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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDrafting a Legislative File Drafting a Legislative File A Legislative File can be any type of file that your agency may be using or may use in the future. Some common examples are Resolution, Ordinance and Report. In this example, we will take you through creating a new Resolution. Please keep in mind that this example can be used for creating any other Legislative File types. MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 IQM2 © 2008 Page 3 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Start a Legislative File Click the New button on the toolbar and you will be prompted to select the type of Legislative File and a template for the selected type. Select Type of File from the dropdown menu if it is not already selected. For now choose the Resolution with SBE DBE. Page 4 IQM2 © 2008 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Basic Information Field Description Short Name Short descriptive name to easily identify the legislative file. The short name is displayed on all the search forms. Limit 50 characters. Department The department that is initiating the Legislative File. Initiator The initiator of the resolution (from the Initiating Department) Meeting The target meeting that you want the Legislative File to be presented. The meeting must already be setup. Sponsors A list of the people that will Sponsor or Champion an item. Select from the list. Category The Category defines several defaults including the departments that will need to approve the legislative file; whether a public hearing and legal notices are created. Project Projects are an alternate way to group Files and can be setup globally. User Defined These are optional fields that have to be activated and labeled at the creation of or Fields during the edit of the Legislative File Type. This field will show in the upper section of the File entry form. This field is searchable and also has a merge field – {ResUserText1}, etc. The merge field for the assigned label is – {ResUserText1Label}, etc. There are three types; text (2), lookup (4) and date (2). Functional The functional category is another way of classifying a File and should be general and Category easily understood by the public. This field will be used for tracking. Full Title The full title is the long formal version of the File title. Limit 500 characters. Discussion The Discussion field is used to add text to the files. This text can be brought to the printouts, agendas, minutes or letters by adding a new merge field – {ResDiscussion} – to the templates. This is a searchable field. Comments The Comments field is used to add text to the files. This text can be brought to the printouts, agendas, minutes or letters by adding a new merge field – {ResComments} – to the templates. This is a searchable field. By default this field doesn’t show, only a link. Body The Body is used to add text to the body of the legislative file. This is generally where the resolution language is added. 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 IQM2 © 2008 Page 5 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Legislative Files always start in a Draft status. ?? Draft legislative files can only be viewed or edited by the Initiating department. ?? After saving the legislative file you get the document ID #. ?? Page 6 IQM2 © 2008 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Inserting Attachments You can also attach files when drafting your Legislative File. This can be done by clicking on the Paper Clip at the Tool Bar and selecting File as shown below. Please note the legislative file must be saved before adding an attachment. This will open the file browser dialog that can be used to navigate and select the desired file to attach as shown below. 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 IQM2 © 2008 Page 7 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com File Attachment Screen (Attachment Tab) Once you select the desired file, its path will be transported to the Attachment screen shown below. Title – by default the title will be the original file name; however, it can be changed to any other desired name. Upload File to Database – will upload to the database and can be accessed from any PC (default). Link the Path Only – will not transfer the file; instead, the path will be uploaded. In this case, the file cannot be accessed from other computers. Convert to PDF – this will convert the file to a PDF format for easy accessibility. For example, if you want to attach an AUTO CAD diagram and allow users without AUTO CAD to view the diagram you would convert to PDF. This will allow users that don’t have AUTO CAD to view the file. Save Copy – for users who do not have a copy and need one can use this option to copy the attached file to their PC. Browse – you can use the Browse link to change the attached file. Open – opens attached file. OK – will save the attachment to the legislative file . Page 8 IQM2 © 2008 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com File Attachment Screen (Options Tab) You can also specify additional options by clicking on the Options Tab as shown below. Agenda and Letter Options None – the attachment will not show up at all on the Agenda or Letters. Reference Only – the name of the file will show up on the Agenda and Letters. Include – the file will be included on the Agenda and Letters. However, the Agenda must be generated in a PDF format, and the attached file must be converted to PDF. Security Owner Group – owning department of the attached file. Private – only the creator has access to the file (not available if you select Include option). Departmental – the users in the department have access to the file (not available if you select Include option). Internal – all MinuteTraq users have access to the file. Public – all MinuteTraq users and public have access to the file. 