HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-07-26 Admin Comm MinutesDUBLIN CITY COUNCIL
ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
5:00 p.m.
5555 Perimeter Drive
Council Chamber
Meeting Minutes
Vice Mayor De Rosa called the Tuesday, April 7, 2026 Administrative Committee meeting to
order at 5:00 p.m.
Committee Members present: Ms. Alutto, Vice Mayor De Rosa (Chair), Ms. Kramb
Staff Present: Ms. Delgado
Approval of Minutes
Vice Mayor De Rosa moved to approve the minutes of the March 4, 2026 Administrative Committee
meeting.
Ms. Alutto seconded the motion.
Vote on the motion: Ms. Kramb, yes; Ms. Alutto, yes; Vice Mayor De Rosa, yes.
Items for Discussion
e Council Recognition Policy Draft
Ms. Delgado explained that she had provided both a red-line version of the feedback
received at the first review and a clean copy for the Committee’s consideration. She
asked whether the revisions answered any concerns or questions and if there was any
other feedback.
Vice Mayor De Rosa offered several specific recommendations for the policy language as
follows:
o Regarding the first paragraph, Vice Mayor De Rosa recommended saying "the
purpose of this policy is to establish a framework" and removing other
descriptive words explaining that the policy has the principles listed, so the
additional words are unnecessary. She also suggested adding “and stakeholders"
to the third bullet item under Guiding Principles.
o Under section 4, Vice Mayor De Rosa expressed concern about specifying a start
time. She explained that there was no need to be that specific. She believed the
time would be floating and that being overly prescriptive was not the goal.
o Regarding refreshments, Vice Mayor De Rosa noted the language about
adjusting for inflation and questioned the practicality of implementation. She
suggested the language "should not exceed approximately" rather than being
Administrative Committee Meeting
April 7, 2026
Page 2 of 3
overly prescriptive, reasoning that they were just trying to put boundaries
around the spending without being too restrictive.
Ms. Alutto suggested adding language about the amount being per person, noting that
later in the policy it states that if two council members are retiring at the same time,
they would receive the same reception. She explained that a joint reception could
involve different groups of family and friends, potentially creating a much larger
situation that could require spending more than $10,000 for one event involving two
people. Ms. Alutto suggested the language should specify "per departing council
member" or "per honoree," noting that there could be up to four people departing at
any one time.
When asked if $10,000 was too high for one person, Ms. Alutto responded that she felt
the amount was appropriate.
Ms. Delgado asked for clarity on the inflation adjustment language that the Committee
would agree is acceptable.
Vice Mayor De Rosa suggested language saying "approximately $10,000 which can be
adjusted for inflation on an annual basis." The discussion evolved to include "adjusted
for inflation and number of honorees" with Ms. Alutto emphasizing that it should be
adjusted for both factors.
Vice Mayor De Rosa noted her preference to remove prescriptive elements that would
unnecessarily restrict or confine them.
The discussion then turned to the section about combining receptions when multiple
council members are completing their service. Vice Mayor De Rosa questioned whether
it was possible to say "if at all possible" because there might be situations where
combining receptions is not feasible.
Ms. Alutto agreed and noted that if there were three or four people departing
simultaneously, it might be necessary to hold more than one reception. She emphasized
that while they did not want to encourage separate receptions, they needed to give
themselves flexibility.
Ms. Kramb suggested they could establish a maximum of two receptions.
The discussion continued with various suggestions on language. Ms. Alutto clarified that
they did not want three or four separate receptions, but rather a maximum of two
receptions total if circumstances required it.
The committee agreed on language stating that "unless there's extraordinary
circumstances, the reception for multiple members would be combined," reasoning that
this would handle the rare situation of three or four departing members while
maintaining the preference for combined receptions.
Ms, Alutto raised another concern about the Mayor presiding over these receptions,
noting it would feel odd if the Mayor was one of the people leaving. The committee
agreed this would be handled through the normal chain of command, with the Vice
Mayor taking over in such circumstances, as this is standard ceremonial protocol.
Administrative Committee Meeting
April 7, 2026
Page 3 of 3
The committee reiterated that they should try to keep receptions combined, and that if
extraordinary circumstances arose, council would work it out. They noted they have a
ten-day window in December for scheduling, and that with the guardrails they were
establishing, they would not face the extreme disparity in reception costs that had
occurred previously.
Ms. Alutto complimented the overall policy. Committee members consensus was that the
policy addressed the issues they needed to resolve.
Ms. Delgado asked if it was the committee's desire to take the policy to full council at
this point and requested a motion to do so.
Ms. Alutto made a motion to take this policy to Council for full consideration with the
changes they had just requested.
Ms. seconded the motion.
Vote on the motion: Vice Mayor De Rosa, yes; Ms. Alutto, yes; Ms. Kramb, yes.
Vice Mayor De Rosa suggested bundling the reception policy with upcoming
modifications to Council rules that were planned for May and June review, reasoning
that it made sense to include this as part of the same package since it was related to
Council procedures.
The committee agreed to this approach.
Adjourn to Executive Session
Vice Mayor De Rosa moved to adjourn to executive session for purposes of:
e Personnel Matters: Considering the Employment of a Public Employee and the
Appointment of a Public Official.
Ms. Alutto seconded the motion.
Vote on the motion’ Vice Mayor De Rosa, yes; Ms. Alutto, yes; Ms. Kramb, yes.
@, meeting econvened and adjourned at 6:53 p.m. ‘at de wg |
Chair, Administrative Committee
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