Most city council or county board meetings are not noteworthy. They go smoothly. The business of the organization is done efficiently and there are no issues. When that happens, it is not by accident.

But so many things can go wrong at a city council or county board meeting. Unhappy people can show up that you didn’t expect. A board member could have a bad morning and come to the meeting cranky. The slide deck could have errors in it. Two items on the agenda could take an inordinately long time with public comments. The mayor might be newly appointed into that role and not adept in running the meeting. Councilmembers may not be getting along. A particular board member may be regularly accusing staff of hiding something from the dias.

So what can a city or county manager do to create a pattern of smooth governing body meetings? The remarkable meetings should be those that have something particularly positive or exciting happening—not something filled with landmines.

Many things are actually within the manager’s control. There is a cadence to creating a regular, positive experience at your city council or county board meeting. With proper planning well in advance of the meeting you can set the meeting up for success. Here are the items you can implement in your organization to achieve that success.

Before the Meeting

1. Build the Team.

This means creating a real team out of the governing body working together, with you, by having clear roles and norms that are practiced by all. Establish a foundation of constructive communications, assuming good intent of each other, expectations that board members will ask their questions of staff in advance of the public meeting, and similar practices. The role of the mayor and members of the council or board should be clearly understood, along with the role of the manager and attorney. By building the team and openly discussing and agreeing on roles and norms, the “main events” of the governing body—their meetings—will have a strong starting point.

2. Understand Your Role Relative to the Meeting.

The city or county manager’s role is significant. It is to facilitate the entire council or board meeting process. With that in mind, the manager is the one who needs to be on the look out for problems or issues that could derail an agenda item or meeting. A great leader creates the environment where the members of the staff know and feel comfortable to come to the manager and alert them when an issue is on the horizon so the manager can address it immediately.

3. Ensure Training for the Meeting Chair.

Chairing a meeting efficiently and effectively, and following proper protocols and norms, is a skill. It does not come automatically just because someone is designated as chair (such as mayor, board president, or board chair). On many governing bodies, the meeting chair is a rotating position, which can mean that every year a new elected official takes on that role. Since council and board meetings are the largest responsibility of the mayor or board chair, it is a good practice to ensure that the chair is provided training in Robert’s (or Rosenberg’s) Rules of Order, how agendas are prepared, the role of the manager, the role of the attorney, and the cadence of the meeting. The manager not only is the person who can ensure this training is provided, but has a clear interest in helping the governing body to have an effective meeting chair.

4. Prepare the Agenda.

Work with staff each week to plan the agenda and brief the mayor or board chair on the draft agenda.

Create a planning guide that forecasts agenda items well into the future (minimum of three months and even a year on some items) so that staff can plan and you can brief the council or board on what is coming. This forecast should come with a stated caveat that it is subject to change—but it is an important planning tool. This helps ensure that two major public hearings are not scheduled on the same agenda (if it can be prevented), and that adequate public notice and outreach is provided. It also helps staff from departments other than the lead unit to ensure that they have had adequate review and involvement. The agenda planning guide should be provided to the council or county board so they know what is tentatively coming before them.

Preparing the agenda also means determining the placement of items on the agenda and the order in which they appear. For the manager, the careful order of agenda items needs to be planned in advance and well thought through. It is a key component to having smooth meetings.

The mayor or board chair may have some helpful input about the order of items or what to expect from the community, so briefing that individual during the draft agenda stage is a useful step.

5. Expect Quality Staff Reports.

The manager should ensure that staff have guidelines for what goes into the report, how they are to be written, the standards expected, timelines for submittal and review, and the overall quality. A template should be provided for consistency. Additionally, training is essential. It should not be expected that staff “automatically” know how to write staff reports. A logical step is to train staff in expectations, and provide careful review and feedback. The staff reports are the mechanism by which the public and legislative body learn about the subject matter being discussed. This is the most critical written work of the organization and staff’s competence is judged by that work. It matters!

Quality staff reports anticipate council or board members’ questions. They answer the question whether there has been adequate public review for complex issues. A good staff report provides a clear recommendation, executive summary, states the problem, and explains the process that was followed that leads to the recommendation (for example, public notice, commission or committee review, or environmental review), and analyzes the alternatives. It indicates where the supporting materials be easily accessed by the public.

For complex or lengthy staff reports, it is important to give the governing body more time to read and digest the information, as well as to ask their questions. The standard few days before the meeting may not be enough. It is the manager’s job to anticipate these situations and plan for them.