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 IQM2 © 2008 Page 9 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Routing and Approvals MinuteTraq allows you to add workflow to your documents for reviews or approvals. The routing system works with stages. By default the target meeting is included into the routing. Routing Information added VIA Legislative Categories Routing information can be defined on the category of the document and whenever a document is drafted under that category the routing information will be added automatically. The routing information added in this manner will not be modifiable when drafting a document although steps can be marked to be skipped. Please see Legislative Categories. Adding Routing Information When Drafting a Document Routing information can be added when the document is drafted. To add routing information, click on Add Work Item as shown by the arrow. This will open the Work Item Screen where you can add the routing information. Page 10 IQM2 © 2008 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Work Item Screen Stage – enter the stage number for the routing of the work item. Action – select action to be taken for the work item from the dropdown. Description (textbox next to action) – enter the description for the work item or select it from the dropdown list. For Meetings, this must define the purpose of the File at this meeting. The Target meeting must also be changed to reflect this. Group – select Group that will be reviewing the document or Meeting Group to send it to. In Review the Group can be changed to User by placing the mouse pointer on the word Group and it will activate a dropdown where User can be selected. Due Date – select due date if necessary for the review. This shows if Action is Review. Placement – Select the meeting segment where you want this legislative File placed. This shows if the Action is Meeting. Instruction – enter instruction if necessary for the review. When an Instruction is present an icon appears on the Work Item and a Comments box appears when the mouse pointer is over the item. Click Ok to enter the work item. Action: Review selected Action: Meeting selected Once added it will be displayed in the routing area of the document as shown below. 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 IQM2 © 2008 Page 11 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Link a Legislative File to a Meeting Segment First you must create the meeting segments 1. Go to Lists Meeting Types ? 2. Right Click on the Meeting Type to which you want the segment added and Select Edit. 3. Type your Agenda Meeting Segment(s) (section) in the grid and Click OK. Then 1. Right Click Board / Committee Meeting Row on the Routing grid of the Legislative File Screen. 2. Select Open Work Item 3. On Work Item Screen Select the Meeting Segment in the Placement Dropdown. Page 12 IQM2 © 2008 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Work Item Popup Menu Right Click on Work Item to display the popup menu. Open Work Item – opens the select work item. Add Work Item - allows you to add a work item. Delete Work Item – deletes selected work item. Move to Previous Stage – moves the item into the previous stage. Move to Next Stage – moves the item into the next stage. Complete – completes or marks the item as reviewed or approved. (*Only accessible to members who have to the right review the item.) Reject – marks the item as rejected. (*Only accessible to members who have to the right review the item.) 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 IQM2 © 2008 Page 13 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Financial Impact The Financial Impact (Fiscal Impact) can be open by default, if not click the following link And then the Financial Impact section will expand on the page: 1. The description field can be required, if so and there is no fiscal impact enter “none” or something similar. If there is then you can enter the pertinent information describing impact. 2. DO NOT check the Budget Affected checkbox, if this is not being used, it will be looking for predefined G/L accounts and information Page 14 IQM2 © 2008 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Submitting the Legislative File 1. After it has been saved you can click the “Submit” button on the toolbar. 2. If the File Due Date has passed you are given a warning. If you are still allowed to submit the file it is NOT guaranteed to make it on the Agenda. You may have to contact the person who prepares the Agenda to make sure they are aware. 3. The Status of the Legislative File is changed from Draft to Submitted. 4. After it has been submitted, MinuteTraq automatically composes an email for you and it will be sent to: (1) the Initiator, (2) the approving departments, (3) the Sponsors. * Notice that the email lists all the sponsors and departments along with the summary information and the Document ID. 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 IQM2 © 2008 Page 15 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Approving Legislative File When you receive an email about a document that needs to be approved you can use the Document ID to open the document. Simply enter the ID # in the Quick Find and hit enter. You can also click on the “Waiting For My Approval” link in ‘Quick Links.’ When you open a document as an approver, go to the routing section of the document and right click on your work item that needs to be approved. Your name or group name will be in bold blue if you are an approver. To Approve – click on Complete Click Ok to confirm. Page 16 IQM2 © 2008 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Once completed the item will turn green and status will change to Completed. To Reject – click on Reject on the popup menu. This will open the document review screen where a rejection comment is required. Once the comment is added, click on Reject to reject. 