Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Houghton City Council member Brian Irizarry speaks during Wednesday’s meeting. Irizarry had sought to add a resident’s suggestions for revising the council’s rules of procedure to the agenda for the next council meeting. The council voted down the motion, but approved sending it to a committee for further study.

HOUGHTON — A Houghton City Council committee will look at potential changes to the council’s rules of procedure and rules of order after suggestions from a resident.

Resident Craig Waddell proposed several immediate revisions to the rules in a letter to the council:

• Removing from the consent agenda bid awards, contract approvals, lease agreements.

• Specifying that future agenda Items may be requested by a councilor with the consent of at least one additional councilor. It currently requires the consent of other councilors at the meeting.

• Indicating that the presiding officer may call to order any member who is speaking out of order.

• Adding a second opportunity for the public to address the council at the end of the meeting.

• Adding a section specifying how correspondence will be handled. It calls for correspondence under 500 words to be read at the next meeting of the council or commission to which it is directed, with a summary to be provided of correspondence above that length. Exceptions would be made for obscenity or potentially libelous claims.

• Specifying that committee appointments will be made by the mayor with the consent of a majority vote of the council.

• Adding a section specifying how the rules of procedure will be amended.

By a 4-3 vote, the council voted down a resolution from Councilor Brian Irizarry to add the revisions to the agenda for the next meeting.

A subsequent approved motion sent the matter to the personnel committee, which includes Councilor Mike Needham, Mayor Bob Backon and Mayor Pro Tem Robert Megowen. Needham said it made more sense to refer the changes to the city’s personnel committee so it can be discussed by a smaller group before coming to the council.

“It’s the way a lot of other things are initially discussed is at subcommittee level, to weigh some merits and decide what can come to the council for further consideration,” he said.

Irizarry countered by saying the change to the rules of procedure passed the previous month were not sent to subcommittee. Needham said in that case, the changes had been the suggestion of the city’s attorney.

“I’m certainly not against the idea of discussion and consideration when there’s some good reasoning behind it,” said Needham, who made a motion after the first vote to send the issue to the subcommittee. “I’m not totally clear why it is, for example, these particular things are of concern. But then again, we’re all different. If we were all the same, it would be a boring and weird place.”

Irizarry agreed with Needham’s point about the attorney, and said he would also like the attorney to review the new proposed changes.

“It’s my intent not to get this out in front, and engage in the proper channels,” he said.

Councilor Dan Salo said he felt the new changes were unnecessary.

“I’ve been on the council for 10 years, the council has always run smoothly,” he said. “There has not been any issues. We have had no fistfights or other people chanting, jumping and creating a disturbance. Everything is covered, and we move on.”