01-09-1978 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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. , R�G�JLAR TiEETIPJG OF TH� ORONO COUNCIL, .TANUARY 9 , 1978 Page 46 Dick I3enson, City Adr,iinistrator, presented the P4EETIN� SCHEDUL�S City Council a r.�er.io from Alan Olson, Assistant Building & Zoning Adriinistrator, concerning Council and Planning Comr.iission schedules, dated December 26, 1977, which states: Scheduling is difficult because so many factors must be considered. 1. Citizen participation - requires convenient hours. 2. P'Ienber conflicts - once established, schedules must be consistent and are hard to chanc�e. Five Council nter.ibers and seven Planning Commission riembers equals twelve different schedules. 3. Community conflicts - established school, . church and comrnunity functions must be recoc�nized. 4. Consultant conflicts - because their presence is important, their schedules must be considered. 5. Staff preparation - while staff' s schedules are the easiest to change, sufficient time must be allowed between meetings to permit adequate research and preparation. Incor_iplete reports only delay decisions. The last point should be stressed. Staff' s function, in ray mind at least, is to provide technical reports and research complete enough for the Planning Commission and Council to make educated decisions. That takes time. When the job is rushed, important points may be missed, resulting in poor or inconsistent decisions or, as is often the case, longer delays later on in the game. The "let' s do it right the first time" gang has two answers: 1. 6�hen decisions lead to Policy which then becomes routine, take the matter out of the full process and either establish or change the procedure --- to let staff do it. 2. For matters that must go the full route, establish realistic schedules and full written procedures so the applicant knows what is expected at the onset. This, I think, is what we have all been trying to do and will be working hard to accomplish over the next year. (Continued)