New Lynnwood councilman says work is time-consuming, staff is helpful

  • By Evan Smith Herald writer
  • Tuesday, March 6, 2012 8:17pm

Sid Roberts, one of three new Lynnwood City Council members, says that council work is time consuming and that he has found the city staff helpful.

Roberts said Monday that the most eye-opening aspect of serving on the council is “the sheer amount of detail, paperwork and facts that a part of the learning curve.”

Roberts won election in November along with new Councilmen Van AuBuchon and Benjamin Goodwin.

Roberts said that he is impressed with the directors of city departments and their staffs. He cited “their professionalism as they gather the facts of each proposal” and said that staff members “put them in an understandable format,” adding, “We are presented with significant detail on each item that is brought before the council and it makes the decision making process a bit more manageable.”

He added, “We have an awesome council assistant that keeps us in gear. To this point, everyone at the city of Lynnwood has been very helpful and friendly.”

He called the focus on unity and civility at a recent council-administration joint retreat “a huge step in the right direction.”

Roberts added that the biggest adjustment has been in learning “Robert’s Rules of Order” and procedural parts of council business.

He said that finding time for council business and work on boards and commissions “could make this so-called part-time job a full-time job.”

Still, Roberts called being a council member “a privilege and not a burden.”

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.

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