T'he FDrll.", fDr Amt'ric.

'J' IJt'lts
!
O J \ \ NATIONAL. CONFEltENCE
IIIIII of STATE LECISL.ATUltES
Presented by:
J anuary 1999
Final Report
Building a Stronger, More
Effective Institution
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..Reportto the Council of the
District of Columbia
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FI NA l.. REPORT
NCSl
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ III
Executive Summarv \'
I .
Preface 1
Introduction 3
Uniqueness 3
The Instirution 4
Values 6
Independence 7
Current Stafring at the Council ._ 8
Comparative Staffing in State legislatures and
Selected City Councils 10
Recommendations for Council Staff Reorganization 12
Conditions of Staff Employment at the Council 23
Efficiency 25
Council Committees 25
Intemal Communication 30
Professional Development. 32
Technology 33
Accessibility and Accountability 37
Public Information 37
Intemal Discipline 39
Oral Amendments 40
Calendaring 41
AppendixA - Methcx:lology 43
Appendix B - Staff Organizational Chart 45
Appendix C - Committee J urisdictions 47
ITable of Contents
Report totne Council 01 tne UI SlflO 01 ~OIUrTU)ld
FINAl REPORT
III NCSl
Production of the report progressed smoothly because of the skillful assistance,_
support and patience of Sally Kinredge. The clean form and professionai look ([. '.
these pages are a result of Sally's guidance, care and attention to quality.
We wish to express our gratitude to the staff and members of the Council of the
District of Columbia for their openness, thoughtfulness and enthusiastic
participation in this effort. Itisonly through their contribution of ideas and
experience that we were able to effectively complete this work. We especially
thank the Secretary to the Council, PhyllisJ ones, and her staff who provided on-site
support for our work and who established a working relationship with us based on
cooperation and accessibility.
The NCSl study team jar this project consisted of NCSl employees Brenda
Erickson, Bruce Feustel, Tim Storey, Brian Weberg and Terry Whitney. Rich J ones,
NCSL'sdirector of legislative Programs, also participated with initial analysis and
reviewed the final report.
Acknowledgements
Report 10meCouncii or tne UISU'lO01L.OIumolci
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NCSl
RECOMMENDATI ON 2: The' Council shOuldcreate a new rrlanag em ent f
com m ittee chaired by the Councit Chairm an and com p;iSed of fou r '(
other Coundl .m em ~ Am ong its various duties, the new m anag em ent
RECOMMENDATI ON 1,: TbeCounci($hOulcLdeate new tentrat staff _ ;
. SUpport~C15 for m @m be~ and com m ittees that _would' provide ~".,
rang e of services induding 'com m ittee support, research, bill drafting ," ~- . I
fiscal analysis, public infom iation' and ConStituentrelations. This staff
reform WOuld require a series of chang es in current staffing and staff
priorities as recom m ended below.
I norder to operate with m axim um independence from the executive, lobbyists and
other interests, the leg islative branch of g overnm ent m ust develop its own resources
for research, analysis and inform ation. Most leg islatures establish these resources in
the form of perm anent, professional staff.
I NDEPENDENa
The National Conference of Stale Leg islatures was created to foster the developm ent
of independent. effective and accessible leg islatures. These three principles--
independence, effectiveness and accessibilitv-s-have g uided our work and our
recom m endations in the study of the DC Council.
1. To assess the log lc, effectiveness and efficiency of procedures, tools and system s
used by the Council and its staff to m anag e the leg islative process;
2. To conduct an overview of stafring . com m ittee structure and other
organizational aspects of Council operations;
3. To m ake recom m endations reg arding Council operations that preserve the
integ rity of essential leg islative activities'and services;' _. ~_: _.. ' ~~.~~.~-.--. -. _-.' ..-
4. To assess the analytical and policy form ulatI On capacity of Council com m inees;
5. To assess oversig ht m echanism s available to the Council including use of the
Office of the D.C. Auditor,
6. To review the Council's role in rulem aking ;
/ , To assess the Council's budg etary and fiscal oversig ht capacity;
8. To assess the Council's use of technolog y in support of its adm inistrative and
leg islative activities;
9. To review opportunities for citizen participation and involvem ent in the
leg islative process.
I n the contract with the Coundl, NCSl was asked to focus on the following g eneral
and spedfic g oals:
I n early 199B, the National Conference of State Leg islatures was invited by the
Council of the District of Colum bia to conduct a study of Council operations and
org anization. This report describes the finding s of the NCSL study learn and
presents a wide-rang ing set of recom m endations for chang e.
Execu tive Sum m ary
Report10the Cooncil c:i th@ D~d dColum bia
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RECOMMENDA TI ON8: The Council should'create a Research and
Committee Divisionreporting to the executive director that would be
responsible for supporting the substantive, planningand record keeping'
RECOMMENDA TI ON7: The O ffic ~'or'the G~efaJ C"Ourisefsh~uldbe '
reorganized into a L egal Services Divisionthat emphasizes bill-drafting
responsibilities. TheCouncil should adopt rulesthat require all Council
legislationand amendments be prepared or reviewed by legal division
lawyersprior to introduction and that requirethelegal divisionto attach
aplainlanguageanalysisto all billsprior tointroduction.
RECOMMENDA TI ON 6':- The' Council should create the "position of
executive director to the Council. 'I Theexecutivedirector would report
to the Committee on Council Management and Public A ffairs which
would hire (or fire) the executive director by a vote of the majority of
the committee members. The executive director would oversee the
daily operations and planning' of all central staff operations with the .
exception of the Office of the DC A uditor and would have hiring
authority for division directors and other division employees: The
executive director would filean annual report to the Council outlining
theactivities, accomplishments, goals and planningfor all staff services
under thedirection of thisoffice.
RECOMMENDA TI ON4.~... 1)1eCouncil,should improvetheworkplace of
the Office'of the DC A uditor. A t a-minimum, these improvements-
should include: 1) improvements in the general workplace conditions
such as lighting, officespace and equipment;'2) provisionsfor security -
for office workers and their records; and 3) upgrades in available
computer technology andtraining. t
RECOMMENDA TI ON5: The Cou~cil should followthrough-~ith plans
to relocate the Officeof the DC A uditor to the WilsonBuildingwhen
renovationsare completed. 1
RECOMMENDA TI ON3: The' Office of the DC A uditor should report
directly to..the new C~~mittee on Council Manasement and Public 1
A ffairswiththe intention that this relationship wouldreinforce thevalue
of audit work to Council decision makingand legislativeoversight. The
committee would receive audit remmmendations and requests from
other committees and approve the annual work planof theoffice. The
auditor would submit all audit reports and findingsto the committee
includingan annual report outlining at a minimumthe work progress,
accomplishments and goalsof theoffice.
committee would oversee the internal affilil'J of the CounCI l including
oversight of all central staff agencies and the Officeof the DC A uditor.
Thecommittee would periodically review and suggest revisions in the
statutory audit requirements of the DC A uditor.
Report tothe Council rJ the DistriCl ci Columbia
ANAl REPORT
V I I NCSl
RECOMMENDATI ON 12:'The Councihhould adhere to 'the standanf' '
schedule for committee-meetings' and hearings.;' , Official schedule
updates or changes should bepublished at least 48hours in advance of a
committee meeting or h~ring.. The Council should announce its
intention to adhere strictly to published committee schedules to its best
ability and should maintain internal records that measure its SUCCt5S in
achieving this goal.
RECOMMENDA liON 11;The Coiiiicil'shouid operate with a rnaxm.um
of eight standing cnmmittees, each comprised of five m~' " ,
Members -Should ser v e on a maximum of three committees each: The
Council Chairman would serve on three committees in addition to
ser v ing "as chair of the Council Management and Public Affairs
Committee.
I nthis section of the report, the NCSL study team offers ideas to the Council
designed to improve operational efficiency that also protect (and we hope. enhance)
the legislative process. We recommend a reduction inthe number of committees
and a reorganization of Council committees eliminating the current Committee of
the Whole. Recommendations on internal communication include proposals to
improve staff interaction and knowledge sharing. We suggest ways to streamline
the bill status and tracking system and effectively apply technology to Council
operations.
EFFIOENCr '
RECOMMENDATI ON 10:The Council should establish that all Council.,
employees are_exempt from the citY '~.CMf 'sen.ee .~~ 3 " nd " ' are ."
employed on an at-will basis. ~The Council should ensure the
establishment of dearly articulated personnel policies, procedures and
practices that promote the equitable and fair treatment of all Council
job applicants and employees, and that establish minimum qualifications
for all positions.
RECOMMENDATI ON 9:'The'Councl shOuldcreatean Office of Public
I nformation 'and ' Constituent RelationS that reports to the executive
director. The office would promote citizen understanding and
involvement in Council activities through the provision of services
induding" a" Council ~~bsit~;"inedia- relations-and development of
appropriate" publiaiions.~ The office also would house a constituent
relations service responsible to member offices for the effective and
expeditious management of "citizen complaints and requests related to
the performance of District government.
needs of committees and their chair5, and the general researd! and I
policy analysis requirements -of all members.~This division would
constitute an independent, professional and nonpartisan resource for
Council committee support and research.
Report totheCouncil of theDisDia Of COIumola
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RECOMMENDATION19: TheCouncil should establish a programand
funding for the ongoing training and professional development of its
members and staff. TheCommittee on Council Management and Public
Affairs should set training priorities, establish planning responsibilities
and recommend anannual budget for theseactivities.
RECOMMENDATION18: TheCouncil should requirethat all employees
receive an annual appraisal of their work performance including the
annual development of performance goalsandobjectives.
RECOMMENDATION 17: The Council should issue the employee
manual aJ rrently under development as soon as possible. It should
contain information about Council personnel policies and benefits,
working conditions and expectations, and other related materials. Tllie
CounciL shouldupdate themanual regularlyto reflect policychanges.
1. an effectiveand reliablee-mail serviceavailableto all members and
staff;
2. a seamless and user friendly telephone systeminduding voicemail
anddirect longdistanceaccess;
3. routine staff meetingsdesignedto promote useful interaction among
Council employees;
4. .useof e-mail, Intranet' or other electronic means for the postingand
distribution of internal memos, announcements and other notices
about Council business.
RKOMMENOATION 15: The Council should issue and routindy
update adirectory of membersandCouncil employeesthat contains at a
minimu~ their' office"phone numberr;,--room-=addresses-~mail
address~ Thedirectory shouldbedistributed to all Council employees
andshould beavailabletothepublic inhard copyandelectronica"y.
RECOMMENDATION16: TheCouncil shouldstrengthen andencourage'
internal communicafionthroegh the development and promotion of the
followingservices:
RECOMMENDATION 14: The 'Council should 'create a- committee
staffing manual 'that outlines the responsibilities, requirements and
expectations of committee staff and that ensures that all committees
receive effective and equal levels of service. The Council should
consider creation of a committee chair manual 'that outlines the roles
and responsibilitiesof that position.
RECOMMENDATION 13: The"Coune1 should enforce standards for
committee reports induding'" proper ,form and minimum eontent
requirements. The Council should eStablish a repository, for these
documents that is easily accessible to members, staff and the public.
{Note: Council Rule443 addressessomeof these issues.]
Repon totheCouncil attheOistriQdColumbia
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FINAl RfPORT
IX NCSl
RECOMMENDATION26: TheCouncil shoulddevelop anew systemfor
the recording and public distribution of Council floor and committee
proceedings. Special attention shouldbegivento newtechnologies that
allowweb-based access to these records.
RECOMMENDATION25: The Council should publish a series of
documents and brochures for the public that describe the legislative
institution and that help citizens to participate effectively in city
government. This should indude the preparation and distribution of
relevant handoU1s for committee meetings, hearings and Council floor
sessions.
RECOMMENDATION24: TheCouncil should establish and maintain an
up-to-date and comprehensive web sitethat provides a broad range of
informationabout theCouncil and its role incitygovernment.
In this part of the report, we set out recommendations about Council visibility,
public access to Council information, and rules reforms that can help clarify the
legislative process and its outcomes.
ACCESSIBILITYAND ACCOUNTABILITY
RECOMMENDATION23: The Council should adopt a rule similar in
intent to Colorado Senate Rule22A to prohibit the use of cell phones,
pagersandother communication devicesduringfloor sessionswithin the
Council chamber and at other official m~-etingsof the Councilor its
committees.
RECOMMENDATION 22: The. Council should investigate and
implement where appropriate theapplicationof computer technology to
its chamber operations. At aminimum, theCouncil should consider the..
following opportunities: 1) on-site production and printing of floor
amendments; 2) development of a chamber display that shows'
information about current floor activity; and 3) the addition of an
electronic votingsystemfor ~ILcall votes., .
RECOMMENDATION21: The Council should establish a computer
users group to serve in an advisory capacity to computer center staff .
regarding the development of computer systems and computer
applications at the Council. The users group should be composed of
staff representatives fromall relevant work areas. User group meetings
should be held on a regular schedule and should be announced and
open to all staff.
RECOMMENDATION20: The Couna1 should invest the time and
resourcesnea!5$3ry todevelopammprehensiveandreliableautomated
systemthat provides timely information on bill statUSand the expiration
of emergency andtemporary laws.
R eport totheCouncil of theDiSDiad (cX ul'TlOO
FINALRfPORT
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RECOMMENDArlON 30: The Council should establish new deadlines
for calendar preparation so that a final agenda is ready for public
dissemination at least 24 hours prior to scheduled Council meetings. In
addition, the Coundl should: 1) reevaluate how many copies of the
agenda to print so suffident numbers are available for public use; 2)
create a new format for the meeting agenda to make it easier for the
public and members to read; and 3) consider color-coding the consent
and non-consent agendas, thereby makinga dearer distinction between
themior thepublic andmembers.
RECOMMENDATION29: The Council should revise its Rule 343
regarding pre-filing of amendments and written preparation of oral
amendments to require all substantive amendments to be submitted in
writingbeforeavoteon that amendment.
RECOMMENDATION28: TheCouncil should developconsensus among
the members about the legitimate use of emergency and temporary
legislationwith the goal toward redUcingthe use of both. Rule412(b)
should be revisited to determine if the definition of "emergency" is
adequate andenforceable.
