During the August Helper City Council meeting, the topic of creating and approving of an ordinance establishing the form of conduct expected from elected officials concerning meeting attendance and establishing penalties for failure to comply with rules was discussed.
Helper City Councilwoman Amanda Wheeler had the request to have this item presented, stating that she believes that council members should not be paid while they are not attending meetings or performing required duties.
It was agreed to have an ordinance created, which was then brought back during the September council meeting that took place last week. Ordinance 2021-8 reads that Helper City is desirous of establishing rules governing attendance at scheduled meetings by elected officials, thus ordaining seven sections in the ordinance pertaining to the topic.
Section one states that attendance at meetings is considered a primary responsibility of all elected officials of Helper City, followed by the explanation that all members are expected to attend all scheduled council meetings, with attendance taken at each meeting.
Section three outlines the penalty, stating that failure by any council member to comply with the attendance requirements set forth will see a reduction in the monthly payment received for that month. Level one shows that council members with less than 60% attendance will result in a 50% reduction and members with less than 40% attendance will see a 100% reduction.
The city recorder or authorized designee shall be responsible for maintaining attendance records of all council members. During the meeting, it was stated that if the ordinance was passed, it would go into effect beginning in October. Following this, Ordinance 2021-8 was approved by the council.