4 06 21 City Council Proceedings Official_Governance SessionCITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS
SPECIAL SESSION
OFFICIAL
The Dubuque City Council met in special session at 5:00 p.m. on April 6, 2021.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mandates for social distancing, this meeting was
conducted virtually via GoToMeeting.
Present: Mayor Buol; Council Members Cavanagh, Farber, Jones, Resnick, Roussell,
Sprank; City Manager Van Milligen, City Attorney Brumwell.
Mayor Buol read the call and stated this is a special session of the City Council called
for the purpose of conducting a City Council Governance Session.
WORK SESSION
Governance Session
1. Governance Workshop
Facilitator Lyle Sumek conducted a Governance Workshop with the City Council.
Areas of discussion included:
The City Council discussed the Governance Guide 2020-2021 and reflected on their
progress in the past year.
The City Council reviewed sections of the draft Code of Conduct for City Council:
Policies and Protocol Related to Conduct
• Requiring a name and address for WebQA "Contact the City Council"
submissions;
• When it is appropriate to forward emails from the public to the City Manager.
City Council Conduct With One Another
• Suggestion from the City Council to update the wording for voting decisions to
reflect Council accepting and acknowledging the body's decision;
• Consensus that no cell phones are permitted during the City Council meetings
unless for emergencies;
• Confirmation from City Attorney Brumwell that one-on-one discussions between
City Council members are permitted if they do not lead to serial meetings;
• City Attorney Brumwell stated that closed session items that have been resolved
and are on a City Council public meeting agenda can be discussed in public.
Council Conduct with City Staff
• City Manager Van Milligen confirmed that City Council may attend public
meetings with City staff. It was advised that City Council avoid communicating
a specific viewpoint to City staff at any public meetings.
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Council Conduct with the Public
• City Attorney Brumwell suggested that guidance on Robert's Rules of Order could
be incorporated into the Code of Conduct;
• The City Council agreed on additional wording stating that attendance is
expected for City Council appointments to boards and commissions.
Council Conduct with the Media
• City Attorney Brumwell clarified that it is acceptable for City Council Members to
speak with the media about their perspectives on an agenda item prior to the City
Council meeting. The exception to this is Planned Unit Development (PUD)
zoning items. City Attorney Brumwell stated she will cross-reference with the
Iowa Attorney General's Office to confirm there are no current laws that would
contradict the current recommendations.
Council Conduct with Legislators
• City Council Members agreed to incorporate the City's legislative priorities into
this section.
Sanctions
City Attorney Brumwell will add references to the State Code regarding
parameters if a City Council Member is arrested and the process for potential
recall elections.
Social Media Guidance
City Council Members questioned if Facebook comments should be included on
their Facebook pages. City Attorney Brumwell stated that if City Council Members
have Facebook pages that are solely utilized for their roles as Council Members,
then comments on the page must be permitted. City Attorney Brumwell offered
to review any City Council Member's Facebook page to identify how the page is
currently utilized and offer guidance on the comments function;
City Attorney Brumwell recommended City Council Members have separate
Facebook pages for campaigning and for general City Council representation to
avoid issues with campaign finance laws and ethics;
City Attorney Brumwell stated that she will conduct additional research on
recommendations for Facebook pages of former City Council Members that
reference their former Council service on their page.
Responding to a question from the City Council, City Attorney Brumwell stated that she
will conduct additional research on guidelines for City Council endorsements of political
candidates.
The Code of Conduct will be updated by City Attorney Brumwell based on the City
Council's feedback from the meeting, with additional research conducted on the areas
discussed.
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There being no further business, Mayor Buol declared the meeting adjourned at 7:49
p.m.
/s/Adrienne N. Breitfelder, City Clerk