Recommendation 27: The Counal should establish within its rules a
provision requiring that all official meetings 0 1 Council committees and
of theCouncil beginontimeor asdose to theannounced start time asis
practicable. When meetings are late, notice should be posted at the
meetingroomto informthepublicabout therevisedstartingtime.
Report totheCouncil cltheDistrict clCoIumbiC\
FiNAl REPORT
NCSL
The aftermath of the 1998 November elections was flush with the rhetoric of reform
and the promise of anew era of responsive government While most of the early
anent ion has been focused on the new mayor, .theCouncil, through the.knowledge- ':'_-_
and dedication of itsmembers and the strength of itsinstitution; should emerge as_
the leading voice for new ideas in the District.
The comments and recommendations found on the following pages challenge some
of the traditions of the DC Council. These ideas are offered with respect for the
Council and itsaccomplishments and asoptions for change that. if implemented,
will support the Council's clear desire to develop into astronger and more
independent institution.
Inearly 1998, the Council of the District of Columbia contracted with the National
Conference of StateLegislatures to condua astudy of Council operations and
organization. This report presents the findings of the NCSl study team and
recommendations tor change.
Preface
Report tothe Council a t theD,5b1C1 01 Columbia
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FI NA L REPORT
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NCSl
The Council of the District of Columbia is aunique institution. I tserves within a set
of political circumstances and constraints that have no equal. The unusual span of
Council roles and responsibilities place it into ahybrid category, neither pure dty
council nor state legislature, yet very similar to both. I tsdecisions are subject not
only to executive veto but to congressional review, and in recent years to a control
board's oversight as well.
UNI QUENESS
This report isdivided into four main sections. The I NTRODUCTI ON sets out
general observations about the Council including important statements regarding
the philosophy and values that underlie our recommendations. Thesection on
I NDEPENDENCE presents findings and recommendations designed to promote a
stronger, more influential Council. I tfocuses primarily on Council Slafforganization
and services. Part three, EFFI CI ENCY,addresses issues of streamlining and
efficiency with emphasis on issues related to committee structure, internal
communication and rules reform. The final section, A CCESSI BI L I TY, speaks to the
maner of public involvement in. and access to, the legislative process. I toffers ideas
about improving extemal communication and promoting public awareness of
Council activities and accomplishments. The report also includes several
appendices. A ppendix A describes the methodology used in this study.
A s specified inthe contract, NCSL focused on the following goals:
1. To assess the logic, effectiveness and efficiency of procedures, tools and systems
used by the Council and itsstaff to manage the legislative process;
2. To conduct an overview of staffing, comminee structure and other
organizational aspects of Council operations;
3. To make recommendations regarding Council operations that preserve the
integrity of essential legislative activities and services;
4. To assess the analytical and policy formulation capacity of Council cornrrunees:
5. To assess oversight mechanisms available to the Council including use of the
Office of the D.C. A uditor;
6. To review the Council's role in rulemaking;
7. To assess the Counei l's budgetary and fiscal oversight capacity;
8. To assess the Council's use of technology insupport of itsadministrative and
legislative activities;
9. To review opportunities for citizen participation and involvement inthe
legislative process.
The Council of the District of Columbia contracted with the National Conierence oi
State L egislatures to perform astudy of Council operations and organization. This
report presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the NCSL study
team.
Introduction
Report 10theCouncil 0(theDismo 01CoiumnM
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4 NCSl
T he adoption of the congressional model isnot only a structural issue, but also
manifests itself inthe behavior of Council members and in the conduct of their
business. We were struck, for example, by the "'congressional" way that Council
T he Council, being a"child" of the Congress, not surprisingly looks like Congress. I t
is highly decentralized interms of staffing, communications, and member _
participation. Council members' offices are oriented toward constituent service,
Most substantive staff .services such as comminee staffing and policy researdl
operate at the member level. rather than through apermanent staff orgaruzauon,
Member offices, referred to insome of our interviews as "fiefdorns," are
disconnected from one another inthe course of daily business. .
T heCongressional Model
T his study isnot intended to address the issues of congressional or control board
oversight However, our recommendations are designed to help the Council create
an institution that isready and able to succeed in an era of reduced oversight of
District affairs. I norder to make this transition some favored traditions and historic
concepts about Council operations must be challenged.
T hroughout our work on this study, we were repeatedly impressed with the
dedication, care and talent of Council members and staff. Here are people who
care about their city, about their constituents and about making the city work.
Encumbered as they are by the requirements of the control board era and
congressional oversight, by the tentativeness of temporary work quarters, by
substantial fiscal constraints and by underachieving executive agencies, they
demonstrate adaily commitment to the dry and (0its future.
THE IN5nTUTlON
It iswith great confidence, therefore, that-~ have taken -on thiswork. - T he Council
of the District of Columbia isunique. But as an institution, it isa legislature with
more in common with itskind than different.
Despite itsdifferences and unique circumstances, we find that the Council of the
District of Columbia isfirst and foremost alegislature ... an institution of
representative democracy not unlike those that grace the halls of state capitol
buildings or city council chambers across A merica. I ndeed, ithas been NCSL 's
experience over the past decade in itswork with legislatures around the world that
similarities. not differences, characterize these institutions.
Over time. this unique environment has helped shape Counel operations inboth
positive and negative ways. For example. because of the time ittakes ior bills to
pass congressional review. the legitimate Council practice of passing emergency
bills has escalated and become problematic. Bills debated and passed by the
Council can be reopened for debate at the control board and at Congress, and at
each subsequent step, all the actors and political players on an issue have an
opportunity to promote their interests. A s one Council member told us, "vvhen we
pass something there isno certainty that itwill actually become law."
Report to theCoonel of the OimiO riColumbia
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NCSl
I t istime for ashift inphilosophy that directs resources and member anention to the
institutional image of the Council.' The Council must take responsibility for getting
out amessage that tells citizens the Council story and that provides basic
information about Council activities, resources and accomplishments. This can be
The only press relations staff person employed at the Council worksexclusively for
the Chairman. Public and media relations at the Council are largely focused on
individual members. Each member's office dedicates some staff time to public
relations and media work. However, these uncoordinated efforts lack aunified
message that promotes the institution of the Council.
I mage
Various practices related to the operation of Council committees---their number,
structure, record keeping and staffing-create problems internally and for citizens.
Recommendations about committee staffing and committee structure address these
issues.
E-mail~ outstanding technical tool for interoffice communication-is -
underutilized at the Council. Many office-wide notices and announcements are
sent out on paper when e-mail would beamore effective delivery system.
Professional staff are unable to place long distance telephone calls without going
through acentral operator who places the call for them. Technologies exist that
would relieve this situation while still preventing abuses of the Council's telephone
system.
Some aspects of Council operations undermine the institution's ability to get work
done effectively and ehiciently. I nternal communication between offices is '
cumbersome. Forexample, there isno published direaory of individual Council
staff telephone numbers. Several staff told us that their individual officetelephone
numbers were "personal," so they did not want them published.
Daily Business
staff sitbehind their members during session and occupy member seats when
members are absent fromhearings. We also were surprised to ~ the use of C I
consultant to lead the questioning at aCouncil investigative hearing. These
practices would behighly unusual in most state legislatures.
Not enough -work isbeing donetopromote an instituti~nal image of the Council.
and scant resources are being devoted to that goaL The Council appears to exist
much more as agroup of entrepreneurial individuals than as a group with mutual
purpose or shared accomplishment. The Council must assert itself on an
institutional basis, both internally and to the outside world.
The Council would be better served and would serve itscitizenry better by. .
reorganizing itsstaff resources to create acentralized, independent and permanent
resource for Council research, bill drafting, fiscal analysis and other essential
legislative services. Staff restructuring isamajor emphasis of our recommendations.
Report totneCouncil of theDistriCl d CoI uml>kl
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6 NCSl
Byimprovingintheareasof independence, accessibilityand operational
effectiveness, theCouncil canenhance thepublic's opinion of theinstitution. The
NCSL studyteambelievesthatthese improvementsalsowould raisethe level of
citizenrespect for theintegrity,credibilityandresponsiveness of theCouncil.
Citizensof theDistrictandobserversof Districtpoliticsseemanxious andhopeful
about howthenew politicsof 1999 will playout. Thereappears to be an historic
window of opportunity fortheCouncil. Webelievethat theCouncil should make
everyefforttoemergeastheleadingbranch of government intheDistrict. Thiswill
requireeffectiveand streamlinedprocedures, visiblemeetings andaccessible
Council information, andmostof all, anindependent stance that allowsCoundl
memberstocreatetheir ownoptionsandtoeffectivelycritiquetheoptions
presented byothers.
TheNational Conferenceof StateLegislatureswascreated to fosterthedevelopment
of independent, efficientandaccessiblelegislatures. Thesethreeprinciples--
independence, efficiencyandaccessibillty-s-have guided our work and our
recommendations inthestudyof theDC Council. 0.J r report and
recommendations arestructuredaroundthem.
VA LUES
doneonlythrough acoordinated. strategiceffortinwhich members findpersonal
andpolitical benefit throughtheelevationoftheinstitutioninwhichthey serve.
Report totheCounCI l oi the Di~O riColumhi~
FI NAl REPORT
7
The DCAuditorwouldoperateindependently fromtheexecutivedirector but
would reportdirectlytothenewmanagement committee, Themanagement
committee's jurisdictionwouldincludeoversightof theoperations, workplanand
findingsof theDCAuditor.
I naddition, werecomme':~,thecreationof anewCouncil management committee
to directandoverseethesestaffoperations.< Reportingtothemanagement
committeewouldbethenewstaffpositionof executivedirector withoverall
responsibilityfortheperformanceof thestaffandthequalityof staffservicetothe
Council members.
Researchandpolicyanalysis
Committeesupport
Billdraftingandother legal services
Fiscal analysis
Publicinformation,mediarelationsand constituent services
Administrativeservices
I nthissectionof thereport, wepresent aproposal forthecreationof apermanent,
central stafforganizationthat providesarangeof important servicestoCouncil
members including:
Theabilityo f theDCCouncil tooperate,independently a n d togenerateinnovative
and creativepolicysolutionsof its own islimitedby alackof substantivestaff
expertiseassignedtopolicyresearchandanalysis. I naddition, thelong-term
effectivenessof comrnirteesishampered byasystemof staffingcharacterizedby
procedural inconsistencyandstaffturnover. Further,bill draftingservices-a critical
staff functionthat determinesthetechnical (andoftensubstantive)qualityof
legislation-should be madean internal staffpriorityat theCouncil. ."
fnordertooperatewithmaximumindependence fromtheexecutive, lobbyistsand
other interests,thelegislativebranch of govemment mustdevelop itsownresources
for research;analysisandinformation. Most legislaturesestablishtheseresourcesin
the formof permanent, professional staff.-
-Thomas J efferson
"I said to {President Washington} that if the equilibrium of the threebodies,
Legislative,Executiveand Judiciarycould be preserved, ii the Legislaturecould be
kept independent, I should never fear the resuh 0;such a govemment; bur thar I
could not bur be uneasy when J saw that the Executive had swallowed up the
Legislativebranch."
I n d e p e n d e n c e
Reportto theCounct1~!he OiSlriad Columhi-' --'~'~',,'-~~.,'."
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8 NCSl
The secretary to the Council directs the daily administrative business of the Council
under thedirection of the Council Chairman. This includes preparation and
monitoring of theCouncil's operating budget. The secretary oversees ~aff dhfisions
that provide accounting, personnel, record keeping, photocopying, computer and
other office management services to members and staff. The secretary serves as an
important liaison with the public and media regarding the official acnons of the
Council and its daily activities.
O ffice of theSecretary
Personnel Ofrice
2
I nformation Systems Division 3
Office of the General Counsel 8
Office of the DC Auditor 11
Council Budget Office
..
3
TO TAL CENTRAL STAF F 43
Accounting Office
6 Support Services Division
4 Office of the Secretary
Number of Employees Council Staff Office
5 LegislativeServices Division
Table1: Distributionof Central Staff at DC Coundl
The central staff at the Council are organized around four offices: 1) The Secretary to
the Council; 2) The Office of the General-COUnsel; 3) The Office of the DC Auditor;
and 4) TheCouncil Budget Office. Table 1illustrates the staffing levels in these
offices.
According to data provided by Council administrators and by members' offices. the
Council employs atotal of 136 staff. Ninety-three of these employees work in
members' offices as chiefs of staff, comminee specialists, constituent service workers
and clerical staff. Th e standard staff allocation to each Council member isfour staff.
Comminee chairs get three to four more staff for comminee support, .Ten of the 13
Council members chair acomminee. The Council Chairman, in addition to these
eight staff, gets two staff to help the Chairman fulfill the extra duties of that offic~.
Asstated previously, the DC Council adopted amodel of staffing and operations
that isbased largely on the approach of the U.S. Congress. This highly
decentralized pattern of staffingplaces most substantive staff work and responsibility
into the hands of member's personal staff.
CURRENT STAF F ING AT lHE CO UNO L
Reportto th e Ccundl c : J theOistrio ci Columbia
FI NA L REPORT
9 NCSl
T he Budget Officeprovidesfiscalanalysisto members andcommitteeswithspecial
emphasis ontheanal~is of thecity'soperatingand capital budgets. The office
reviews and approvesfiscal impactstatementsprovided bytheexecutivebranch.
Officestaff workwithindividual comminees on budget-related mattersandhelp
themto work withinbudgetconstraintsor targetsestablished bytheCouncil
Chairman. T heofficepreparesmaterialsfortheCouncil touseinbudget
deliberations withthecontrol board.
.'
C~, Budget Office
T heoffice isresponsibleforarangeofoversightfunc.tionsincludingtheproduction
of finandal, performanceandcomplianceaudits of cityagencies andprograms. '
T heofficealsoexercisesfinancialoversightof thedry's 37A dvisoryNeighborhoodI
Commissions. T heannual workplanfortheofficeisgoverned bystatutory
requirements, Council memberandCouncil committee requests, requests madeby
citizens, and bydecisionsmadeindependently bytheauditor.
