2018.11.26 Council Agenda Item 13

The Town Council decided at its annual work planning retreat to consider whether to change the status of the first Town Council meeting, held on the second Monday of each month. Currently, the Town Council labels these meetings "special" meetings. Prior to 2007, the Town Council called these meetings "workshops". They were held on the second floor of the Town Office and were not broadcast on the local public cable TV channel. In 2007, the Town Council decided to change the location of the meetings to Council Chambers and broadcast them live on the local cable TV channel. They continued to call the meeting a workshop and Council actions were not generally allowed. Several years later, the Council decided to allow actions at these meetings and changed the name of the meeting to a "special" meeting. The purpose for this change was to allow actions rather than uneccessarily delay them to the next regular Council meeting. Today, the "special" meeting is quite similar to the "regular" meeting, which is held the fourth Monday of each month with a few exceptions. The difference between these meetings is that special meetings do not include the following: Pledge of Allegiance, Public Forum, Consent Agenda, Committee Reports, and the Appointments Committee Report.

The Town Council will discuss all options and offer guidance if changes are requested in the Council Rules to change the status of the "special" meeting.