WMCA surveyed its members (municipal clerks) in December 2020 regarding use of consent agendas. How Do Washington Local Governments Use Consent Agendas? Once any requested items are removed from the consent agenda, then the governing body votes to approve the entire consent agenda as a single item. A formal vote would not be necessary to remove an item unless the agency’s rules require one. Most agencies will remove an item from the consent agenda if any one of the members wishes an item to be removed. When the consent agenda item is before the governing body during a meeting, the presiding officer should ask members if anyone wants to remove any items listed on the consent agenda. See Setting the Agenda: Less Control, More Cooperation for more on creating meeting agendas. The rules in the local procedures may include a policy about what may and may not be included on the consent agenda or the governing body may leave that decision to the discretion of the persons preparing the agenda.Įach local government agency has one or more persons who prepare the regular meeting agenda and can determine which items to include in the consent portion of a meeting. In order to use a consent agenda, the governing body may choose to adopt the use of this tool in its rules of procedure or by adopting as the ‘consent agenda’ provision of Robert’s Rules of Order, found under Order of Business.
What Is the Process for Using a Consent Agenda?
What Is a Consent Agenda?Ī consent agenda is a section on the meeting agenda that groups routine, noncontroversial topics into a single agenda item that can be discussed and passed with a single motion and vote. Generally, no debate is allowed on items included in the consent agenda, but a member of the governing body can always request that a specific item be moved to the full meeting agenda for individual attention. This blog discusses one of those tools - the consent agenda - and how some local governments in Washington are currently using it. Governing bodies adopt many tools to help add structure to a meeting agenda to keep members focused on the task at hand or to streamline processes. Category: Legislative Body, Guest Author