T he Officeof theA uditorof theDistrictof Columbia was establishedinPL 93-198,
generally knownastheHomeRuleCharterA ctof 1973. T helawprovidesforthe
A uditor tobeappointedforasix-yeartermbytheCouncil Chairmanwith
confirmation bytheCoundl.
Office of the DC A uditor'
T heOfficeof theGeneral Counsel istheoffidal keeper of oral amendmentsmade
during sessionandisresponsiblefortheirenrollment intolegislation. Inaddition,
the officeprovidescoderevisionservicesand maintains andpublishessupplements
to the DC Code. T hisofficehasalsocreated anddisseminated anexcellentbill-
draftingmanual thatreflectsSignificantstaffexpertise.
T heOfriceof theGeneral Counsel providesavariety of legal servicestothe
Council. Under the directionof thegeneral counsel, this officeadvisesmembers on
legal issues; providesbill draftingassistanceto member offices, responds torequests
for infonnation about Districtlaw, andconducts a'technical reviewof manybills
introduced tothe Council. T he general counsel ellsoserves'as parliamentarian to
the Coundl and rulesonprocedural matters duringthesession.
I naddition tothese duties, thesecretaryactsintheroleof "duef clerk" to the
Council when it goesintosession. T hesecretary and staff (romher officeprepare
thesessioncalendar andmanagetheflowof legislationonthefloor. T hey record
all legislativeactionsof theCouncil and maintain the official recordsof its
proceedings induding maintenanceof ariautornated bill trackingandstatussystem. . I
Stanreportingtotheofficeof theSecretarymaintain filesof theofficialaOSofthe
Council and providecopiesof theseandother documents tothepublic. T heyalso
make audiotapes of sessionandcommitteeproceedings andpreparecommittee
rooms and thechamber formeetings.
Report 10theCouncil 01theDlStno CILOIUITlOko
fI NAl. REPORT
10 NCSL
Our surveyof other citycouncils showsthat theytend towork with relatively' -, .
smaller andsomewhat morecentral staff organizationscompared toth~DC
Council. Allowanceismade inmostother citiesforpersonal staff. However, the
central staffinmost caseshandlesthesubstantiveworkonpolicy research,
committeesupport andlegislativeprocess.
A recent N<:;5Lsurveyshowsthat 35statesstaff legislativecommittees fromacentraf .
agency. Twostatesusecaucus staff and thineen statelegislaturesuseacommit~~K~ .
staffingsystemsimilartothat of the DCCouncil.
I nmediumandsmall population stateswithlegislaturesthat meet lessfrequently,
stafringtendsto be smaller andhighlycentralized. Nonpartisan staff agencies
providebill drafting, research, committee staffingandfiscal analysistoall members
of bothpolitical partiesandtoall committees. Clamber staffsaresmall andmostly"
part-time. Attheotherend of thespectrumfromCalifomiaand New Yorkis
Wyoming, whereabout 20permanent employees handle211 of thesubstantiv.e! :t-aff
work fortheLegislature.
TheCouncil'sdecentralized approach to staffingiscommon tostatelegislaturesin
largepopulationstatessuchasNewYork, Califomia, Pennsylvaniaand I llinois.
Althoughstaffingprimarilyisdecentralized inthesestates, they alsomaintain
central, nonpartisanstaff servicessuch asbill drafting. Thesestates investheavilyin
partisan. caucus-based researchand committeesupport staff. These largerstates
oftenhaverelativelyhighnumbers of staff. Forexample, NewYorkemploysabout
4000 staff,Californiaabout 2600, Pennsylvania2700andI llinoisabout 1000.
COMPARATM STAFFI NG I N STATE LEGI SLATURESAND SlliCTED
CITY COUNOlS
Committeechairseach receivethreeto fouradditional staff positions. Again.the
member hasdiscretionover thehiringand assignmentof thesestaff. Typical titles
forcommitteestaff are"committeecounsel" and "committeeclerk." I tiscommon
that oneor moreof thecommineestaff positionsareassignedto constituentservice
workor other member officeresponsibilities. Eachchair takes adifferentapproach
totheactual assignmentsof their staff. Butineach office. staff performseveral
common functionsincludingofficemanagement, pressrelations, bill drafting.
commineemanagement, research, andespeciallyconstituent service.
As statedpreviously, each member isallocated fourpersonal staff positions. These
fourpositionsgenerallycorrespond to thefollowingroles: 1) executiveassistant.(in
someofficescalledchief of staff or staff director);2) legislativeassistant; 3)
constituentserviceaide; and 4) secretary. Council members exercisecomplete
control overtheselection, assignment and management of thesestaff.
Pef50naI andCommittee Staff
R~ tothe Council of theDistriaci Columbiif
FI NA l. RfPORT
11 NCSl
Webelievethat staffsizeisnotreallytheissueattheCouncil. Rather, wethinkthe
Council shouldaddressmattersrelatedtothekinds of servicesthat areprovidedby
staff and howstaff areorganizedtoprovidethoseservices.
NCSL'smanyyearsof developingcomparativedata onstatelegislativestaffshas
reinforcedanimportant lesson. I tisaverydifficultmatter. Statelegislatures
organize staff servicesinanynumber of arrangements and assignstaff
responsibilitiesinuniqueways. Webelievethat city councils areeven tougher to
compare. Wecautionusersof thedatapresented intable2nottodraw rapid
condusions about thereasonablenessof any citycouncil's staffingapproach.
A gain,thiscaution relatesprimarilytothematter of counciVexecutivebranch
overlap of staff services. It oftenishardtotell fromwhere, andfromhow many
staff,acouncil mayreceiveessential staff support.
*lncludes 11 posmoosat Officeof theDCA uditor.
includes 39positionsallocatedtomembersascommittee staff.
N/A =not available
City/State Total Total Central Personal
Members Staff Staff Staff
A tlanta 15 40 17 23
I Baltimore 19 83 35 48
Denver 13 32 9 23
Districtof Columbia 13 136 43- 93"
I ndianapolis 29 10 10 0
I J acksonville 19 50 35 15
Philadelphia 17 N/A NlA 136
Seattle 9 60 37 23
. .
Table2: Staff SizeinSelectedCityCouncils
Table2compares DCCouncil staffingtoother city councils.
I talsoappears common that citycoundls inother dties relyonexecutivebranch
officestorservicessuchasbill drafting.computer support or fiscal analysisand
variousadministrativefunctions suchasaccounting, personnel or photocopying.
Thisisnot amodel that onewouldfindinstatelegislaturesandnot one that NCSL
wouldendorse becauseof separationof powers issues"Thisfactor explains. tosome
degree, thereasonthatthenumber of DCCouncil staff appearsrelativelylargein
straightcomparisonwithother cities. Theoriginal Districtgovernment design.
based onthefederal approach toseparationor powers, promotesdistinctand
separateexecutiveandCouncil staffing. Wealso believethat itmayhavebeen
prudent, andperhaps necessary, fortheCouncil to develop itsownadministrative
resources ratherthantrytodepend onexecutivebranch services.
..,' ...... ,
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FI NA L REPORT
12 NCSl
TheCMPA would receiveannual operatingandperformancereports fromthe
executive director and OCA uditorandthecomminewouldmake a
recommendation tothefull Council regardingtheCouncil'sannual operating
budget. TheCMPA would be chaired bytheCouncil Chairmanor the chairman's
designee. Thecommitteewould be composed of fiveadditional members
appointed bytheCouncil Chairman.
I naddition, theCMPA would assumethe important roleof integratingtheworkof
theDCA uditorintothepolicy makingprocess. -TheDCA uditor would repafi' '
directlytoCMPA . Thecommittee wouldapprovetheannual work plan ofll~
. A uditor's office,receiveandcomment on itsreports, andassistintheestabtf5ll,'ifil'Tent
of audittopics, goalsandschedules. .
TheCommineon Council "Acn;:>""'~~~t vid PublicA ffairs(CMPA )would oversee
.the internal Council opera! . -"i~rsonnel policies, facilitiesmanagement,
hiringof theCouncil exec. . .:ribedbelow) and major contracts for
Council-relatedservices. (._;. ,:--1 "\ ' _ ~ .illlishgoalsandexpectati ons fortheScfaff
divisions, andthroughtheexecutivedirector wouldenforceand overseethe
equitable applicationof personnel rules, promotions andcompensation rraners.
--The Committee on Council Management andPublicA ffairs
A ppendix 8illustratestheorganizational chart foranew, moresubstantively based
starringresourcefortheDCCouncil.
- . - - _.- -.."..- -- --
RECOMMENDA TI ON 1:The- Council should create new central staff support
services for members and committees that would provide a range of services
including committee support, research, bill drafting, fiscal analysis, pubJ ic
information and constituent relations. Thisstaff reformwould require aseries.of
changes incurrent staffing andstaff priorities asrecommended below.
Therecommendations proposethecreation of anew legislativemanagement
committee withoversightof fivestaffdivisionsandtheoperations of the DC
A uditor. Thefivedivisionsare: 1) A dministrativeServices;2) Fiscal;3) Research
and CommineeServices;4) L egal Services;and5) PublicI nformationand .
Constituent Relations. We alsorecommend thecreationof anew executive
director positionresponsiblefor theday-to-day management of the fivenew
divisions. TheDC A uditorwould reportdirectlytothenew management
comminee.
Thefollowingrecommendations, ifadopted, will shift Council staffingtoward a
morecoherently organized, accessibleandprofessional resourceforCouncil
members andcommittees. Theserecommendations respond, webelieve, tothe
important goal of advancingthepolicy-makingindependence andcredibilityof the
Council.
RECOMMENDATlONS FOR COUNOL STAfF REORGANlZATlON
Report totheCouncil cithe District t:i Columbi:ol
FI NA L REPORT
13 NCSl
I naddition toanew reportingarrangement withtheCouncil, webelievethat the
Council should makeafewnecessaryinvestment- intheOfficeof theDCA uditor.
Thework placeconditionsof thecurrentofficearesubstandard andofferfew if
. ,
RECOMMENDA TI ON3: Theofficeof the DC A uditor should report directly to
the newCommittee onCouncil Management and Public A ffairswiththe intention
that this relationship would reinforcethe valueof audit work to Council decision
making and legislative oversight. The committee would receive audit
recommendations and requests fromother committees and approve the annual
work planof the office. Theauditor wouldsubmit all audit reports and findingsto
the committee including an annual report outlining at a minimum the work
progress, acmmplishments and goalsof theoffice.
Theofficeof the DCA uditorappears tobearespectedand crediblesourceof
iniormationabout Districtgovemment performanceandrelated issues. Webelieve
that theCouncil wouldbenefit bystrengtheningthisofficeand makingchangesthat
would bringthe workoftheofficemoreinlinewiththeflowof businessand issues
at theCouncil. Wethereioreofferthefollowingrecomrnendations.
Wespokewithall of theCouncil committeechairsabout their useof DCA uditor
reportsand services. Thecornrnittee chairsindicatedthat thework of theDC
A uditor israrelyincorporatedintothepolicymakingprocess, although manyof
themalsoidentifiedtheauditor asanimportantresource. As one chair put it, "[The
DCA uditor] doesn't playa roleinour committeeoversightunlesswehavea
specificrequest." A notherchair commented, "Theydo good work, butthey aren't
integrated intoour needsor our timing."
Under theproposed staffreorganization, theOffice of theDC A uditor aridits'
internal structurewould remainunchanged. Our recommendations relatedtothe
DCA uditordeal morewithimprovingitsconnection tothe Council andmakingita
morerelevant resourceforoversightandinformation. Webelieve that these
changes can be madewithout compromisingtheindependence oftheauditor.
--_ - ~~~;.;.,. - -
:....--. _ .. -:..
Office Of theDC A uditor /
RECOMMENDA TI ON 2: The DC Council should create a new management
committee chaired by theCouncil Chairmanand comprised of four other Council
memberS. A mong its various duties, the new management committee would
oversee the internal affairsof the Counal induding oversight of all central staff
agencies and the Office of the DC A uditor. The committee would periodically
review and suggest revisions in the statutory audit requirements of the DC
A uditor.
A nimportant rolefortheCMPA wouldbethedevelopment of public information
and citizeneducation strategiestobe implementedby aCoondl public information.
officer(PI O)' Thesestrategieswouldbedesignedto promote public understanding
of andaccess toCoundl activitiesandtofosterastronger instiMional imageof the
Council among Districtcitizens. ThenewPI O roleisdiscussed inmoredetail later
inthissectionof thereport.
ReporttotheCouncil c : A the OisUla a COIUrnDl.1
-j
FiNAl RfPORT
14
NCSl
The Comminee on Council Management andPublic Affairs(CMPA) would approve
a formal job description for the position andhire the executive director by~
majority vote of itsmembers. The executive director would report directly to the
CMPA and could only be dismissed by amajority vote of the Committee. There
would be no set term of employment for the executive director such as the two-year
appointment process currently used for the secretary. Theexecutive drreaol' wO!!lfd
serve at the pleasure of the Committee. tvtany of the duties of the office would
parallel those now performed by the secretary to the Cound!. For example, the
Most legislatures delegate the day-to-day management and oversight of staff to a
staff director who isresponsible for maintaining the performance of these
employees. Increating anew, more substantive central staff for the Council, lh0
need will arise for such adirector. Theexecutive director would beassistedby art
administrative aide who would handle the executive directors scheduling, deri csl
and other officemanagement work.
Office of the Exea.rtive Director '
The NCSL study team identified other issues in our discussions with staff at the
Office of the DC Auditor, and although those issues fall outside the scope of this
report they should bereviewed by the Council and itsnew Committee on Council
Management and Public Affairs. The issues include: 1) difficulties presented by the
short tumaround time often required by city agencies for bond certification
conducted by the DC Auditor; 2) the lack of DC Auditor subpoena power; and 3)
the often difficult conditions of fieldwork for audit staff including transportation
difficulties and the security of personnel and work papers.
