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Council Directed Work

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Council Directed Work is a term used to track council projects requested through the Rule of Four process or a Motion. 

The Council Directed Work process started on February 5, 2022, as part of the 2022 City Council Retreat. Since that time the City Council and Executive Leadership Team have completed exercises to rate the priorities of projects on the Rule of 4 list and have combined both the Rule of 4 list and Motions into the Council Directed Work priority lists. The goal is to align all Rule of 4 requests and motions with the City-wide adopted Strategic Plan.

The Council Directed Work - Workflow Diagram is used to evaluate project priorities based on available resources and project urgency. Additionally, this process helps identify Council’s current priorities and determine projects that are complete and those that Council no longer wish staff to work on.

  • What is a Rule of Four? A Rule of Four is a procedure established in 2017 by Resolution that allows for City Council members to identify new work items. Without a motion, any Council member may request that the City Manager consider a particular matter at a future Council meeting or provide information that requires significant City staff time or resources. 

    The first step in the Rule of Four process is for a council member to identify a topic and have at least 4 council members support research by the City Manager.  The second step is for the City Manager to research and then present the information on the topic. City Council then votes to proceed with implementing the request (requires at least 5 "yes" votes to move forward).

  • What is a Motion? A motion is a formal process to direct the City Manager to work on a particular project. This process requires one Council member to state the motion and a second Council member to second it prior to City Council discussing and voting on the request. A majority of council must vote to approve in order for the motion to pass.
  • Committed  Council Directed Work represents projects identified by City Council as highly important and valuable to the community. When assigning projects to the Committed list, City staff's capacity and the effort needed to complete current city council tasks are evaluated.

  • Unresourced Council Directed Work are projects that are currently on hold until available workload capacity becomes available.
  • New Requests Council Directed Work tracks new Rule of 4 or City Council motioned work elements. These items will be assessed to determine if the project can be added to the Committed list or be placed on the Unresourced list. The evaluation process takes into consideration other workload priorities and projects, programs and activities that are underway now by staff to support the community.
  • Completed  Council Directed Work highlights all of the requested City Council Directed Work that has been completed since the implementation of the Rule of 4 request process in 2017.