The table below shows items on the Ann Arbor City Council Agenda for its meeting on Aug. 6. 2015 as extracted from the public online Legistar system on July 22, 2015. Based on habit and practice of the City of Ann Arbor, these items will not be made easily visible to the public in a single published document until July 30--which is the Thursday before the week when the meeting falls. (Typically that is Monday, but in this case it will be Thursday, because the Council chooses to shift its Monday meetings to Thursday when an Election Day, always a Tuesday, falls during Election Week.) The items were extracted through simple search by date under the Legislation tab.

The Council meets on the first and third Mondays of the month. City staff are required by Council Rules to submit agenda items to the Council's Administration Committee at least 10 days before the next meeting.  This requirement appears to be met by staff's uploading agenda items to the Legistar online system and then providing the Administration Committee members with that information through the Council's access point to Legistar. 

Several years ago, an agenda-preview and discussion was one of the functional purposes of the Council's Sunday night caucus, held the evening before Monday Council Meetings. In practice, however, most Council Members rarely, if ever, attend Sunday night caucus. For roughly 90% of Sunday Night caucus meetings over the last five years, only one member of the Council has attended. Council Members still submit so-called "caucus questions" to staff--by sending individual emails to the city staff. Previously, those questions were assembled and vetted by the caucusing Members of Council. 

This page thus demonstrates the proof of concept that the City Council could use standing working sessions--which are held on the off-Mondays from regular meetings--to examine, review and discuss the items on the agenda for the next regular meeting to be held seven days later. The working sessions could generate questions for city staff a full week before meetings, giving staff more time to give comprehensive responses. The discussion of the agenda items  would also be recorded on camera--because the council's working sessions are routinely broadcast on CTN.