RECOMMENDATION 5: The Council should follow through with plans to
relocate the Office of the DC Auditor to the Wilson Building' when renovations are
completed,
RECOMMENDATION 4: The Council should improve the workplace of the Office
of the DC Auditor.' At a minimum, these improvements should include: 1)
improvements in the general workplace conditions such as lighting, office space
and equipment; 2}provisions for security for office workers.and their records; and
3) upgrades inavailable computer technology and training.
The Office of the DC Auditor also ishandicapped by lack of adequate computer ,
technology and training. We believe the Council, inan effort to improve Council-
wide application of technology, should fQOJ ssome resources on upgrades in
hardware and software at the auditors office. Audit staff especially expressed
frustration with lack of contemporary applications for spreadsheet software and
related financial analysis tools and training.
any, forms of security for employees or their work papers. The lease for that space
is scheduled to expire soon, and the plan isto move the Auditor into the renovated
Wilson building with the Council. This would substantially improve the Auditor's
ability to operate effectively, and the Council should complete the planned move as
soon as possible.
Report tothe Council d theDistria dColumbia
A NA l.. REPORT
15 NCSl
TheFiscal Divisionwould analyzetheDistrictbudget billsand relatedlegislation,
comment onfiscal notes, assistall committees and members on fiscal mattersand
work closelywithexecutivebranch fiscal staffonbudget issues. Thedivisionalso
woulddevelopexpertiseandprovideassistanceontax and revenue issues.
TheFiscal Divisionwould essentiallyresembletheBudgetOfficethat nowexistsat
theCoundl. However, it'sfocuswould be trainedmore ontheactivitiesand
requirementsof anew Council Committeeon BudgetandTaxation (seetable6in
thisreport).
.F iscal Division
Thedirectorof theA dministrativeDivisionwould assumesome of the
responsibilitiesof thecurrentsecretaryincludingoversightof mostadministrative
functionsattheCouncil. TheA dministrativeDivisiondirector would serveina
"chief clerk" rolebyoverseeingthemanagement of sessionactivitiesincluding
preparationof sessioncalendars, supervisionof documents duringsession, and
maintenance of theofficial recordof sessionactivities.
TheA dministrativeDivisionof thenewstaffstructurewould encompass mostof the
current central stafffunctionsoperatingunder theOfficeof theSecretary. These
would includeaccounting, personnel, purchasing, Council record keeping,
archiving, and computer support.
A dministrative Division
RECOMMENDA TION b: The Council should create the position of executive
director to theCouncil. Theexecutivedirector would report to the Committeeon
Council Management and PublicA ffairs which would hire (or fire) theexecutive
director by a vote of the majority of the-committee members. The exeartive..-';:~c:-
director would oversee the daily operations and planning of all central staff
operations with the exception of the Office of the DC A uditor and would have
hiringauthority for divisiondirectors andother divisionemployees. Theexecutive
director would file an annual report to the Council outlining the activities,
accomplishments, goals and planning for all staff services under the direction of
thisoffice.
Themostimportant roleof theexecutivedirector would be to insurethe
effectivenessandresponsivenessof the fivecentral staffdivisions. This
responsibilitywouldincludethehiringof divisiondirectors, development oi goals
andclearlyarticulatedmissionsforeach division, oversight of divisionactivitiesand
performance, andpromotionof aworkplaceethic that honors intra- andinter-
divisionteamwork, customer service, qualityandopen communication.
executive director would become the primary spokesperson for the Council on
intemal operational matters and would take lead responsibility on issues related to
officespacedevelopment andfacilitiesplanning. Theexecutive director wouldnot.
however, managetheadministrationof sessionactivityasthesecretarycurrently
does.
Repott totheCouncil 01theDiSlTiCl ~ Columbla
FI NA L REPORT
16
Byfocusingall draftingwithinlegal services,theCouncil will develop consistency
indraftingstyleandimprovethequalityof legislation. Thiswould create amore
uniformsetof lawsthat wouldbeeasier toreadand followforanorneys, judges and
Divisionbill draftersalsowould prepareaplainlanguageanalysisof all legislation
. sothat membersandthepubliCwould haveaquick referencetothemeaning and
intentof earn bill. Currently,members andtheir staff typicallycall thebHlsponsor
tofindout whatabill does or means becausethere isnosummary, Theplain
languageanalysiswouldprovideanefficientand objectivewayfor members, staff
andthe publicto understandtheessential purposeof abill.
TheL egal ServicesDivisionwould draftor reviewall legislationpresented tothe
Council. Nobill or resolutioncould beintroduced without legal services review.
TheNCSL studyteamwas impressedwiththeexpertiseandcapabilities of the
attorneys presentlyworkingintheGeneral Counsel's office. Thoselegal experts are
well equipped tohandlethenew bill draftingorientationof theL egal Services
Division.
Currently,thebillsthat areintroduced originatefrommanysources and areoften
introduced withoutbeingrevisedor reviewedbytheGeneral Counsel's office.
Thosesourcesincludeprivateattorneys, themayor's office,lawprofessorsor special
interestgroups. Thesesourcescould be "players" withapoint of viewwho have
an incentivetodrafttofavoronesideover another, possiblyinaway that iswell-
hidden or hardtofind. Thispracticecreatesproblems fortheCouncil interms of its
independence, thequalityand consistencyof itswork, and its accountability to the
public.
TheL egalServicesDivisionwould represent an important, andwebelieve crucial,
transformationof thecurrent Council Officeof theGeneral Counsel. The most
important aspectof thistransformationwouldbethedevelopment of amuch-
needed internal resourcefor bill drafting.
Tobe independent, theCouncil must haveaknowledgeable and assertivegroup of
legislativelawyers. Theymustbeabletospotthenuances withinbill drafts
presented byspecial interestsor themayor's officeand analyzehow thedraftsmay
beat oddswithCouncil interests.
legal Services Division
A tthe timeof our interviews,the BudgetOfficeat the Council consisted of three
staff,withtheprospectthat staffwould beincreased 500I"I. Webelievethat thesize
of theoffice shouldbeincreased. However, wecaution theCouncil not toexpand
theresponsibilitiesof thefiscal officeoutsideitsbudget-relatedmission. For
example, manymemberssuggestedthat thebudget office beexpanded tohouse
moreresearchcapacityor that thisoffice takeon responsibilityfor contract review.
We believethatthesetypesof activitiesarebetter suitedfordivisionsthat will be
describedbelow. Weencourage theCouncil to maintainafiscal divisionthat is
abletofocusonimportant revenueand expenditure issueswithout thedistraction of
other responsibilities.
NCSl
Report totheCouncil of theDistrict dColumbia
FI NA L REPORT
17
A nother drawback of thedecentralized committee staffing approach i s that when a
committee chair changes, the files for the comminee often must be reconstructed.
Official comminee reports may be available through the Office of the Secretary, but
background information on the issues within the jurisdiction of the committee often
must be compiled fromscratch.
Committee staffing at the Council sufferssimilar shortcomings. Each committee
chair hires his or her own committee staff who bring varied training and
background to the job.
Currently, any policy research that is done at the Council is performed by members'
staff. While many of these employees are extremely talented analysts, they cannot
satisfy several key goals related to the research needs of a legislature. First,they
tend to serve only their member and their expertise and services are not available to
others. Second, they are, by the nature of their attadlment to an elected official,
temporary, They tend not to contribute any institutional memory to the Council
regarding the history of issues, how they were handled, or the location of important
sources of information. Finally, they are distracted by other responsibilities of their
office induding constituent service, office management and public relations.:
The current Council staffing approach makes no provision for an independent,
professional and permanent research function. This is one of the most serious
deficiencies at the Council and one that must be addressed if the Council wishes to
seize the opportunity to emerge as a leading force within District govemment.
Research and Committee Division
RKOMMENDA TI ON 7: The Office of the General Counsel should be reorganized
into a legal Services Division that emphasizes bill-drafting responsibilities. The
Council should adopt rules that require all Council legislation and amendments be'
prepared or reviewed by legal division lawyers prior to introduction and that
require the legal division to attach a plain language analysis to all bills prior to
introduction.
We believe that it is essential to the long-term success and independence of the
Council that it develop a legal division charged with the responsibility to prepare.
analyze and describe draft legislation for the Council. Eventually, the division
should become the primary source for bill drafting for the Council.
Bill drafting operations such as the ones described above have designed strategies to
effectively handle the high volume of bill drafting requests that are submitted in a
relatively short time frame. I nsome stales, bills are drafted based on a first-come.
first-served basis. Other states allow legislators a certain number of high priority
requests.
citizens. A ll fifty-statelegislatures maintain intemal bill drafting capacity, and the
large majority of them require bills to be reviewed for form by the bill-drafting
agency before introduction.
NCSl
Report totheCouncil oj theOisarid Of CoIUI1\Okl
FINAl. RfPORT
18 NCSt
OPTION 2: Transfer three member-based committee staff positions per eommittee
chair to the central office.' This option releases sufficient resources to create a
significant new source for research and committee support, but also allows
members to hire and manage akey personal committee staff position.
Inaddition, the division director would assign aresearch analyst to support the
general research needs of agroup of committees. Theresearch analyst would work
with the committees' staff on committee projects, but would also be available to itff
members for-research and policy assistance. Bill drafters at the Legal Division might
be organized around specialty areas in a fashion similar to the research anal}fsts. A
biJ I-drafting specialist might support the legal needs of aparticular committee, but
would also be available to any member needing such expertise.-
The director of anew Research and Committee Services Division would assign to
each committee acommittee staff director and acommittee analyst. These staff
would assist the chair and committee members in development of the committee
agenda, preparation of necessary committee documents, issue research and other
routine committee duties. These staff would stay with their committee assignment,
even inthe event of a change inthe chair of the committee. However, the division
director might occasionally reassign staff to new committees. This division would
establish apool of clerical and administrative ernplcvees responsible for the
preparation of committee rooms, photocopying, note taking and other support
services.
OPTION 1: Transfer all member-based committee resources to the central office.
This option isthe most dramatic and would allow for the creation of a full-
functioned research and committee staff office. All 39 of the current member-based
committee staff positions would be transferred to central staff offices, with the bulk
of these positions at the research and committee staff division.
agency.
There are several options available to the Council for moving toward a more
centralized and permanent source for research and committee support. Essentially,
these options differ inthe number of staff positions that are transferred from
member-based committee staff positions to the central research and committee staff
The NCSL study team recommends that the Council amend the practice of
allocating four committee staff positions to member offices and that all or a portion
of these resources be redirected toward the development and enhancement of
central services including committee and research staff. We believe sufTicient staff
resources could befreed up by this change to also support creation of anew public
information and constituent service office as described later in this report.
Stanpositions allocated for the purposes of committee Slaffingare routinely
reassigned by members to other duties. most notably constituent service. This
practice further diminishes the ability of the Council to establish high quality
committee work.
Report to theCouncil dtheOistrio d Columhia
FI NA l. REPORT
19
NCSl
OPTI ON 2offersmanyofthebenefitsof OPTI ON 1whilepreservingthechair's
. prerogativetohirethecommittee's leadstaffperson. Thisoption does not,
however, deliverthehighlevelsof institutional memory,shared staffexpertiseand
consistencyof committeemanagement of OPTI ON 1. OPTI ON 2alsointroduces
somepotential for conftictbetween themember-hiredcomminee staff directorwho
maynotbe anexpert oncornmineeissues andthecentral committee analystwho
wouldpossessmoredetailedknowledgeof thecommittee'spast work, andits
practicesandissues.
OPTI ON 1proposesthemost difficultinstitutional change, but alsooffersthemost
significantimprovementincommineeservice.' OPTI ON 1allows formaximum
retentionof institutional memoryoncommineemattersandissuesand promotesthe
highestlevel of consistencyinthemanagement of commineerecords andrelated
inforrnation..I tallowsstafftodevelopdepth of knowledgeon committee issuesthat
isaccessibletoall committeemembersand other Coundl members. Finally,dueto
theconsistencywithwhichall committeestaffapproachtheir responsibilities,
OPTI ON 1 wouldfostereasier transitionsior committeechairsand other members
whentheymoveto newcomminees.
OPTI ON 3assumesthat committeechairswouldmaintaintwo positionsfor
commineeworkandthat thecentral researchstaffwouldprovidethemwithgeneral
analytical supportbut withlittlespecificsupport forcommitteeactivities. For
example, theresearchofficemightdevelopbackgroundinformationona
committeeissue,but itwouldnot havetheresourcestopreparecommittee reports
or managesimilardutiesfor thecomminee. I ndividual committeechairs mightuse
thetwopositionsallocatedtothemtohireacommitteestaffdirector anda
committeeanalystor clerk. Thecentral researchoffice wouldofferlimitedclerical
andadministrativesupportto thecommittees.
OPTI ON 3: Transfer two member-based mmmittee staff positions per committee
chair to thecentral office. Thisoptionwould allowforthecrea.tionof abasic
policyresearchofficeattheCouncil that could supportroutinecommittee workand
thegeneral researchneedsof Council members. As inthetwo options presented
above, sufficientresourceswould beavailabletoalsocreateanew public
informationoffice,asmall, central constituentre1ationsfunction, andtoexpandthe
operationsof theOfficeoftheGeneral CounSelandtheBudget0T tlC e. - -
Under OPTI ON 2, theResearchandCommitteeServicesDivisionwouldprovide
additional clerical andresearchsupportasprovidedinOPTI ON 1.
I nthisoption, thecommitteechair wouldhirethecommitteestaffdirector who
wouldbetheleadstaffpersontortheCommittee. Thedirectorof theResearchand
CommitteeServicesDivisionwouldassigneach commineeacommitteeanalyst
dedicatedtosupportingtheworkof that comminee. The committee analyst
assignedtoacommitteewould not changeintheevent of achange inthe
committee'schair, althoughasinOPTI ON 1, thedivisiondirector mightdetermine
aneedtooccasionallyrearrangecommitteeassignments.
