The Paris City Council on Nov. 12 approved a staff-drafted method for calculating the 75% required attendance under the city charter.

Under the measure the council adopted, absences counted toward the attendance requirement apply only to regular city council meetings. Excused absences include illness, family illness, work and vacation; council members must notify the city clerk's office when they will be absent, and the clerk will notify the full council and track absences. The attendance year runs from the month of election (usually May) through the following May.

City staff presented the proposal to the council and summarized how the clerk's office would track absences and notify members when a council member accumulates three unexcused absences in the reporting year. Council members discussed the proposal without extended debate and moved to approve the staff language as presented.

The motion to adopt the staff definition passed unanimously on a voice vote recorded as 5-0.

The adopted language clarifies what counts as an excused absence and who is responsible for recordkeeping; it does not change the charter's 75% threshold itself, only the administrative method for calculating compliance. The council did not amend the staff text at the meeting and provided no additional direction beyond approving the presented language.

The city clerk's office will implement the tracking procedure described in the adopted text and notify council members when thresholds are reached.