6. Conduct Dry Runs of Presentations.

As we like to say, “do not do your dry run in front of the city council.” Have a staff practice session in advance of the meeting so that when they appear before the council or board, they have the kinks worked out. You and your team have one chance at making a good impression in front of the public and governing body. It is worth taking the time to make sure the slide deck works, is readable, and that the presenter can smoothly go through the presentation (tip: without reading all the words on the slides).

7. Brief Governing Body Members.

The “no surprise” rule underlies this step.

Brief the mayor or board chair about the agenda, what to expect, whether a group will be appearing, any unexpected facts that may have come up regarding an item, if something needs to be continued another time, or anything else that the chair needs to know to competently run the meeting. Include relevant department heads in this briefing if the matter is complicated. This briefing is a great opportunity to hear concerns of governing body members, and it will help your staff be ready to answer questions. Sometimes, by hearing the questions and concerns in these briefings, the manager can decide that the agenda item is not really ready to be heard—that more research is needed. Better to delay and do it right, than persist and find out that inadequate research was the cause of a vote that might end up requiring even more staff work.

For agenda items that are large issues, it is important to brief governing body members much farther in advance of the actual meeting where the item will appear. This is very practical. It can help the manager understand the community concerns through the eyes of the governing body that will need to be addressed in the research, community outreach, and subsequent staff report. It also helps the governing body be prepared for what is coming. On controversial items, this is essential.

8. Prepare the Mayor or Board Chair for the Meeting.

Prepare a script for the meeting for the chair’s use. There should be a standard script, customized as needed per meeting. Even with an experienced mayor or board chair, we need to remember that in the moment, there is much going on and the chair must manage his or her colleagues on the dais, the public, the order of items on the agenda, and much more. Having a script helps the mayor or board chair stay on track. The mayor or board chair is the public face of the governing body and we want them to be most successful in that all-important setting.

Go over the published agenda with the meeting chair prior to the meeting, as well as any last-minute issues that may have arisen. It is a team effort and it is the manager’s job to help the chair be successful.

9. Review the Agenda with the Agency’s Legal Counsel, as Needed.

When there are sticky issues to be discussed at the meeting, partnership with the city attorney or county counsel is critical. The attorney should be ready for the meeting and also help the manager be prepared. A conversation in advance is important and should include the mayor or board chair so that all parties are well prepared.

10. Provide Supplemental Information to All Members of Council.

Sometimes additional information needs to be provided to the council after the report is published. When that is the case, all members of the council should be provided the same information.

During the Meeting

1. Help the Meeting Chair.

Be mindful of what is going on in the meeting, watch for cues that you need to assist the chair, and if needed, suggest a break in the meeting. If things get heated in a meeting, a 10-15 minute break can be good for a reset. It can help the chair refocus or the manager or attorney clarify where they are on the matter at hand. If there is a major disruption during the meeting, then a break is needed to clear the room to calm the audience so business can resume.

2. Seek Clarification if Needed.

Don’t be afraid to jump in at the meeting to either provide clarification or ask for it on council or board direction. This is essential for the city or county manager to be able to properly direct staff on how to implement council or board policy. It does not do the governing body any favors to sit in silence and then guess their policy later. You are expected to know the direction given and if you are not clear, ask.

After the Meeting

1. Debrief with Your Staff.

Clarify next steps to be taken. Discuss what could have gone better so that next time it can. This can include timing or placement of agenda items, the level of public engagement, the type of staff report prepared, the presentation provided, or any host of things. The manager’s job is to continually improve the quality of staff work that goes into the production of council or board meetings, so this debrief is important.

2. Check in with Governing Body Members.

After a tough meeting or agenda item, debrief with all members of the board to get a pulse on what they thought went well and what might have been uncomfortable. Use that as a learning opportunity.

3. Conduct a “Wellness Check” on the Meetings.

Annually, convene with your council or board in a goal-setting session that includes a check-in on their norms for governing together and reflect on their council or board meetings. This “wellness check” on their meetings can include agendas, preparation, briefings, outreach, whether questions are being asked in advance, or any host of things that go into how efficient and effective the meetings are. Since these meetings are the way that policy is created, it is a good practice to evaluate them periodically.

Conclusion

The manager controls much more than you might think when you are sitting in a meeting at 11:00 p.m. and wondering why it is going so late. You have a role before, during, and after the meeting. Are you missing any of the steps outlined in this article? Can you add the missing ones to your routine?

The public’s business is done in public, and it is during these public meetings when staff shines or shortcomings are discovered. Elected officials want to be proud of their manager and staff. When the meeting goes smoothly, the public’s business is done efficiently and effectively and everyone shines. A key role of the manager is to help make that happen.

JAN PERKINS, ICMA-CM is vice president of Raftelis and a retired city manager.

TAMARA LETOURNEAU, ICMA-CM is city manager of Laguna Niguel, California.