Report to the Council dthe D~Cl ci CoI urnba.l
FI NAl REPORT
20 NCSl
Morethan40statelegislaturesnowhavean officeof public informationtohandle
media relationsandpromotepublic awareness andunderstandingof thework of
thelegislature. TheCouncil shouldcreate anewOfficeof PublicI nformationand
Constituent Relationsresponsibleforthedevelopment orprogramsandservices
including:
Obviously, theCouncil will not reinvent itspersonaovernightandtransformintoa
symphonic blend of common perspective andunifiedpurpose. Thisisnot inthe
natureof legislatures. However, westronglyencouragetheCouncil members to
begintoidentifyareaswheretheexpression of sharedgoalsandvaluescan
contributeto public understandingandrespect forCouncil decisionsandactivities.
Evenifthe-elegant unityof thesymphony isanunrealisticgoal, wethinkthar ij1 13
Council voices shouldat leastoccasionally be joinedtocreateinterpretationsCi.nd
statements about what ishappening attheDistrict'smost importantbrand, of
govemment
TheCouncil currentlyhasnostrategy, no independent resourceforand, infact, no
apparent intentionto promotean institutional messageabout howtheCouncil
works, why itisimportant, what ithasaccomplished, orwhat its visionisforthe
futureof the District. I ndeed, theCouncil rarelyspeakswithonevoice.
I norder torealizethegoalsof institutional credibility,recognitionandcommunity
involvement promoted inthisstudy, theCouncil musttakesomemattersintoits
own hands. Thisisespeciallytrueintheareasof public information,media
relationsand constituentservice.
Public I nformation and Constituent Service
Theremoval of committeestaffpositionsfrommembers' officesandtheir
reorganization intoacentral agency isapoliticallychallengingnotion. Weknow
fromour experiencewithstatelegislaturesthattheseinstitutionsmorenaturally
decentralize stafforganizationover timerather thancentralizeit. Our
recommendation totheCouncil goes against thisnatural inclinationandthe
political reasonsbehind it. However, thischange iscentral tomovingtheCouncil:
towardbeing amoreindependent and effeaive policymakingbody.
RECOMMENDATI ON8: TheCouncil should create a Researchand Committee
Division reporting to the executive director that would be responsible for
supporting thesubstantive, planning and record keeping needs ofmmmittees and -_- __c=. __ :-
their chairs, and the general research and policy analysis requirements of an
members. This division would constitute an independent, professional and
nonpartisan resourcefor Council rommittee support and research.
Themainimprovement offeredbyOPTI ON 3isthecreationof amuchneeded
research center tosupporttheworkof the committees, their staff andother Council
members. Fewof theother institutional benefitsrelatedto institutionalmemory,
shared committeestaffexpertiseor consistent committeemanagementarerealized
under thisoption.
Report totheCouncil t: J the Oim;o t:i Columbia
FI NA L REPORT
21
NCSL
Complaints and requests of constituents are not analyzed to identify recurring
District problems that might provoke increased oversight of specific agencies or
needed legislation. For example, we talked to several constituent service workers in
different member offices and learned very quickly that tree removal isawidespread
problem intheDistrict and arecurring source of citizen irritation. I tseemed
evident, however, that this informalion had never been tabulated or evaluated in
any way that could assist the Coundl inacting to relieve the situation.
I nfaa, it appears that constituent Work inthe members' offices isgenerally regarded
as awelcomed encumbrance. It serves to solidify Council member connections
with voters, and helps members demonstrate their ability to deliver real results to
citizens. We donot question these goals or outcomes and we recognize the
Most offices keep an informal manual or list of useful agency contacts and other
resources for helpin resolving citizen complaints, but the office do not share these
lists. Some offices have created databases that record important details related to
constituent requests, but these are used more for basic record keeping and the
creation of mailing liststhan for any analytical reason.
The high level of constituent service workloads in member offices surprised us.
Members' staff field hundreds, even thousands, of these requests during aCouncil
period. However, there isno Council-wide standard for how these requests should
be handled or managed. Each office has developed itsown approach for
responding to constituent needs and for tracking requests.
The director of the Office of Public I nformation and Media Relations would report
to the executive director and the office would make itsservices available equally to
all members and their staff. The director of this division might hold the title of
Public I nformation Officer. We envision astaff of about five--two assigned to
public information and three assigned to constituent relations. However, staff inthis
division would be cross-trained to perform most key roles of the division.
A comprehensive Council website featuring Council news; Council session
schedules and calendars; comminee rosters, sdledules and agendas; member
and staff rosters with e-mail connections; Council rules; job openings; access to
bill status, research and audit reports; and descriptions of the legislative process.
Press clipping service for all members (available intemally and potentially on-
line through an I ntranet web site).
Nonpartisan, non-electoral speechwriting consultation ior all members.
Radio production services for members.
Media training and coaching for members and staff.
Nonpartisan, non-electoral press release service and newsletter writing for
member offices.
I nformational brochures and other printed materials-that describe the Council
and itsrole and activities, .
Educational materials for use in schools and by members for instruction about
the legislative process, District government- and the role of the Council.
A central service for the disposition and analysis of constituent requests for. - .-.
assistance (described further below).
Repon 10 theCouncil a t theDI StnCl 01 COIUmDICl
FINALREPORT
22 NCSl
The staff reform recommendations detailed above could be implemented Wtth little
or no impact on the total number of Council employees. Table 3 iIIuSffatesan
estimate of the size ofthe new central staff if it were adopted using OPTION 1 . {$.~~
, page 1 8) for the transfer of staff positions frommembers' offices to the cefitrat s{P.J f.
Impact of Reconvnendations on TotaJ Staff Employed
RECOMMENDATION 9: The Council should create an Office of Public
Information and Constituent Relations that reports to the executive director. The
office would promote citizen understanding and involvement in Council activities
through the provisionof services induding aCouncil web site, media relations and
development of appropriate publications. The office also would h.aw..~ a
constituent relations service responsible to member offices for the effectfw OiOO
expeditious management of citizen complaints and requests related to the
performance of District government.
The office also would produce an annual report for the Committee on Council
Management and Public Affairscontaining asummary of constituent service work
and recommendations for Council action. The CMPA might direct the DC Auditor
to condud certain investigations based on contents of this report. Inaddition,
because the member offices would continue to manage aportion .of citizen
complaints, the central constituent service office would develop aconstituent
service manual for them that would provide key contacts and other advice on how
to quickly resolve citizen problems.
The central constituent service office would maintain adatabase of constituent
requests and conduct periodic analysis of these data including geographic and
chronological frequency. The office would present routine (perhaps monthly or
quarterly) reports to ward member offices surnmarizmg work done for constituents
intheir districts. . . .-- . -- - .__. ._. - ..
We therefore recommend that the Council create acentral service for constituent
complaints designed to handle most of the common problems about city services
that trouble District citizens. Member offices would refer complaints to this office
where they would be handled expeditiously and with full credit for their resolution
attributed back to the referring member's office. Services similar to this operate
successfully in several states including Arkansas, which has an exemplary model for
coordinating constituent requests.
important role that Council members play intheresolution of citizen problems.
However, the constituent service function appears to beconsuming a
disproportionate amount of staff resources, and more could bedone to connect
citizen complaints to broader Council actions.
ReporttotheCoundl dtheDistrictdColumbia
FI NA L REPORT
23 NCSl
By implementingthestaffrecommendations includingOPTI ON 1forthetransferof
staff,membersno longerwould requiretheallocationof comminee staff. This
would freeupabout 39staffpositions. Underthisscenario, each member would
retaintheirbaseallocationof four staffandtheCouncil Chairmanwould retainan
extratwopositions. Total member staffthereforewoulddrop from93 to54. Under
theserecommendations and based onour assumptions, total staffingat theCouncil
wouldbereducedby ninefull timepositions. A doptionof OPTI ON 2 or OPTI ON
3 forthetransferof member-based committeestaffwouldyieldsmaller reductions,
depending upontheassumptions builtintothosescenarios. However, each option
could be accomplishedwith littleimpactontotal Council employment.
Theseestimatesarebased onsome assumptions. First,thetotal staffdedicated to
administrativedivisionactivitiescould declineduetotheshiftof some
responsibilitiestotheexecutivedirector andimproved useof technology as
recommended inthisreport. We assumetheaddition of one positiontothefiscal
officeandtwopositionstothe current Officeof theGeneral Counsel inorder to
assistitstransformationintoabill draftingresource. I fOPTI ON 1was adopted for
thetransferof member-based commineestaff,theResearchandCommittee
Divisionwouldbe comprisedof 14committeestaffservingthenon-fiscal
committees(twoper committee seeour committeestructurerecommendations in
thisreport),fourresearchers, three supportstaffand adivision director. As stated
earlier, thepublicinformationand constituentrelationsofficewould havefive
positions.
Under theassumptionof thecompleteadoptionand implementation of OUT staff
recommendations, weestimatethat thecentral staffwould growfromthecurrent -
number of 43 toabout 73.
73 I TOTA l CENTRAL STA FF
-
Council StaffOffice Number of Employees
Officeof theExecutiveDirector 2
A dministrativeDivision 19
Fiscal Division
4
I
L egalServicesDivision 10
!
ResearchandCommitteeDivision 22
I
PublicI nformationand Constituent RelationsDivision 5
,
i
Officeof theDCA uditor 11
Table3: EstimatedDistribution of Central Staff Basedon Recommendations
RepM10th@Council ~lheDiane! Cf COlUmnld. .. ....~
FINAl.. REPORT
24 NCSl
The NCSL study team did not examine in depth the ciassification and compensation
policies of the Council. NCSL has conducted extensive pay studies for many state
legislatures, so we understand the complexity of the subject. It is something that
should be examined carefully by experts inthe field of compensation. The Council
should seriously consider contracting with a compensation consultant to study the
staff compensation package and compare the current salaries to comparable ~~J ;uies
in the DC job market. An extensive compensation study could be used to set
competitive salary ranges that can help attract and retain the best employees,
RECOMMENDATION 10: The Council should establish that all Council employees
are exempt from the city's civil service system and are employed on an at-will
basis. The Council should ensure the establishment of clearly articulated
personnel policies, procedures and practices that promote the equitable and fair
treatment of all Council jot; applicants and employees, and that establish
minimum qualifications for all ;.;c;)sitions.
As has been the case instate legislatures, the development of effective grievance
procedures, pay and classification plans, job descriptions and other internal
personnel rules working in concert with the application of important employment
and discrimination laws, will adequately protect Council employees fromunfair-
treatment.
The Council will similarly benefit by taking control of itsown personnel system. and
practices. The new executive director will be free to exercise amore streamlined
and customized approach to hiring and other personnel matters. This will be
crucial to the rapid development of ahigli1yproie:ssional and f7.Sponsivestaff.
All but a fewhundred of the 36,000 state legislative employees in the country work
on an at-will basis. We believe that this isan appropriate condition of employment
that does not threaten effective and productive workers, but that allows legislatures
to develop personnel policies and hiring practices that are responsive to their
unique needs and circumstances.
A portion of the central staff at the Council currently works within the city's
classified or "protected" service. With the adoption oi anew central staff
arrangement, we believe this practice should be discontinued and that all Council'
employees should be employed on an at-will basis.
(ONomONS OF ST AFF EMPLOYMENTAT T HE(OUNOL
Report totheCouncil of the DimiCt c J Columhi~
.'. ;
-I
FI NAl REPORT
25 NCSl
I mplement the changes regarding committee staff described intheprevious
section of thisreport;
Reduce the.number of Council standing comminees fromten to eight; .
Reduce the number of committee assignments to amaximum three per
member;
Establish and enforce a rule that all committee meetings start on time or as close
to the announced start time as ispracticable;
Create acomminee staffing manual that outlines the responsibilities,
requirements and expeaations of committee staff;
Develop and enforce rules regarding the public announcement of committee
meeting schedules and related dlanges or cancellations.
The Council can improve itscommittee work and provide better public access to
committee proceedings by adopting the following changes:
Committees also provide one of the primary pathways by which citizens gain
access to and are able to influence ioi;!gislative debate and decision making. This is
especially true at the DC Council. As one Council member put it, "Council
committee hearings are the only way intown for people to participate."
Committees do the homework of a legislature. Legislative committees add
tremendous value because they analyze, scrutinize and modify the raw legislative
material that eventually becomes law.
COUNOL COMMITTEES
I nthis section of the report, weoffer ideas to the Council designed to improve
operational efficiency that also protect and balance the need for deliberation inthe
legislative process. We recommend areduction innumber, and limited
reorganization, of Council committees including the elimination of the current
Committee of the Whole. Our recommendations on internal communication
include ideas about improving staff interaction and knowledge sharing. We also
introduce ideas about streamlining the bill status and tracking system and other
applications of technology at the Council.
Legislatures are aspecial breed within govemment because their structure and
processes oftenare deliberately designed for inefficiency. That is, legislative
processes and procedures that slow the pace of decision making or that guarantee
opportunity for public participation are considered good for careful policy making
but they also introduce additional time and cost to legislative operations.
The past decade has witnessed elaborate and successful efforts at all levels of
govemment to streamline operations, clarify purpose and reduce spending.
Efficiency
Report totheCouncil at the Disuia c:i Co6urnbia
..... : _:,. .-- ..-~.,.... - ..;,~!'::" .. -.!.--' _".,....... ~........' _ -
FI NAl REPORT
26 NCSl
Thetitles and jurisdictionof thecommittees generally resemblethosefound inother
legislativebodies, withtheexception of theCouncil's Committeeof theWhofe.
Appendix C lists thecommittee titlesfromseveral citycouncils andstateserlate-s.
I nadditiontotheirserviceontheCommitteeof theWhole, Council members
duringthelastlegislativesessionservedonan averageof fourstandingcommittees.
Twomembers servedon fivecommitteesand four members servedonthree
committees. All butthree Council members chaired acommittee. Byrule, the
Council Chairmanserves asavotingmember of all standingcommittees.
*The Counal Chairman I S a voting member Of all standing commmees, which I S rE:!leaed In
thesestatistics.
Committee Name Number of Members-
Committee of theWhole 13
Consumer and RegulatoryAffair5 - - 6
EconomicDevelopment 6
--
Education, Librariesand Recreation 7
Financeand Revenue
6
Govemment Operations 6
Human Services 6
/J udiciary 6
Local, Regional and Federal Affairs
6
IPublicWorksand Environment
6
Table 4: Committee membership for Council Period 12 (1997.1998)
Thecommittee structurefortheCouncil period 19971998 consistedof nine
substantivestandingcommittees andTheCommitteeof theWhole (COW). Table4
presents asummaryof thecommittees andtheir membership size.
