 For the mayor and aldermen of the city of Lincoln, the tiny month of
February has caused some very large issues in establishing a meeting
schedule for the council.
Typically, the council meets four times a month. The first and
third Mondays of the month are reserved for voting meetings. The
second and fourth Tuesdays of the month are reserved for the
committee-of-the-whole workshop meetings.
In December, when Mayor Keith Snyder and City Clerk Denise
Martinek were laying out the meeting schedule for the 2011 calendar
year, they noticed an unusual situation occurring in February.
The first day of that month falls on a Tuesday this year, which
meant that having a first Monday meeting and a second Tuesday
meeting would put those two back-to-back on the schedule and create
a two-week gap between the second Tuesday and the third Monday.
In addition, the third Monday was going to fall Feb. 21, which is
a legal holiday. As a rule, Monday meeting dates that fall on a
holiday are rescheduled to occur on Tuesday.
When Snyder brought this dilemma to the council, they worked out
a schedule that is not the norm, but it will assure the proper
number of meetings, in the proper order and with a calendar week
separating each one.
Because February is a short month, and March also begins on a
Tuesday, there will be only three meetings of the council in
February and five in March.
At the last committee-of-the-whole meeting, on Jan. 25, Snyder
brought to the attention of the council a new wrench that had been
thrown into the works for the February schedule.
The meeting scheduled for Feb. 15 falls on the same night as the
Logan County Republican Central Committee annual dinner, which will
commence at 6:30 and has Barry Goldwater Jr. on the docket as guest
speaker.
Snyder said one of the options available would be to have the
meeting the evening before, but he noted that it was Valentine's Day
and some spouses might not appreciate their valentine attending a
city council meeting on that particular night.
He then said that having the meeting on following night, Feb. 16,
was an option, but he laughed and explained: "That is my wedding
anniversary and my valentine might not appreciate that."
He also suggested that perhaps this particular meeting could be
at an earlier time than usual, such as perhaps 5 p.m., and that is
the suggestion the council decided to go with.
The council also agreed to have a public hearing
about video gaming at 6 p.m. on Feb. 22.
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To keep the normal succession of a voting meeting one week and
workshop the next, the February snafu will also affect March, in
that the council will have workshop meetings on the first, third and
fifth Tuesdays and voting sessions on the first and third Mondays of
that month.
In addition, March will also be the month when the council begins
the city budget-building process. There will be special Saturday
morning committee-of-the-whole meetings on March 12 and 26. Those
meetings will begin at 8 a.m. and run to the noon hour.
All meetings of the Lincoln City Council are open to the public,
and anyone who is interested in the workings of city government is
encouraged to attend.
To help you get there at the right time and on the right day,
below is the specific schedule for the months of February and March.
February:
-
Monday, Feb. 7
Voting meeting: 7 p.m.
-
Tuesday, Feb. 15
Committee of the whole: 5 p.m.
-
Tuesday, Feb. 22
Public hearing on video gaming: 6 p.m.
-
Tuesday, Feb. 22
Voting meeting: 7 p.m.
March:
-
Tuesday, March 1
Committee of the whole: 7 p.m.
-
Monday, March 7
Voting meeting: 7 p.m.
-
Saturday, March 12
Budget workshop: 8 a.m.
-
Tuesday, March 15
Committee of the whole: 7 p.m.
-
Monday, March 21
Voting meeting: 7 p.m.
-
Saturday, March 26
Budget workshop: 8 a.m.
-
Tuesday, March 29
Committee of the whole: 7 p.m.
[By NILA SMITH]
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