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Review and consideration of approval of the 2026 Common Council Meeting Calendar
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Submitted by:
Zach Kessler, Interim City Clerk
Department:
City Clerk
A. Issue
Pursuant to Sec. 2.02.070 of the Municipal Code, several options for the 2026 Common Council and Council Committee meeting calendar are presented to the Government Affairs Committee for review, consideration, and recommendation to the full Common Council.
B. Key Issues for Consideration
In July of 2024, the Common Council amended its meeting calendar to reflect changes to several sections of the Municipal Code related to Common Council and Council Committee meetings. The Common Council continued with this calendar model in 2025.
Major changes to the 2025 meeting calendar from prior years included:
• Reducing Common Council meetings to one per month, on the fourth Tuesday
• Scheduling Community and Financial Affairs Committees on the first Tuesday, and all Committees on the third Tuesday
• Adding additional Financial Affairs Committee meetings in October to accommodate budget discussions
Meeting utilization to date:
• The Community Affairs Committee has not met on the first Tuesday in 2025.
• The Financial Affairs Committee has met on the first Tuesday three times through September (excluding additional October budget sessions).
Calendar options for 2026:
• Option A - Continue Current Model: Retains the existing structure of meetings on the first, third, and fourth Tuesdays.
• Option B - Staggered Committees: Splits meetings across three consecutive weeks.
o First Tuesday: Community Affairs / Financial Affairs
o Second Tuesday: Transportation Affairs / Government Affairs
o Third Tuesday: Common Council
• Option C - Condensed Schedule: Holds all four committees on one night, followed by a full Council meeting the next week. Additional Financial Affairs meetings are scheduled in April, June, September, October, and November to accommodate reports and heavier workloads.
All calendars account for holidays and elections.
Other Items for Consideration:
• Various volunteer committees (e.g., Sustainability Committee, Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Historic Preservation Commission, etc.) deliver annual reports to Council committees throughout the year. The Council could schedule two dedicated committee nights - one in the spring and one in the fall - for these reports. Committees and commissions would pick one of these dates, and all four Council committees would meet to hear the reports.
C. Recommendation
I recommend that the Committee review and discuss the three options for the 2026 Common Council meeting calendar and make a recommendation to the full Common Council for approval of a final 2026 meeting calendar.
D. Attachments
• 2026 Common Council Meeting Calendar - Option A
• 2026 Common Council Meeting Calendar - Option B
• 2026 Common Council Meeting Calendar - Option C