TRINIDAD — The Trinidad City Council began looking at a rule change with the first reading of an ordinance that, if passed on the second reading, will change the time the council meets to 6 pm, leaving the day of the meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. The change was made in the interest of efficiency and broader citizen participation in meetings, according to the wording in the new ordinance. If a meeting falls on any legal holiday or on the date of the state general election, the primary election, or the city’s regular election, the meeting will be held on the following evening at the same hour. Rules and procedures and order of business will be enforced by the city council, unless they are temporarily suspended by a vote of the majority of the members of city council who are present. Special meetings of the council will be called by the city clerk based on the written request of the mayor or any two members of the council. An agenda
change is also included in the ordinance. The outline will now be: item one is the policy items; roll call, approval of agenda, and approval of the minutes. Item two is the presentation of petitions, written and oral, communications to the city council. Item three is the consent agenda approval. The consent agenda is comprised of mundane and non-controversial action items that require formal approval but no discussion. The items are on the consent agenda only if all council members agree. If an item needs discussion, it gets removed and placed on the regular agenda. Public hearings are enclosed in the fourth item. The fifth item is unfinished business, and the sixth is miscellaneous business (any item removed from the consent agenda for separate consideration). Item seven is the council reports, while eight is reports by the city manager and city attorney. Item nine is the adjournment if an executive session isn’t scheduled. The first reading of the ordinance passed with a 7-0 vote. A public hearing for the second reading is scheduled for the March 15 regular meeting.