TheChairmanof theDCCouncil establishesthenumber of committees foreach
Council periodandrecommends theappointment of chairs andmembers tothe
committees, Thefull Council approvescommittee chairs andassignments.
CUrTentCommittee Sbucture andRdated I ssues
R~ to theCouncil d theDimiddColumbia
FINAl~T
27
NCSL
Fewer committee meetings for members to attend.
Easier to establish a coordinated meeting schedule.
Reduced number of staff required to staff committees.
Easier public participation in committee activities.
The current Coundl structure for comminees seems fairly sound and reasonable.
Most committees have substantial reason to exist However, we believe that some
streamlining of comminee jurisdictions combined with a reduction in the number of
committees served on per member would be beneficial to the legislative process, to
members and to the public. These benefits would include:
Proposal for aNew Council Convnittee Structure
Of the cities for which we have data. San Francisco and J acksonville have the
smallest number of standing committees with sixeach. San Francisco divides its
committees into the following titles and jurisdiaions: Budget; Economic Vitality and
Social Policy; Health. Public Safety and Environment; Housing and LandUse;
Government Efficiency and Labor; and Rules. J acksonville has a slightly different
breakdown: Finance; Land Use and Zoning; Public Health and Safety; Public
Services, Transportation and Utilities; Recreation and Community Development;
and Rules. Appendix B liststhe titles of committees in several other cities and state
legislatures.
City Council Number of
Membership Standing Committees
Atlanta 15 7
Baltimore 19 12
Boston 13 21
Cleveland 21 11
Denver 13 7
District of Columbia 13 10
Houston 14 23
Indianapolis 29
- -
11
J acksonville 19 6
Minneapolis 13 10
Philadelphia 17 9
Pittsburgh 9 9
San Francisco 11 6
Seattle 9 9
Table 5: Council Membership and Committee Size in Selected Cities.
The ratio of membership size to number of standing committees varies from cit)' to
city. Table 5illustratesthis variation:
ReporttotheCa.n:ij cithe Dislria 01 C~urnrna
. i"'~,:--. " ...... -.... ~ :.. ..... ~".....,..:_" ........ _;. ..... _."' "l'- ."_ "."
FINAl REPORT
28 NCSl
The following recommendations for comminee restructuring are important to the
future effectiveness and efriciency of Council operations. They have little value,
however, if not adopted with aconcurrent commitment to the improvement of
basic committee operational practices and scheduling.
Many of the problems related to committee deliberations and hearings cannot be
solved through restruduring or rulemaking. These problems, such as heariY~gs
starting late and frequent schedule changes, are matters of internal diSCiplineand
competing demands for the Council members limited time.
The goal of conducting effective and accessible committee hearings sometimes is
not achieved at the Council. This problem tends to occur when meetings start late
and when testimony and questions are not reasonably managed. A Council
member commented, "City agencies often go first and time elapses. Itcan be
frustrating for those fromthe public who have to wait to be heard." Because
Council committees have the power to regulate their own meeting agendas,
including the order and duration of testimony, committees must guarantee time for
public participation.
A related problem isone of obtaining aquorum. Several staff told us that their
committees frequently are not able to achieve this decision-making necessity.
Standing comminees at the Council seem to suffer fromseveral problems. They
tend to start meetings late or have frequent schedule changes. One member
complained, "Comminee scheduling isnot certain. Times are not adhered to and
schedules are changed at the last moment. How do I do my job?" Another
member said, "The committee meeting schedule often is changed. We need more
discipline."
The Council's current use of Comminee of the Whole works against two of the basic
benefits of acommittee system. First, COW consumes valuable time of the entire
body for matters that could be considered by ~comminee. Italso violates the
premise that smaller groups better accomplish in..oep1h Sfudy-Ofbills: ,~- .. ,--~
Traditionally in legislatures, Committee of the Whole occurs as part of floor
proceedings, either as aregular itemon the daily order of business or a special order
for designated purposes. It usually isnO(incorporated into the standing comminee
system.
The Council also should consider elimination of theCommittee of the Whole. As it
currently operates, COW serves as pan rules and administration comminee and part
budget committee, We are not convinced that these activities require the attention
of the whole body---that the Council essentially goes into session to detennine
outcomes inthese areas. Rather, we propose that the various duties of COW be
divided and placed within new jurisdictions, most notably a new Committee on
Council Nt3nagement and Public Relations and a new Committee on Budget and
Taxation.
Report totheCouncil rithe DisrriCl rJ ColumbiA
FI NAL REPORT
29
NCSL
RECOMMENDATI ON 11: The Couridl should operate with a maximum of etght .
standing committees, each comprised of five members. Members should serve on
a maximum of three committees each. The Council Chairman would serve on
three committees in addition to serving as chair of the Council Management and
Public AffairsCommittee.
The committee titles and jurisdictions presented inTable 6 are for the consideration
of the Council as one way to redistribute committee work among eight committees.
Due to the difficulty in determining past comminee workload, we encourage the
Council to modify this jurisdictional scheme as necessary using itsunique
knowledge. of the issues and how they occupy comminee resources. OJ r concern
would bethat the Council endorse and adhere to two key reorganization criteria: 1)
limit the Council to amaximum of eight committees, and 2) limit members to a
maximum of three committee memberships each. The Council Chairman would
serve on four committees.
Committee Name Number of J urisdictions
I
i
Members
Budget and Taxation
I
5 I. Appropriations. taxes. bonds
I
Council rv.anagement and 5 Council operations, audi ts of
Public Affairs executive branch agencies,
confirmations of executive
branch appointments. ethics
Economic and Environmental 5 . Economic development, - ..
Affairs
environmental impact,
recreation. tourism
Education
I
5 IK-12 education, colleges and
universities. libraries
Govemment Operations 5 Elections, ANCs, and relations
with District, state and federal
governments
Health &Human Services
I
5 IHealth, welfare, social services,
housing
Public Safety and J ustice 5 Courts, penal system, police &
firedepartments, criminal &civil
law
Transportation and Utilities 5 Roads, bridges, traffic regulation,
regional public transportation,
I public utilities
Table 6: Pro~.ed Committee Structure for the DC Council
Table 6 outlines a proposed structure and jurisdictions .for comm~nees at.the DC
Counci l. The proposedstructureenvi si ons ei ght standi ng commi ttees wi th
jurisdiaions similar (0those currently operating at the Council. The most ..
noticeable change isthe elimination of the Committee of the Whole. I naddition.
no member except the Council Chairman would serve on more than three
commi ttees.
FiNAl RfPORT
30 NCSl
Change in this area will require a renewed emphasis on openness and information
sharing. The NCSL study team was surprised that the Council has no offidal
directory of employees with their telephone numbers, titles and room loati,o!1!>,
This type of directory isa basic intemal communication tool for staff and members.
Italso is a useful resource for the public. Instead of finding this type of directory, we
discovered that manystaff feel that this type of information is private. We
emphatically disagree.
Improvements in intemal communication not only will foster a more collaborative
workplace, but also could greatly enhance the efficiency of Council operations
through the ~imjnation of duplicative activities and the sharing of important
information and experiences.
One of the keys to improved collaboration isthe opening up of intemal
communication paths, primarily among member offices and between them and the
central staff offices.
There is a perception both within the Council and in public opinion that the
Council operates more inthe mode of 13 separate offices than as one body. It was
directly voiced by several Council members in interviews. Inaddition, the member-
centered staffing model reinforces that tendency. Staff are hired and managed by
the individual members, so that iswhere their loyalty is directed as opposed to
being directed toward the Institution of the Council. The NCSL study team believes
that the Council would be stronger if it could shift from the strong member office
orientation toward a more collaborative environment.
INTE RNAL COMMUNICATION
RE COMME NDATION 14: The Council should create a committee staffing manual
that outlines the responsibilities, requirements and expectations of committee staff
and that ensures that all committees receive effective and equal levels of service.
The Council also should consider creation of acommittee maw manual that
outlines the roles and responsibilities of that position.
RE COMME NDATION 13: The Council should enforce standards for committee
reports including proper form and minimum content requirements. The Council
should establish a repository for these documents that is easily accessible to
members, staff and the public. [Note: Council Rule 443 addresses some of these
issues.]
RE COMME NDATION 12:The Council should adhere to the standard schedule for
committee meetings and hearings. Official schedule updates or changes should he
published at least 48 hours in advance of a committee meeting or hearing. The
Council should announce its intention to adhere strictly to published committee
schedules to its best ability and should maintain internal records that measure its
success in achieving this goal.
Rt!J XlRto theCoondl rJ the Distria riColumbiil
FI NALRfPORT
31
NCSl
RECOMMENDATI ON 15: The (ounel shouldissue and routinely update a ,
directory of members and Council employee that mntains at a minimum their
office phone numbers, room addresses and e-mail addresses. The directory should
Comrnunjcation about staff performance also should become commonplace at the
Council. Few staff receive regular performance appraisals or engage intalk with
. their supervisors about personal goals and objectives. All employees at all levels
desire thistype of feedback when it isprovided ina constructive and goal-oriented
fashion. We believe that the Council should institute an annual, straightforward,
easily implemented performance appraisal system for all staff.
The NCSl study team found that staff fromthe Council member's offices rarely meet
formally todiscuss Council-wide issues, activities or problems. No amount of
technology can replace face-to-face talk. We encourage the Council and key staff
directors toseek opportunities tor these exchanges.
The Council staff also have littleinformation about personnel policy and related
matters, Most legislatures, indeed most organizations, have an employee manual
that details key personnel policies, conditions of employment and performance
expectations. Senior Council staff are currently developing a personnel manual,
and the issuance of this manual should be ahigh priority. NCSl has many
examples of legislative personnel guides that are available for the Council staff to
review when considering what policies to outline ina Council manual.
I ntranet web sitesalso can support intemal communication aswell asserve asa link
tooutside I nternet resources. The Council could establish an I ntranet web site for
posting all official personnel, planning and administration announcements, and
news. Thiscould include comminee agendas, community news, a press clippings
fileand anelectronic staff directory with e-mail links.
E-mail isatool that isunder utilized at the Council. Many staff told usthat they
have had trouble gening into the system. The Council should adopt a policy to use
e-mail tor routine notices, personnel memos, scheduling and daily communication.
Hard copy versions should only serve as a back up or when specially requested by
a member who isaverse toe-mail communication. Practically all interviewees
complained that the Council wastes too much paper. Paper copies are necessary
for some instruments likebills, but a strong effort should be made todo more.
electronic communication.
Professional staff at the Council must request long distance connections froma
central telephone operator. Theoretically, this practice could help to control long
distance telephone expenses. However, there are telephone systems that allow ior
budgetary control and oversight of long distance access while allowing users more
flexibility tomake long distance calls. At NCSL , for example, each program area
(about six toten employees) has a five-digit budget code number that staff members
dial at the end of a long distance telephone number. This code directs the charges
tothe program's account. Programs are responsible for remaining within their
budgeted amounts.
. R e p o r t (0theCouncil d theOisma ciColumhift
FINAl. REPORT
32 NCSl
TheCouncil also shouldseekout local resources-e-scplentiful inthe Distrid-tllat
ca~offe~trainingopportunities for professional staff. Similarlocal resourcesmight
beidentified that could trainmembers inmediarelationsskills,public speakingor
consensus building-typical skillsthat legislatorsarealwayslookingto improve.
TheCouncil has been operatingunder severefinancial restrictionsfor anumber of
years,which has limitedtheir abilitytoprovideextensivein-houseprofessional
development or participate inextemal professional development opportunities.
Travelto meetings or toother councils israre. Someon-sitetrainingfor staffdoes
takeplace, but it doesnotfullymeet theneedsoftheCoundl and rarelycover!'
policyor current events. Staffand membersshouldtravel to meet with colleagues
fromother citiesto learnabout other approachestosolvingtheDistrict'sproblems.
Legislaturesdepend onknowledgeable andskilledmembers and professional staff
to remaineffectiveand efficient. Today'slegislaturesthereforeareinvestingmore
heavilythan ever inmember andstafftrainingandprofessional development
programs. Legislatorsandemployees attendskillsandissuesworkshops, meet with
colleaguesfromother legislaturestoshareinformationandsometimes team their
specialtiesto others.
PROFESSIONALOMLOPMENT
RECOMMENDATION18: The Council shouldrequire that all employees receive
an annual appraisal of their work performanceinduding the annual development
of performance goalsandobjectives.
RKOMMENDATION 17: The Coundl" should iSsue -tfieemployee rnanuar-- -- -- ---
currently under development as soon as possible. It should contain information
about Council personnel policies and benefits, working conditions and.
expectations, and other related materials. TheCouncil should update the manual
regularlyto reflect policychanges.
1. aneffectiveand reliablee-mail serviceavailableto all members andstaff;
2. aseamless and user friendly telephone systemincluding voicemail and direct
longdistance access;
3. routine staff meetings designed to promote useful interaction among Council
employees;
4. use of e-mail, Intranet or other electronic means for the posting and
distribution of internal memos, announcements and other notices about
Council business.
bedistributed to all Coundl employee andshould beavailable to the public in
hardcopy and electronically.
RECOMMENDATION16: TheCouncil shouldstrengthen and encourage internal
communication through the development and promotion of the following
services:
Report totheCouncil of theDistrid ci Columbia
FI NA l. REPORT
33
NCSL
A computer usersgroup iscomposedof representativedients fromall aspectsof the
organization'soperations. A tthe Council, suchagroupmightincludestafffrom
members' offices,fromeachof thecentral staffdivisionsandfromtheA uditor's
I norder tocontinueto moveforwardindirectionsthat most benefitstaffandkey
legislativeprocesses, webelievethat astrongerlinkshouldbe developed between
theCouncil'scomputer centerstaffand its mainclients-the Council staff. I nmany
statelegislaturesandother organizations,thecomputer center staffhaveestablished
a"computer usersgroup."
