Track Files Referred to your Committee
A regular function of the Common Council is to refer files to committees for consideration. Part of the role of committee staff is to make sure files referred to a committee are included on the committee’s agenda.
Legistar should automatically pull all files referred to a committee onto the draft agenda for the committee. Unfortunately Legistar doesn’t do this consistently. Too often, committee draft and published agendas are missing files that have been referred to them; this problem occurs for even the most active committees.
The best way to ensure all referred files appear on a committee agenda is by creating a separate tracking list.
Instructions
Follow the steps below to create a tracking list and compare this list against the agenda for your committee.
Step 1: Check for files referred to your committee
Check the Council agenda for files.
The Council agenda is published Thursday late afternoon. Review the Introduction of New Business section to identify which files have been referred to your committee.
Check the Council consent agenda document for files.
The consent agenda document is published Tuesday early afternoon the day of the Council meeting and can be accessed via a link in the Council agenda. Check the sections Recommendations Different from the Agenda and New Files for Introduction from the Floor to identify referrals to your committee.
Be aware of possible motions made from the floor during the meeting.
Additional introductions and referrals may be moved from the floor during the meeting. Referrals moved from the floor do not appear on either the agenda or consent agenda. Staff from your committee may be present during the meeting or alternatively can review the meeting recording to identify any referrals to your committee.
NOTE: You can also conduct a Legistar search to find files referred to your committee. For more information, refer to Custom Searches using Multiple Fields in File Search Options.
Step 2: Create a separate tracking list
Create a spreadsheet or other list to keep track of all files that are referred to your committee. The committees that are the most active maintain a rolling spreadsheet of files referred to their committee, and then sort and filter the spreadsheet by meeting dates as needed.
Step 3: Check the list against your draft agenda
Once you generate your draft committee agenda, check the tracking list to be sure every file referred to your committee is listed on the agenda.
Files in ATS Review
Files with a status of ATS Review are functionally inactive in a number of ways during finance review. If one of the files referred to your committee is in ATS Review status when you first generate your draft agenda, you will not be able to pull the file into your agenda.
If you are generating an agenda and need help with a file that is in ATS Review, reach out to your Budget Analyst, clerk staff, or Council Office staff to get help moving the file to an active status.
When your committee misses a referral
Agendas can be amended up until 24 hours before the meeting. However, if you discover that a file is missing from your agenda after that point, it is important to communicate this so it can be mitigated via the Common Council agenda.
- Notify the Council Office at councilagenda@cityofmadison.com; these situations are typically handled via a note on the agenda
- Reach out to the lead sponsor to determine their recommendation (most important when the lead referral is missed) and forward this information to the Council Office