011 of 2019 - City Council Policy Manual Update (A.19 & A.47) R 19-1
R 19-5
RESOLUTION No. 11 of 2019
(Updating section A.19 (relating to newsletters) and section A.47
(relating to Council Member travel expenses) of City Council policy manual)
WHEREAS,the Salt Lake City Council maintains a Policy Manual that includes agreed
upon expectations and standards of practice; and
WHEREAS,the Policy Manual serves as a resource for Council Members, Council staff,
and Administration staff on daily practices and routine procedures, including agenda paperwork
and scheduling, recurring internal procedures related to processing norms for community events,
and travel for conferences; and
WHEREAS, providing the Policy Manual to the public furthers the values of
transparency and open government, and can assist the public in understanding the Council's
practices.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah,
that changes to the Policy Manual will be approved by resolution and the updated sections will
guide Council procedures and will be shared as a resource; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that section A.19 of the Policy Manual (relating to
newsletters) and section A.47 of the Policy Manual (relating to Council Member travel expenses)
are hereby updated in substantially the form attached to this resolution.
Passed by the City Council of Salt Lake City, Ut , on A 1 23_, 2019.
S It Lak i ouncil
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Approved as to form: —/DW � ,��-'
Boyd Aerguson
Salt Lake City Attorney's Office
Date:
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City Recorder
ApRA.�S
HB_ATTY-#77015-v2-Resolution_approving changes to_Council_manual_A_19_and_A_47
1
A.19 NEWSLETTERS
a. Based on availability of Communication Budget funds, Council Members may elect to
mail a newsletter to their District residents.Typical sizes include an it 1/2"X 1 " 11"
X 17" 4-page newsletter,or 8 1/2"X ii"or 81/2"X 14"double-sided news sheet,
which can either be mailed directly,or included in public utilities mailings as space is
available. (Please refer to Section A.40 Council District Communication Budget.)
The Council staff will endeavor to obtain one slot for pPublic:uUtilities inserts for
each Council Member per year.If fewer or more slots are available, distribution will
be determined by the Council.
b. In order to avoid having Council newsletters perceived by the general public and
others as a political tool for«eeleetien those campaigning for elected office,certain
guidelines will be followed in article content and selection and timing of publication.
1. Articles which attack or criticize other Council Members or the Mayor are to be
avoided.
2. Articles addressing an issue which is being discussed by candidates opposing an
incumbent Council Member are to be avoided during the year of the election.
3. Articles addressing issues which are an integral part of an incumbent Council
Member's,,,.,.',.efien eampaign platform for elected office are to be avoided
during the year of the election.
4. Articles addressing sensitive subjects on which Council Members are sharply
divided are to be avoided.
c. In developing a policy for newsletters published for members of the U.S. Congress,a
rule has been established that a name or picture of the Congress member should not
appear more than eight times on a page with the dimensions of 81/2"x 11",the size
of the Council's newsletter.This restriction includes personal pronoun references
such as I,my,and mine he,sh",ti its erzher.This restriction also includes the
pronouns he,she, his, and her if an article is written in the third person and refers to
the Council Member. Other pronouns such as we and they are permitted.This
restriction is applied in an effort to avoid the appearance of taxpayers'dollars
funding blatantly political and self-aggrandizing material. Using the U.S. Congress
guidelines, Council newsletters should not contain more than six ersenal eight
personal references and/or personal photographs per page.
d. Using the U.S. Congress once again as a guide, Council Members who are tlprfer
r-eeleetien campaigning for an elected office should not mail out Council newsletters
any later than ten weeks 90 days before a primary election.There are fewer than ten
weelEs go days between Utah municipal primary and general elections and therefore
no Council Member campaigning for elected office should mail out a
newsletter between the primary and general elections.
e. If there is a conflict regarding this policy, a Council Member will have the option of
asking the Chair and Vice Chair,or the entire Council,to review and resolve the
conflict in question.
A.47 COUNCIL MEMBER TRAVEL EXPENSES
The Council Office follows the City's travel policy found in Section 2.01.02, Salt Lake City
Policies
Upon consent of the Council,Members may travel to conferences,conventions or seminars
at the expense of the Council Office.When traveling on City-related business, Council
Members will receive City funds in advance of departure to compensate the cost of per
diem expenses such as airfare,hotel,meals, mileage,transportation and other relevant
expenses.The City follows government guidelines in providing a per diem.
a. When a Council Member attends a conference,convention or seminar that relates to his
or her Council Member duties,the Council Office will pay the Council Member's
registration or attendance fees in advance and in compliance with the seminar's
registration deadline. Council Members are encouraged to provide Council staff with
travel information in a timely manner so that travel arrangements can be secured in
advance of registration,airline and hotel deadlines.A"timely manner"means in advance
of the seminar's registration deadline,at least two weeks in advance of airline departure
date,and in advance of the hotel's deadline for registration.
b. After travel plans are finalized, Council Members may request changes to the travel
itinerary or may request cancellation of all travel plans.Any funds advanced to Council
Members for travel will be returned if the travel is canceled,but the Council does not go
beyond typical business travel policy to require personal payment of cancelation fees or
increased costs. It is anticipated cost savings associated with continued encouragement
of early registration will offset additional charges resulting from any unusual
circumstance where changes need to be made. Should an unusual circumstance arise
that is not easily addressed using the City policy, it will be referred to the full Council for
resolution.