Butler Avenue residents frustrated by Superior agenda blunders

The City’s advice or understanding of parliamentary rules (in this case Robert’s Rules) is in error.

Yes, notification of agenda items must be distributed ahead of time, per law (in Minnesota it’s the Open Meeting Law; Wisconsin has a similar law).

If the Mayor’s opinion were followed, there could be no motions of any sort during the meeting that would change any proposed agenda item. That is obviously an incorrect interpretation of Robert’s Rules, because the deliberative body could then no longer deliberate. All decisions made by any deliberative body are made by presenting motions (germane to the agenda item), then those motions can be amended, and then the deliberative body votes to approve or disapprove any of the amended motions.

Whether or not “odd” or “even” is in the final wording is determined by the deliberative body and what motion they pass–not what is on the agenda. To emphasize, all motions must be germane to the agenda item.

All that Open Meeting laws require are that agenda items to be discussed and acted on must be communicated to the public prior to the meeting. In this case, the agenda item should have been something like: “Changing parking requirements on 5800-6000 Butler Ave.”
There is no reason that this agenda item should have been postponed.

Small deliberative bodies, like city councils and school boards, are notorious for violating parliamentary procedures. I would like to think that most such violations are not nefarious, but rather based on lack of understanding of parliamentary rules.