put some context to why it annoys me that meetings are consistently noticed late. It’s the Mayors own orders, it makes it hard for people who need assistance and of course, the public just has to stay vigilant. Which shouldn’t have to be so difficult. I don’t know how you’d get involved if you were interested unless it is your job to pay attention or are extremely invested or interested in a topic. Which gives the advantage to those who have the means to hire someone to track these things, the monied interests, the lobbyists etc. and disenfranchises and discourages those who try to get involved on a voluntary basis.
