AGENDA ITEM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ITEM TITLE*
title
Updated Council Procedures Manual Adoption
presenter
RESPONSIBLE STAFF, TITLE, DEPARTMENT*
Ted Voorhees, Town Manager, Town Manager’s Office
James Baker, Town Attorney, Town Attorney’s Office
Brittney Hunt, Town Clerk, Town Clerk’s Office
STAFF RECOMMENDATION*
Staff recommends that Council adopt the updated Council Procedures Manual. The proposed manual incorporates feedback received during the October 14, 2026 Council Work Session and provides a streamlined, governance-focused framework for conducting Council meetings.
body
ACTION/DECISION POINTS*
Council is asked to consider adoption of the updated Council Procedures Manual.
LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT*
The Council Procedures Manual is the governing document for how the Council conducts its meetings. The current manual contains outdated, duplicative, and non-procedural content. Updating the manual ensures meeting procedures are clear, current, aligned with State law, and reflective of current Council practices.
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT*
The Council Procedures Manual has been a topic of discussion for several years as Council members and staff have sought to modernize and streamline a document that had evolved into both a procedural guide and a repository for numerous policies, administrative practices, and reference materials.
On September 2 and September 22, 2026, Mayor Anderson, Mayor Pro Tem Berry, Council Member Sharp, Council Member Nollert, Manager Voorhees, Attorney Baker, and Town Clerk Hunt met to review the current manual and identify areas requiring revision. Key discussion topics included:
• Removing outdated and non-procedural content;
• Clarifying rules for Work Sessions, agenda preparation, consent agenda procedures, and public comment;
• Ensuring the Procedures Manual functions as a rules-of-procedure document focused on Council meeting governance; and
• Relocating orientation, operational, and policy-related content to more appropriate resources such as the Council Handbook and standalone Council policies.
Following those discussions, staff prepared a streamlined draft based on best practices and procedural models used by other North Carolina municipalities. The draft was presented to Council during the October 14, 2026 Work Session for discussion and feedback.
Since that Work Session, staff have incorporated Council direction into the proposed manual. Revisions include updates to Work Session expectations, procedures for Council Member agenda requests, adoption of the agenda, consent agenda procedures, public comment rules, and other meeting-governance provisions.
The updated manual focuses on governing how the Council conducts its meetings, including meeting organization, agenda management, debate, voting procedures, public participation, appointments, and parliamentary procedures. Content unrelated to meeting governance has generally been removed for future placement in the Council Handbook, administrative procedures, or separate Council policies.
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution
Updated Council Procedures Manual
end