Nominating and Rules Committee Special Called Meeting - August 18, 2026
Nominating and Rules Committee Special Called Meeting - August 18, 2026
The Nominating and Rules Committee met on August 18, 2026, at 4:30 PM in the Municipal Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The committee unanimously approved all agenda items and forwarded them to the full city council.
Approval of Minutes
- The minutes from the May 12, 2026 committee meeting were approved by voice vote with no opposition.
New Business
Ordinance ORD-26:031 – Clarifying How Council Members Sponsor Legislation
- Sponsored by Council Member LJ Bryant and co-sponsored by Chris Gibson. The ordinance amends Chapter 2-87 to explicitly allow any council member to sponsor a resolution or ordinance, with required review by the city attorney for legal sufficiency and format, after which the mayor or staff must assign it to a committee within five business days. Discussion clarified that the existing code detailed the process for citizen-initiated legislation but not for council members directly. The ordinance adds a timeline and clarifies procedure. Moved to full council unanimously.
Ordinance ORD-26:032 – Procedure for Opening Invocation During Council Meetings
- This ordinance amends Section 2-84 to establish a rotating schedule for the opening invocation. The rotation starts in January with Ward 1, Position 1, continuing through all 12 council members (each will lead twice a year). Council members may invite a designee or community member but are cautioned against repeatedly inviting the same person to avoid constitutional challenges (referencing a past lawsuit against West Memphis by the ACLU). Moved to full council unanimously.
Ordinance ORD-26:033 – Correcting Outdated Language and Updating Notice Timelines
- Amends Sections 2-84 and 2-87 to: (1) increase the required notice for a special called committee meeting from two to three hours before the meeting to allow time for public notification; (2) clarify the definition of “present” during a declared state of emergency; (3) change “will” to “may” in a subsection; (4) replace “Legistar” with “agenda management system” throughout. A redlined version was provided for comparison. Moved to full council unanimously.
Resolution RES-26:102 – Appointments to Boards and Commissions
- Recommends appointments by Mayor Harold Copenhaver: Craig County Jones to the Library Board; reappointment of Shallon Tate to a five-year term ending August 2, 2031; Darrell Dromgill to fill the unexpired term of Susan Meredith on the Stormwater Management Board ending May 17, 2028; Hayden Partee and Kim Schrantz each to three-year terms ending July 20, 2029. Moved to full council unanimously.
Public Comments
- No public comments were presented.
Key Outcomes
- All four items (three ordinances and one resolution) were passed by the committee and forwarded to the full city council for further consideration.
- The meeting adjourned without any other business.
Meeting Transcript
I am showing 4 30, so we'll go ahead and get started with the special called nominating and rules meeting. First item of business is roll call. Please mark your attendance. Next item of business is approval of minutes, uh minutes for the nominating and rules council meeting on May 12 of 2026. Move to approve. Second. Have a motion and second. All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed like sign. Uh next item of business is new business ordinances to be introduced. First is ordinance 26031. Ordinance to amend chapter 2-87 to clarify how a city council member may sponsor legislation. Will you do you mind reading that for me? I'll have to read it. I've got a copy of it, but I'm I don't have glasses with me. I'll read it for you. Oh, I just pulled on my microphone. An ordinance to amend Chapter 2-87 to clarify how a city council member may sponsor legislation. Whereas the city establish the mayor's ability to assign legislation to council committee in section two-eighty-seven B2 of the city ordinances. And whereas the council desires to clarify the procedure for when a council member sponsors legislation to be considered for approval. Therefore, be it ordained by the city council of the city of Jonesboro, Arkansas, Section 1, that chapter 2-87B2 be amended to add the following language. Any member of the city council may sponsor a resolution or an ordinance. The council member shall provide said resolution or ordinance to the city attorney's office for review and approval to ensure it meets all legal requirements and is in the proper format. Once approved by the city attorney, the ordinance or resolution shall be forwarded to the mayor and city clerk and shall be assigned to the appropriate committee by the mayor or their staff within five business days of the receipt of said resolution or ordinance. Section two, that any ordinances which may conflict with this ordinance are hereby repealed. Move forward to full council. Second any discussion by the committee. Question. So I tried to see the difference, and maybe I didn't see the language difference. So let me know what's coming. Apologize. Um just wondering what the language difference was. I I did see that, but I didn't see the two. I'm sorry, I didn't see. I'll defer to Carol on that since she made the challenge. I think the biggest change is putting a time limit on it. Um right now and clarifying in the rules, and LJ correct me. This was sponsored by council member Bryant, but in the rules, it specifically stated how a citizen could get um legislation before the committee, the council as a whole, and it stated that you would bring it to your council member and that they would sponsor it and that it would come to the city attorney's office for approval, and it had all that same procedure and this, but it didn't specifically say that's the way a council member would do it on their own without a citizen initiating it. And it was just kind of to clarify that, I believe, and then also to put a timeline on it so that it doesn't it there's a time frame for how long it takes to get it before council or to get it assigned to a committee. Sure, sure. That's my understanding. LJI that on because I think over the years when stuff comes up, there's been times where we're like, well, we think it takes two council members to do something, and then we'll be like, oh no, it just takes one council. So it's just been like to me a lack of clarity. So this it was real clear how a citizen could do it. It actually wasn't very clear how the 12 of us that are you know charged with doing it, we're supposed to do it. So this cleans it up a little bit. And the review by my office was in the citizen one, so we just kept it the same. And that's not to say whether it's a good idea or a bad idea, that's only to say whether it's legal and whether it's in the right format.
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