Just before the weekend, District 6 City Council Member Don Zimmerman used the now-somewhat-active City Council Message Board to propose that both the city manager and city attorney be removed from the dais during meetings. The resolution had not been added to Thursday’s Council agenda by the time of publication, and no one had responded to Zimmerman’s message board post. His request, which is in the form of a resolution, is as follows:
Whereas, the Austin City Council members are directly elected by Austin voters, and are term limited; and
Whereas, the Austin City Manager and City Attorney are not elected, are not directly accountable to voters, and are not term limited; and
Whereas, the new 10-1 Austin City Council is restructuring for a more transparent and accountable way of conducting Council business; and
Whereas, the Travis County Commissioners Court seats only elected members at its dais, while the appointed attorney and other staff is seated off the dais; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Austin: that the Austin City Manager and City Attorney be seated off the dais in the front row before Council.