It’s an election year and in December, Beatrice will have a new Mayor and possibly four (4) new faces serving on the City Council as well. On December 5, 2022, which is the first City Council Meeting in December, the current City Council Members will vote to receive the Certification of Election, certified by the County Clerk. After the election results are received, I will administer the Oath of Office to the incoming officials, and they will then take their seats to begin their term to serve the Beatrice citizens.
Beatrice has a mayor-council form of government. The Mayor and eight (8) Council Members are elected on a non-partisan ballot. Since the Mayor and Council Members are not full-time officials, they retain their positions in their chosen professions. Because these offices do not function on a full-time basis, a City Administrator is appointed to carry out the directives of the Mayor and Council and manage the City. This form of government combines the abilities of a professionally trained administrator on a full-time basis, with the interested and dedicated services of elected officials.
The Council’s primary role is often described as the policy-making body in local government. Policy is the business of making decisions about the community, whereas, administration can be defined as the day-to-day operations of the City departments. An example of policy setting is when the City decides to apply for federal community development funds and as part of the application, must prepare a housing assistance program. The day-to-day administration, which is handled by the City Administrator, would be setting a new policy regarding employee lunch hours.
The City Council meets in regular session on the first and third Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the BPS Administration Building Board Room, located at 320 North 5th Street. Depending upon agenda items, they also meet on the fourth Monday at the same time and place, for what is known as a work session. This meeting allows the Council to discuss upcoming projects and proposed changes to laws or policies. No action is taken during a work session.
Beatrice City Code states the Mayor is responsible for deciding what items are placed on the council meeting agenda. If any four (4) City Council members would like an item to be placed on the agenda, they must provide a written request. All agenda item requests must be received in the City Clerk’s Office by no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday prior to the scheduled meeting. All agendas are published on the City’s website by the end of the business day the Friday before the scheduled meeting.
The Mayor and Council are provided an agenda packet the Friday prior to the meeting so that they can review the items up for discussion and consideration ahead of time. This packet is posted on the City’s website after the meeting, as well as the approved minutes from the previous meeting. The City of Beatrice strives to be as transparent as we can be, and our website is a great resource of information.
I hope this gives a little insight into what it entails to be a part of your local government. If you would like more information, please feel free to reach out to me.
Erin Saathoff, CMC
City Clerk, City of Beatrice