As Council is aware, a document titled Weekly Update is distributed to Council and staff every Thursday.  From time to time, there have been discussions relating to the format of the Update and the content, as well as the distribution list.  When the Weekly Update first started, it was strictly a one or two paragraph, informal update to the City Council from the City Administrator.  The document has progressed into a more formal update and includes a Council update along with the list of upcoming meetings and events.  Within the last year or so, the Council requested more information about duties performed by departments during the week.  Consequently, the document has become somewhat lengthy at times and takes staff time to compile.

The main purpose of the update has been to share information about issues, events, and activities occurring throughout the week, so that most of the community leaders and staff have similar knowledge.

One suggestion made recently was to complete the Update through the AgendaQuick software and distribute it via the City's website.  If the Update would be completed in this manner, it would become openly accessible to the public. Currently, the public may receive a copy upon request, but routine distribution is generally limited to Council, commissions and staff.

Some discussion points could include the following:
 

• What is or should the main purpose of the Weekly Update be and does it meet that expectation/purpose?
• What, if anything, should be changed regarding the content?  What are the essential elements?
• Should the document be distributed via e-mail or web-based format?
• Is there a value to the Update?
• Is too much staff time being spent on the Update?  An average amount of time in a week may be up to 8 or more hours which would include the time spent gathering and formatting the information, different departments listing duties, and processing and finalizing the document for distribution.