IMPACT
A Council Development Project
Leaflet No. 2

Plan some time before each meeting for socializing. Most councils are composed of people who may never see each other outside council meetings. Prior to every meeting, they need time to warm up and get used to working together.

1. Take attendance. Note in the minutes who is present and absent. The attendance record is important proof that your meeting had a quorum present to conduct official business.

2. Recognize visitors. Introduce non-council members who may play a part in the upcoming meeting-such as staff, vendors or reporters. This is the council's meeting, and the council should know who's going to be listening.

3. Approve the agenda. The agenda is the council's plan for the meeting. The council should formally accept the preliminary agenda sent before the meeting or modify that plan.

Council members should feel free to place items on the agenda. Members should request items be placed on the agenda well in advance of the meeting. That way, other council members and the CPD can consider and research the issue before they have to deal with it at the meeting. Last minute agenda changes often produce poor discussion and poor decisions.

One way to receive agenda items is for the CPD to send council members a form two weeks before the meeting to ask if they have business to be included on the agenda. Members can jot down requests and return them to the CPD.

5. Hear the financial report. The council financial condition may affect action in the rest of the meeting, so the financial report should come early on the agenda. Discussion may be facilitated by mailing the financial report with the minutes. The financial report should include current income and expenditures, how current income and expenditures match budget projects, and reasons for variances from budget projections. Often, the CPD can give the council a preview of upcoming expenses or revenues.

The approval to pay bills is implied in the approval of the budget. If the council gives official approval of bills, a list of the bills should be mailed to each council member prior to the meeting. Questions about bills should be directed to the CPD prior to the council meeting unless there are questions the entire council needs to consider.

The CPD, council treasurer and outside auditors assure that finances are being handled appropriately.

6. Hear committee reports. Permanent or ad hoc committees all work for the council and should be expected to report to the council regularly about their activities. Don't hear reports from inactive committees solely because "it's tradition." Committees operate only when there's something to do.

To save time, committee chairmen should send written reports to council members prior to the meeting with the meeting notice sent from the CPD. The actual report time at the meeting can then be used to answer council members' questions and clarify the written report. Election, nominating and budget committees should operate in this manner

Recommendations from the committee that the council take some action should be held until the new business section of the agenda.

7. Hear the county program director's report. The CPD's report is like other reports; it should be for informational purposes only. Issues the CPD wishes the council to act on also should be under "new business." The CPD should be active throughout the meeting, providing background on issues and acting as a resource for the council. CPD input is vital to a good meeting.

8. Hear the staff reports. Asking other staff assigned to the county to give periodic reports is an excellent way for the council to stay up to date on total Extension programming in the county, promote teamwork, and strengthen council relationships with all staff delivering programs in the county. The CPD can assist by insuring that the reports are concise, informative and scheduled on a regular basis.

9. Consider unfinished business. There may be few items of unfinished business on the agenda. These are items that were not completely disposed of at a previous meeting, such as motions tabled or actions interrupted by adjournment or intentionally carried over for discussion or action at the current meeting.

Don't allow unfinished business to be a catchall for any item that the council has ever talked about. An ongoing building project, for example, is not routinely an item of unfinished business. If the council needs to take action about the building project, it should appear under new business.

Unfinished business also should not be a substitute for committee work. Much of the planning conducted with ongoing projects should be done in committee, presented as a committee report and action requested to be taken under new business. For example, farm fair family selection and town and country days should be handled in this manner.

10. Consider new business. It's time to consider new business motions in response to council member requests and information heard by the council. Most agenda items under new business should have a motion and a vote.

The council chairman should ask for a motion on each item of new business, followed by discussion of that motion only. If an item does not get a motion and a second, the council should go on to the next agenda item.

Some issues, such as long-range planning or program planning, are handled best in special meetings. Such large council issues tend to dominate a meeting, leaving insufficient time to consider them or other issues on the agenda