Council discusses charter attendance rule; directs staff to prepare a minute order clarifying which meetings count
Summary
Council considered City Charter Article 3 Section 15, which requires members to attend at least 75% of meetings in a year, and directed staff to return a memo and a proposed minute order clarifying whether only regular council meetings count and how excused absences are handled.
The Paris City Council discussed how to interpret a city charter attendance rule that requires council members to attend at least 75% of meetings in a year and agreed to have staff return a memo and a minute order clarifying implementation.
Staff reminded the council that Section 15 of the charter says a member forfeits office if they fail to attend at least 75% of meetings in a year (May through the last meeting in April). City Attorney Stephanie Harris was not present; staff summarized attorney recommendations and asked whether council wanted to draft policy, form a subcommittee or have the city attorney draft language.
Council members urged a simple approach. Several members said excused absences for sickness, work or vacation should not count against the 75% threshold and that regular council meetings should be the primary meetings that count (workshops, special meetings and joint sessions were discussed as potentially excluded). Council suggested the city clerk or staff track absences and alert the mayor and member when they approach the threshold.
The council directed staff to prepare a memo and suggested a minute order to clarify that regular meetings are the ones counted and to list acceptable excused-absence categories. That draft minute order will return to council for consideration; the discussion did not produce any immediate forfeiture or removal action.
Ending Staff will prepare a memo and a proposed minute order reflecting the council’s direction and return it for council action at a future meeting; legal counsel will be engaged when available.
