The Job of a Councilmember
From Councilmember's Handbook
MRSC Report No. 48
January 2000
The principal job of a city or town council is to make policy. A policy is a course of action for a community. Policy-making often takes the form of passing ordinances or resolutions. After policy decisions are made by the legislative body, others perform the administrative task of implementing the policies. The distinction between formulation and implementation may not always be clear, necessitating open communication between legislators and administrators.
Adopting Policy
The council does not make policy in a vacuum. Councils rely on ideas from many sources, including the council staff, citizens' groups, advisory committees, chambers of commerce, and others. It is the council's responsibility to consider the merits of each idea and then approve, modify, or reject it. In doing so, councilmembers analyze community needs, program alternatives, and available resources. The decision often takes the form of an ordinance or resolution, although it may take the form of a rule, regulation, motion, or order. The budget and comprehensive plan are powerful policy tools that are adopted by ordinance.
So, Who Actually Runs the City?
It is important to recognize that it is not the role of the councilmember to administer city affairs. The council sets policy, but it is either the mayor - in mayor-council cities, or the city manager - in council-manager cities, that actually sees that the policies are implemented. This means that it is not the role of the councilmember to supervise city employees on the job or become involved in the day-to-day administration of city affairs. This can be a source of conflict between the executive and legislative branches of city government.
Responding to Citizen Complaints
Residents often contact a councilmember when they have a problem, whether it involves a land use matter, a barking dog, or a pothole. Don't hesitate to send them to the appropriate city staff person for resolution of their problems, keeping in mind that you lack the authority to take action in administrative matters.
Relationship with the City Attorney
In most cities the mayor appoints the city attorney, whether that position is full-time or part-time. In some cities the council takes an active role in arranging for the provision of legal services through a contractual arrangement. Regardless of how the position is established, remember that though the mayor or city manager typically has more contact with the city attorney than the councilmembers or city staff, the city attorney's job is to advise all of the city officials. Sometimes councilmembers feel that the city attorney is the mayor's or manager's attorney, particularly if the city attorney generally supports the mayor's or manager's position in situations where the answer is unclear.
Neither the mayor nor the city manager can prohibit the council from having access to the city attorney for advice. For financial reasons, the mayor or manager may feel that questions to the city attorney should be channeled through the executive's office, to avoid possible duplication and to make sure that the questions are presented clearly. Ultimately, it is up to the council to establish procedures on how city attorney services are provided.
Some smaller cities try to minimize their fees for legal services by not having the city attorney regularly attend council meetings. That can be thrifty, but shortsighted, particularly when the council is dealing with controversial matters such as land development, or complex procedural issues such as LIDs.
Personnel Management
The statutes generally give the mayor or city manager, as chief executive, the broad authority to hire and fire employees.
The city council, however, determines the number of employees that can be hired and those employees' duties. The council establishes salaries and other forms of compensation paid city workers. The council may also establish job qualifications.
One piece of advice is to have good, consistent personnel policies. Up-to-date, clearly-written policies help avoid lawsuits, promote consistency, and contribute to employee morale. (AWC has a good Personnel Policies Manual, also available on computer disk.)
Labor Relations
Unions have a significant presence in Washington cities. Most city employees have the right to organize under state law and have joined state-wide unions or formed local associations. The city must negotiate labor contracts with these unions over wages, hours and working conditions.
In particular, most police and fire departments are unionized. Except for very small cities, police and fire unions have access to interest arbitration when an impasse in bargaining occurs. This can create a unique dynamic in police and fire negotiations, given the potential for an outside arbitrator to make decisions regarding wages, benefits and contract language.
Questions & Answers
Q. What is the role of the city council regarding employee discipline, and what input can the council have concerning performance appraisals of employees?
A. Though the council may be concerned about employee discipline and how certain employees are performing their duties, the council should not be involved in any individual situations. While the council can establish personnel policies and voice their concerns to the mayor, it is solely the mayor's job to discipline and supervise city employees, including conducting performance evaluations.
Q. Is the mayor or city manager required to inform council members prior to terminating or disciplining a city employee?
A. No. However, when a particular termination or discipline is likely to be controversial, the mayor may want to notify the council and explain the decision in an executive session. Disciplinary and termination decisions should be reviewed with the city attorney prior to action being taken. The mayor and councilmembers should be careful to not discuss specific cases outside of an executive session.
Local Laws-Ordinances and Resolutions
How does the council adopt policy? Typically, a council will adopt policy through the passage of ordinances and resolutions at council meetings.
Difference Between Ordinances and Resolutions
An ordinance is a local law of a municipal corporation, prescribing general rules of conduct. Ordinances may be used for a variety of purposes, including administrative actions such as establishing offices and setting salaries, or they may be used for actions that control the conduct of the public. An ordinance is a legislative enactment, within its sphere, as much as an act of the state legislature.
A resolution, on the other hand, is typically an act that is less solemn or formal than an ordinance and may be no more than an expression of the opinion of the official body. Legislation must be enacted via ordinance. Deciding in any particular case what constitutes legislation may require reference to case law, but the general guiding principle is that "[a]ctions relating to subjects of a permanent and general character are usually regarded as legislative, and those providing for subjects of a temporary and special character are regarded as administrative..." (Durocher v. King County, 80 Wn.2d 139, 153, 492 P.2d 547 (1972).)
When deciding whether to use an ordinance or a resolution, a good first step is to refer to the city charter and state law (RCW's). Some state statutes leave the form of action to be employed to the discretion of the legislative body. If the charter and the code are silent as to the mode of decision-making, and the action is not "legislation," then either a resolution or an ordinance may be used.
Rules for Adopting Ordinances
The state statutes for each class of municipality do contain some procedural requirements which govern the adoption of ordinances. However, these procedural requirements are generally not complicated and do not require an elaborate adoption procedure. For a comprehensive discussion of adoption procedures, including information on requirements for signatures on ordinances and publication of ordinances, see MRSC Report No. 50, Local Ordinances for Washington Cities and Counties.
Many cities and towns have adopted local rules of procedure that relate to the adoption of ordinances, and these, of course, must be followed. For example, although the state statutes do not require that an ordinance be read more than once in most circumstances prior to adoption, many local rules of procedure do contain such a requirement. Therefore, it is important that councilmembers familiarize themselves with the local rules of procedure, as well as the state statutory requirements in regard to adoption requirements for ordinances.