TheCouncil hasdone agoodjobtryingto keeppace with technology andto
provideemployeeswithuseful computer toolsand applications. Morecan be
done.
RECOMMENDA TI ON 20: The Council should invest the time and resources
necessary to develop a CDmprehensive and reliable automated system. that
provides timely information on bill status and the expiration of emergency and
temporary laws.
TheCouncil ispresentlyintheprocessof designingandimplementinganupdated
bill trackingsystem. A s partof that process, the Council should convene all
interestedstaffand memberstodetermineacourseof actionforthecreationof a
single, reliableandcredibleautomatedbill trackingandstatussystemthat
accurately providestimelyinformationon pendingbillsandresolutions. The
systemshouldreportexpirationdatesforemergency andtemporary laws. Theeffort
expended onthisproject wouldcreatelong-term efficienciesthat would
significantlyreducetheworkloadof several Council staff,andwouldprovidean
important resourcefor publicinquiries.
TheCouncil rnaintainsanelectronicbill trackingandstatussystem, but it appears
thatthesystemdoes not satisfythe needs of manyusers or thepublic. Bill tracking
intheDistrictof Columbiaisespeciallycomplex because of congressional review-
andthecurrentpracticeof usingemergencybillstoget legislationpassed
expeditiously. Somestaffmaintaintheirown manual trackingsystemon
emergency legislation.
TECHNOLOGY
RECOMMENDA TI ON 19: The Council should establish a program and funding
for the ongoing training and professional development of its members and staff.
The Committee on Council Management and Public A ffairs should set training
priorities, establish planning responsibilities and recommend an annual budget for
these activities.
TheCouncil should embark onanewcourse of leaming and information sharing.
When kepl in balance and pursued openly and with clear purpose, thepublic
typicallyacknowledgesthenecessityandbenefitsof thesetypes of public
expenditures.
R EpOrt totheCouncil Of the lilsmo 01LvoUffiOtci
...... ',.~.\ ,:.--........ "... """-~
ANAl REPORT
NCSl
The NCSL study team recommends that the Council add one simple itemto the
chamber that would greatly enhance public understanding of floor debate--an
electronic message board or other display that shows the number and titleof the bill
currently under consideration. This small display could show the status of the
debate such as what reading the bill isat and what motion iscurrently under
consideration on the floor. The board also could show the result of roll call votes.
Many state legislatures also provide members with lap top computers that can
display the session calendar, bill text under consideration, text of amendments, and
provide e-mail, word processing and links to other important decision making
information; This technology can relieve the need to produce large and unwieldy
bill books and spare members the inconvenience of managing large amounts of
paper at the dais. The Council should explore the use of portable computers for
members.
Insome state legislatures, floor amendments are projected on ascreen for members
and public to see and read. Such asystem, linked through the computer to asmall
projector, could provide avaluable new tool for floor debate and for public
understanding of Council proceedings.
Oral amendments are a problem for the Council and for those in the chamber
gallery who try to follow the legislative debate. The Council should add computer
terminals and printers near the dais where staff fromthe legal division could quickly
produce written versions of amendments. These amendments could be printed on-
siteand quiddy distributed to members.
Small legislative bodies likethe Council tend to becollegial intheir manner and
informal intheir decision-making traditions. Technologies like voting boards often
do not fitthis atmosphere. However, we believe that some technological additions
could improve the efficiency of the Council's session activities.
One of the most noticeable technological trends instate legislatures isthe growing
presence of computers, electronic voting boards and related equipment in
legislative chambers. The temporary chambers of the DC Council were lacking
technology that could fadlitate more efficient floor sessions. This may be remedied
when the Coundl retums to itschambers inthe Wilson Building, which isunder
renovation.
RECOMMENDATION 21: The Council should establish acomputer usersgroup to
serve inan advisory capacity to computer center staff regarding the development
of computer systems and romputer applications at the Council. The users group
should be composed of staff representatives fromall relevant work areas. User
group meetings should be held on a regular schedule and should be announced
and open to all staff.
office. Thegroup would meet periodically asan advisory body to the computer
center on matters related to equipment needs. software requirements and training
and long-term planning. Itsfirst project could be related to the development of an
improvedbill status systemas described aboveinRecommendation 20.
ReporIl0theCouncil 0( theOistric dColumbia
FI NA L REPORT
35 NCSl
RECOMMENDA TI ON 23: The Council should adopt a rule similar in intent to
Colorado Senate Rule 22A to prohibit the use of cell phones, pagers and other
communication devices during floor sessions within the Council chamber and at
other official meetings of the Councilor its committees,
ColoradoSenate Rule 22A. ...Audible electronic devices and audible
telephone devices used for transmirting and receiving communications
shall be rendered inoperable in the hearingsof Senate committees, in
Senate parry caucuses, or in any other ofticial meetings of Senate
members held in the Capitolor the LegislativeServices Building.
Finally, we would liketo offer one idea about technology unrelated to internal
computer applications. While attending sessions of the DC Council, the NCSL
study team observed the common use by other visitors of cell phones and pagers
within the Council chambers. This activity isdisrespectful to the Council and to
other visitors to itsproceedings. The Council should adopt rules and post signs that
prohibit the useof these devices within the Council chambers. Here isaportion of
a related rule adopted in Colorado:
RECOMMENDA TI ON 22: The Council should investigate and implement where
appropriate the application of computer technology to its chamber operations. A t
a minimum, the Council should consider the following opportunities: 'l) on-site
production and printing of floor amendments; 2) development of a chamber
display that shows information about current floor activity; and 3) the addition of
an electronic voting system for roll call votes.
Most state legislative chambers use an electronic voting systemto record roll call
votes. The Council should consider adding asystem where the clerk calls the roll
and records votes electronically. The result iscomputed and displayed
automatically. The result also can be recorded automatically into the daily record
or journal.
One easy and low cost way to provide this display would be through acomputer
projection system.
Report K)theCCUndl 01OleUI SUlO aL OOJ I TI Olci
FI NA l REPORT
37
NCSl
Council organization chart and description of the legislative process;
A ccess_to Council session schedules and calendars;
A ccess to Council rules, bill status, non-contidential research memoranda and
audit reports;
Committee rosters, committee schedules and agendas;
. A meeting notice sitethat provides updates on committee schedules;
Member and staff rosters with e-mail connedions;
J ob openings;
A link to thecentral constituent services office;
Ward profiles;
Linksto other important sites (such asA NC web pages and executive agenaes);
A ll 50state legislatures now maintain awebsite. These websites have been heavily
used by the public to follow activities intheir legislatures. The NCSL study team
recommends that the DC Council invest the necessary resources to make their
website atop priority. The Council should pick up where it left off with the original
website plan and develop aweb presence with the following features:
A bout two years ago, the Council began the design of anew web sitewith the
assistance of a local vendor. The sitewas well organized, featured aterrific
c1ickable map of city wards, and contained useful information about Council
organization, members, committee structure and staff offices. Unfortunately, the
concept was never fully developed, and at the time of this writing, the basic siteno
longer isacces.sibl~except through the vendor's home page.
The DC Coone1 Web Site
PUBLIC INFORMATION
The Council should do more to informthe public about I tsarrivities and about the
Council asan institution. As we have recommended earlier inthis report, anew
Ofiice of Public I nformation and Constituent Relations could spearhead efforts in
this area. I nparticular, weencourage the Council to establish and maintain an
efiective I nternet web site.
I nthis part of the report, we set out recommendations about Council visibility,
public access to Council information, and rules reforms that can help clarify the
legislative process and itsoutcomes.
Accessibility and Accountability
As wehave recommended in previous sections of this report. the DC Council
should take steps to enhance itsindependence and to streamline itsintemal
operations. The effect of these changes can beenhanced if they are achieved in
concurrence with improvements inthe way the public participates in Council
activities.
ANAl. RfPORT
38 NCSL
Currently, the Council makes audiotapes of Council floor sessions and committee
hearings. These tapes constitute the official record of Council actions and are
referred to often by the General Counsel's office, by staff inthe Secretary's office
and by the public.
Council Tapesand Transcripts
RECOMMENDATION25: The Council should publishaseries of documents and
brochures for the public that describe the legislative institution and that help
citizens to- participate effectively in city government. This should indude the
. preparation and cflStribunon of relevant handouts for committee meetings,
hearings and -Council floor sessions.
These materials should be available inconvenient locations throughout the Council
office and through member offices. Members could usethese materials at meetings
and appearances outside the Council.
A general guide to the Council that describes its operations and offices;
Handouts at committee meetings and floor sessions that include the agenda, bill
summaries and other helpful details about the meeting;
Student guides or workbooks for use in classrooms;
A guide for effectively using the new central constituent services office;
Signs at the entry of the chamber that outline rules of decorum for visitors.
The DC Council offers few documents to help the public understand the institution.
Wepreviously recommended the creation of aCouncil directory that would be an
important part of correcting this situation. Other publications, documents and
signage also would be helpful for citizens. These might include:
Beforethere was the Internet, most state legislatures made available awide range of
informational materials about the institution, itshistory, processes and people.
Because many citizens do not have access to computers, these printed materials
remain useful and necessary.
Printed Public Information Materials
RECOMMENDATION 24: The Council should establish and maintain an up-to-
date and comprehensive web site that provides a broad range of information
about theCouncil and its role in dty government.
Students are prevalent users of web technology and the Coundl web site could be
an important vehicle for teaching young people about citygovernment and the role
of the legislative branch. We encourage the Council to consider development of a
section of their web site dedicated to students that isdesigned to be visually
interesting and that offers teachers various tools for developing classroom projects or
curricula related to city government.
Access to transcripts or tapes of Council floor session and committee meetings.
Report totheCounCIldthe Distria dCoI~
FI NA l. RPORT
39 NCSl
Unfortunately, many legislaturestakelegislativetimeforgranted. I nfact, ithas
become something of an insider'sjoke, andperhapsexcuse, when thingsstart
running fat: inlegislatures. Thelapsetowardtheuseof "legislativetime" atthe
Council hasbecome excessive. f...'\anyCoundl members and staffinterviewedby
theNCSl studyteamexpressedseriousconcems andfrustrationabout thelatestarts
of committee meetings andfloorsessions. Thispracticenot only affectstheoverall
efficiencyof theinstitution, but perhaps moreimportantlyitdiscourages acitizenry
thatwishes toparticipatepositivelyincitygovernment affairs. TheCoundl
leadershipand members shoulddiscussthisissueandestablish avisionforfuture
Council operations that includes astrongcommitment toon-time meetingsand
effectiveand consistent time-management athearingsandother Council
del iberations.
Thereisathing called "legislativetime"that isfollowedinmany legislativebodies.
When events arerunningaccordingtolegislativelime, itmeans that thingsare
running late. Meetingsdonot startontime, members donot show uppromptlyfor
hearingsandeveryone outsidethelegislaturewhowishes to participate mustsitand
wait or j u s t giveup andgohome.
I NTERNN.. DI SCI PL I NE
RECOMMENDA TI ON 26: The Council should develop a new system for the
recording and public distribution of Council floor and committee proceedings.
Special attention should begiventonewtechnologies that allow web-based access
to these records.
RealA udioand RealVideoaretwoexamplesof web-based applications that are
beingused to provideaccess tostatelegislativemeetings. TVVV isanon-profit. state-
level public affairsnetwork for WashingtonState,comparable toC-SPA N. TVVv'
providesliveaudio of theWashington L egislature'sproceedings includingall floor
sessionsand committee meetings. II alsoprovidesarchived tapes of these activities.
TheCouncil should explorehow tedmology likeRealA udiomight beemployedto
simplifyandenhance access to legislativerecords.
Wethinkthe Council shouldinvestigateamoreaccessiblesystemfortherecording
andpublic distribution of ofticial Council aaivities. Digital recording technology,
combined withI ntemet access, mightofferaninterestingand effectivesolutionto
thisproblem.
-A ccess to these tapes iscumbersome, Personswishingto hear thetapes must
physicallygototheCouncil Secretary's ofiiceand listento the tapes thereduring
normal businesshours. Staff mustretrievethetapes fromarchives and instructusers
onhowto usethetape machines. Thereareonlytwomachines availableto listen
totapes, soaperson mustretumanother timeifbotharebeing used or iithey are
not iunctioning. Thisistrueevenof Council staff. N\embersor thepublic who
desireacopy of thetapes must supplyablankcassettefor Council staffior
recording.
FI NAl REPORT
40
NCSl
RECOMMENDATI ON29: The Council should revise its Rule343 regarding pre-
filingof amendments and written preparation of oral amendments to require all
substantive amendments to be submitted in writing before a vote on that
amendment.
I tisinthepublicinterestand inthe interest of producingquality legislationthat the
Council requiresall oral amendments to"bereduced tow.-iting.... ,. Council rule
(343) that saysthat members should "endeavor tofileamendments.. .inwriting ... at
least 24hoursprecedingthelegislativesessionat which theyareto be moved."
TheCouncil shouldstrengthenthis ruleto requirethat substantiveamendments be
submittedinwritingbeforeavote. Thequestionof "substantive"could be ruledon
bythechair.
Floordebateandconsiderationof legislationat theCouncil frequently involvesthe
useof oral amendments. Theflurryof oral amendments severelylimitstheabilityof
observerstounderstandthedirection andintent of amendinglanguage andthe
courseof Council debate. Wespeculate that manyCouncil members alsohave
troubleascertainingtheexact meaning andeffect of manyoral amendments.
ORAL AMENDMENTS
RECOMMENDATI ON28: The Council should develop consensus among the
members about the legitimate use of emergency and temporary legislation with
the goal toward reducing the use of both. Rule412(b) should be revisited to
determine if thedefinitionof "'emergency" isadequate and enforceable.
Citizens' skepticismabout thelegislativeprocessalsoisreinforcedwhen the
Council advancesbillsthat havereceived littleinternal scrutinyor public input.
Thisgrowingpractice creates several problems. I tforcesissuestothe floor without
necessarycommineeconsideration or study. Theproliferationof emergency laws
creates aparallel proliferationof temporary billsthat alsocircumvent the comminee
process. All of thismakes foratrackingnightmareforstaff,Council members and
thepublic who want to knowwhat lawsareineffect andwhenemergencies will
expire.
RECOMMENDATI ON27: The Council should establish within its rules a
provision requiring that all official meetings of Council committees and of the
Council beginon-time or as dose to the announced start time as is practicahle.
When meetings are late, notice should be posted at the meeting room to inform
thepublicabout therevisedstarting time.
I nternal disciplinealsoshould beapplied tostemtheexpandinguseof emergency
legislation. Most members andstaffwespoketo agreedthat theemergency
designationforbillsisoverused or abused.
'.
;:.
Report tothe Council dtheOistria ci Columbia
FI NA L REPORT
41
NCSL
RECOMMENDA TI ON 30: The Council should establish new deadlines for
calendar preparation so that a final agenda is ready for public dissemination at
least 24 hours prior to scheduled Council meetings. I n addition, the Council
should: 1) reevaluate how many copies of the agenda to print so sufficient
numbers ~re available for public use; 2) create a new format for the meeting
agenda to make it easier for the public and members to read; and 3) mnsider
color-coding the mnsent and non-mnsent agendas, thereby making a clearer
distinctionbetween themfor the publicandmembers.
TheNCSL studyteamrecognizesthattheCouncil might need to makesomelast
minutechangestothecalendar. However, thosechanges should bemade inway
that helpsobserversto updatetheir copiesof thecalendar moreeasily. For.
example, anelectronic messageboard locatedir. thechamber could illustratethese
changes asthey aremade.
L ookingatthisorganizationsystemonpaper, onewould think that theCouncil
floorprocessisstraightforwardandeasytounderstand andthat the publicshould
havenotroubleinfollowingthedebate. However, thisisnot always thecase. For
example, Council session calendarsarenot madeava .lable inatimely fashion,
beingplaced out only minutesbeforethesessionstartsor even afterthemeetingis
underway. A lso,onthedaysthat theNCSLstudyteamattended sessions, the
supplyof calendar copies ran out quicklyandmanyvisitors observed theCouncil
deliberationswithout thebenefitof anagenda I naddition, the format andlayout of
thecalendar makeitdifticulttofollow. Finally,thepractice of making numerous
changestothecalendar atthebeginningoi sessioncontributes to thepublic's
difTicultyintrackingtheCouncil'sproceedings.
A . Readingandvoteonproposedceremonial resolutions
B. Final readingand final voteonproposedbills
C. Firstreadingon proposed bills
D. Readingandvoteon proposedresolutions
E. Readingandvoteonmattersonanemergencybasis
F. Readingandvoteontemporary legislation
C. Final readingandvoteon temporary legislation
Thecalendar isalegislature'sdailyworkorder-the agenda of business forfloor
sessions. Many legislaturesuseaseriesof calendarsasdevices tor organizing
chamber business. TheDC Council isnoexcepnon. dividingitswork intotwo
major categories-consent andnon-consent. Under boththeconsent andnon-
consent agendas, items aregroupedstillfurther.
CA L ENDA RI NG
Repotttothe Council (J ( the OlSUla a l.OIUmn4d --'." .' -. '.' ....... ~.. -,:.-.-- .."'- .,' ,', '
fiNAl REPORT
43
NCSl
Thestudyteamcarefullyselectedeightcitiestoserveasacomparison groupforcity
council operations. ThecitieschosenwereAtlanta,Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland;
Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan;Indianapolis,Indiana; J acksonville, Florida;
Inthecourseof our work, wecollectednumerousreports, Council documents and
other dataabout Council operations.
Thestudyteamcompleted interviewsandmeetingswithover 85 people including
12Council members, 49Council staff and6D.C.Auditorstaff. We alsohad
discussionsabout studyissueswithcontrol boardStaffperson Russell Smith;Chief
ManagementOfficerCamilleBarnett: Inspeaor General E.BarrenPrettymanand
membersof hisstaff;ChrisBecker,deputy directorof theNational league of Cities;
andM. PeferSirh,staffdirector toU.S. RepresentativeThomas M. Davis. In
addition, thestudyteamhasanended two Council sessionsand several Council
. commineemeet:ingsandhearings.
NCSl selectedastudyteamwithexperienceperforminglegislativereviews,
backgroundinrelevantissueareas, andknowledgeof theDistrictof Columbia
Council. Theoriginal NCSLstudyteamconsistedof fourconsultants fromour
Denveroffice. Weadded aspecialistinbill draftingoperations to assistinthisarea
of theproject. Theteamcompleted foursitevisitstotheCouncil totaling
approximately52"persondays" of on-sitework.
NCSl hasconducted legislativereviewsinmanystates. Basedon itsexperiences,
NCSLhasdevelopedageneral methodologythathasproven to be verysuccessful.
Wefollowedthemethodology forthisstudy.
Appendix A-Study Methodology
TheCouncil of theDistrictof Columbiacontracted.... ith theNational Conierence of
StateLegislaturesto penorrnastudyof Council processesand procedures. As
specifiedinthecontract, NCSLfocusedonthefollowinggeneral and specificgoals:
1. Toassessthelogic, effeaiveness andefficiency of procedures, toolsandsystems
usedbytheCouncil anditsstafftomanagethelegislativeprocess;
2. Toconduct anoverviewof staffing,commineestruaure and other
organizational aspectsof Council operations;
3. Tomakerecommendations regardingCouncil operations that preservethe
integrityof essential legislativeactivitiesandservices;
4. Toassesstheanalytical andpolicyformulationcapacity of Council committees:
S. ToassessoversightmechanismsavailabletotheCouncil including useof the
Officeof theD.C. Auditor;
6. ToreviewtheCouncil's roleinrulemaking;
i. ToassesstheCouncil's budgetaryandfiscal oversightcapacity;
8. ToassesstheCouncil's useof technology insupport of itsadministrativeand
legislativeactivities;
9. Toreviewopportunitiesforcitizenparticipationand involvement inthe
legislativeprocess.
FI NA L REPORT
44
The study team maintained communication with Phyllis jones, Secretary to the
Council Secretary,.during the course of the project. I njuly, we submitted an interim
report to Council Chairman L inda Cropp and Ms. jones.
The NCSL study team held at least eight internal meetings throughout the review.
During the meetings, the team discussed findings from on-site work, identified
important issues, developed an outline for the report, and generated
recommendations.
We also identified 10 state Senates as alegislative comparison base. When making
these selections, the study team again took into account anumber of criteria.
including the number of Senators, state population, geographic location, session
length and staffing structure.
The Seattle City Council recently underwent amanagement study of itsstahing and
operations. judith Pippen, the Seattle city clerk, obtained authorization to provide
the NCSL study team with a copy of the report. This report included valuable
comparative information on additional city councils.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Seattle, Washington. Various criteria were used to
select the comparison cities such as the use of a mayor-council formof govemment.
consolidated city-county operations and population. Thestudy team developed a
survey covering city council staffing and operations, and the questionnaire was sent
to acontact ineach city. Seven of the cities responded to the survey; wewere
unable to gather information from Detroit.
NCSl
Repott tothe Council dtheDistrict dCoIumhiO'l
FIN A L REPORT
Public
Information &
Constituent
Services
4S
Legal Services
Rscal
NCSl
Research &
Committee
Services
ExecutiveDirector
Administrative
Services
TheCommittee on Council
Management &Public Affairs
DC Auditor
Council
Appendix B-Staff Organizational Chart for
Proposed Central Staff Structure
Report 10the Council of the Ul5tnQ g( 1..00UmD6a ... ~."-"".' ~.' -~~..~",;;"-;:;', ,' -
F I N A L RE PORT
47 N CSl
J acksonville, F lorida
1. Finance
2. LandUse&Zoning
3. Public Health &Safety
4. Public Services,Transportation &
Utilities
5. Recreation&Community Development
6. Rules
Denver, Colorado
1. BusinessIssues
2. Denver International Airport
3. Finance
4. General Government
5. Human Services
6. Intergovernmental Relations
7. LandUse
8. Public Amenities
9. Public Safety
10. Public Works
I ndianapolis, I ndiana
1. Committee on Committees
2. Administration and Finance
3. Capital AssetManagement
4. Community Affairs
5. Economic Development
6. Municipal Corporations
7. Parksand Recreation
8. Public SafetyandCriminal J ustice
9. Public Works
10. Rulesand Public Policy
11. RegulatoryResearchand Review
Baltimore, Maryland
1. Budget &Appropriations
2. Taxation &Finance
3. J udiciary
4. Urban &Intergovernmental Affairs
5. Economic Development
6. Health & Environment
/. Land Use
8. Housing
9. Education &Human Resources
10. Executive Appointments
11. Policy & Planning
12. Legislative Investigations
District of Columbia
1. Committee of theWhole
2. Consumer & RegulatoryAffairs
3. Economic Development
4. Education, libraries & Recreation
5. Finance &Revenue
6. Govemment Operations
7. Human Services
8. J udiciary
9. Local, Regional &Federal Affairs
10. Public Works &the Environment
A tlanta, Georgia
1. Committeeon Council
2. Community Development/Human
Resources
3. Finance!Executive
4. Public Safety
5. Transportation/City Utilities
6. Zoning
7. Transportation
Committees of Selected CityCouncils
Appendix C--comparative Committee
Structures
"
FI NA l. R E P O R T
48
NCSl
Seattle, Washington
1. Business. Economic &Community Development
2. Finance &Budget
3. Housing. Human Services & Ovil Rights
4. Neighborhoods, Growth Planning &Civic Engagement
:J. Culture, A rts &Parks
6. Public Safety, Health &Technology
i. Transportation
8. Government, Education & Labor
9. Utilities &Environmental Management
Report to theCouncil cithe DiSU'iCloiColumhiil
FI NA L REPORT
49 NCSL
Michigan Senate
1. A ppropriations
2. Economic Development, I nternational
Trade &Regulatory A ffairs
3. Education
4. Families, Mental Health &Human
Services
5. Farming, A gribusiness &Food Systems
6. Finance
7. Financial Services
8. Gaming &Casino Oversight
9. Government Operations
10. Health Policy &Senior Citizens
11. Human Resources, L abor &Veterans
A ffairs
12. Hunting, Fishing &Forestry
13. J udiciary
14. L ocal, Urban & : State A ffairs
15. Natural Resources &Environmental
A ffairs
16. Technology &Energy
17. Transportation sTourism
Maryland Senate
1. Budget &Taxation
2. Economic &Environmental A ffairs
3. Executive Nominations
4. Finance
5. J udicial Proceedings
6. Rules
Delaware Senate
1. A dministrative Services
., A dult &J uvenile Corrections
3. A griculture
4. Banking
5. Bond Bill
6. Children. Youth &Families
7. Combat Drug A buse
8. Community/County A ffairs
9. Education
10. Energy &Transit
11. Ethics
12. Executive
13. Finance
14. Health &Social Services
15. Highways &Transportation
16. I nsurance &Elections
17. J udiciary
18. L abor &I ndustrial Relations
19. Natural Resources &Environmental
Control
20. Pennanent Rules
21. Public Safety
22. Revenue & Taxation
23. Small Business
24. Sunset
Hawaii Senate
1. Commerce, Consumer Protection &
I nformation Technology
2. Economic Development
3. Education
4. Government Operations &Housing
5. Health &Environment
6. Human Resources
7. J udiciary
8. Transportation &I ntergovernmental
A ffairs
9. Water, L and &Hawaiian A ffairs
10. Ways &Means
A laskaSenate
1. Community &Regional Affairs
2. Finance
3. Health. Education & Social Services
4. J udiciary
5. L abor &Commerce
6. Resources
7. Rules
8. State A ffairs
9. Transportation
Committees of Selected StateSenates
- ,
FI NA L REPORT
50
West VirginiaSenate
1. Agriculture
2. Banking & Insurance
3. Confirmations
4. Education
5. Energy, Industry&Mining
6. Finance
7. GovernmentOrganization
8. Health &Human Resources
9. InterstateCooperation
10. J udiciary
11. Labor
12. Military
13. Natural Resources
14. Pensions
15. Rules
16. Small Business
17. Transportation
Virginia Senate
1. Agriculture, Conservation &Natural
Resources
2. Commerce &Labor
3. Courts of J ustice
4. Education &Health
5. Finance
6. General Laws
7. Local Government
8. Privileges & Eleaions
9. Rehabilitation &Social Services
10. Rules
Vermont Senate
1. Agriculture
2. Appropriations
3. Education
4. Finance
5. General Affairs &Housing
6. Govemment Operations
7. Health &Welfare
8. I nstitutions
9. J udiciary
1O. Natural Resources&Energy
11. Rules
12. Transportation
NCSl
Rhode Island Senate
1. Corporations
2. Finance
3. Health, Education &Welfare
4. J udiciary
5. Labor
6. Special Legislation
Ohio Senate
1. Agriculture
2. Economic Development, Technology &
Aerospace
3. Education
4. Energy,Natural Resources&
Environment
5. Finance &Financial Institutions
6. Health
7. Highways &Transportation
8. Human Services &Aging
9. Insurance, Commerce &Labor
10. J udiciary
11. Reference
12. Rules
13. State&Local Govemment &Veterans'
Affairs
14. Ways &Means
NewHampshire Senate
1. Banks
2. Capital Budget
3. Economic Development
4. Education
J. Environment
6. Executive Departments &
Administration
7. Finance
8. Fish&Game
9. Insurance
10. Internal Affairs
11. InterstateCooperation
12. J udiciary
13. Public Affairs
14. Public Institutions, Health &Human
Services
15. Rules
16. Transportation
17. Ways &Means
Report to the CounciJ dthe O;srna dColumbia
FI NAL RfPORT
Sl NCSl
WyomingSenate
1. Agriculture, Public Lands &Water Resources
") Appropriations
3. Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions
4. Education
5. J udiciary
6. Labor, Health & Social Services
7. Minerals, Business &Economic Development
8. Revenue
9. Rules &Procedure
1O. Transportation &Highways
11. Travel, Recreation, Wildlife &Cultural Resources
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