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 IQM2 © 2008 Page 17 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Notice at the bottom of the form there is a complete list of the sponsors or departments that need to approve the document. The status is indicated by the image next to the name. > Question Mark – Unapproved > Green Check – Approved > Red Minus - Rejected If you have the ability to approve for multiple departments or sponsors, choose the department or sponsor you are approving for. Simply click the Approve or Reject button and it will be recorded. Page 18 IQM2 © 2008 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Once document is rejected it is shown in red on the document and the status is rejected as shown below. Reviews can also be done by clicking on Review on the Tool Bar. This will open the full document review box. When you reject a document an email is automatically created. The email is sent to the Initiator, Preparer, approving departments and sponsors. The body of the email includes the comment you input on the rejection. The last 3 comments (including your rejection comment) on a legislative file are displayed on the warning bar of the main Resolution screen along with the date and the users initials. 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 IQM2 © 2008 Page 19 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Also note that the status of the resolution is updated from Submitted to Rejected. If the approvals are reset then it will go back to Submitted. Rejected resolutions are not in a final status. If the user really wishes to abandon the resolution then they must choose Abandon from the legislative file toolbar. The status will then be changed to Abandoned and will be considered final. If you no longer want a predefined work item in the work flow it can’t be deleted, but it can be skipped. eSignatures When a File is reviewed, all of the reviewer’s credentials are stored in an eSignature. This information includes: the reviewer’s name the day, date and time the IP address of their computer the MAC address of their network interface card (NIC) Page 20 IQM2 © 2008 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Tracking Changes Because the document was rejected, the initiating department will get the rejection email and should go into the document and fix the problem. In this example, we need to increase the budget amount from 15,000 to 20,000… so we edit the financial impact statement: After a document has been submitted any changes to the document will be tracked with a comment log. When the user pushes the save button, he/she is prompted with the “Resolution Tracking Changes” dialog. The first field required is the “Save Reason”. Your agency can setup and customize the list of save reasons. The default list is: Major Change ?? Minor Changes ?? Spelling Mistake ?? When you choose a reason, you should notice that the checkbox options below the comment field automatically change based on the setup of the reason code. You have the ability to override these options, but it is noted in the comment log that you overrode the defaults. 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 IQM2 © 2008 Page 21 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com In this example, we chose “Major Change” and entered a comment stating that we “increased the budget amount by $5,000.” After you click OK the changes are saved and… the approvals go back to “Unapproved” (noted with the question mark). And, the Revision # got incremented to “A” And, an email was composed alerting the sponsors and departments that the change was made and that they need to re-approve the document. Page 22 IQM2 © 2008 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Reviewed & Scheduled Once all the departments and sponsors before the target meeting have given their approval, the status of the document goes from Submitted to Reviewed. The document has been visible to the Clerks office in the Agenda Wizard, but now if the clerk chooses to use the auto-fill option, the document will automatically be added to the agenda. As soon as the Clerk adds the document to the Agenda, the status of the document changes from Reviewed to Scheduled. This is an indication to you that the document IS on the agenda. If you do a search and you see the status as submitted, reviewed or rejected, you know it has not made it to the Agenda. If you see that the status is scheduled, you know it is on the agenda or minutes. 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2 IQM2 © 2008 Page 23 MinuteTraq User Manual IQM2.com Legislative File Status Definitions Status Description Actions Active Statuses Any new Legislative File starts in the Draft Status. Draft Legislative Submit Files are only visible to users in the initiating department for Delete Draft viewing or editing. This stage is for conceptualizing. Abandon When a user from the initiating department “Submits” the document (by pressing the Submit button), it becomes visible to Approve any user from the reviewing departments (selected from the Reject Submitted Abandon Category), sponsors or acting sponsors. Once a Document is Submitted, it can no longer be deleted. One of the approving departments or sponsors has rejected the document as it is. The document stays rejected until it is changed Approve Rejected Abandon and then approved. If the Document can not be approved the initiating department can Abandon it. When all of the approving departments and sponsors have all Reject given their approval, the Document becomes “Approved” and now Abandon Reviewed becomes visible to Town Clerk for the Agenda. Add to Agenda Once the Town Clerk adds the Document to an Agenda the Add to Minutes Scheduled Document is considered “Scheduled”. Input Vote Info When the Town Clerk inputs the vote information on the Minutes Add to Agenda and there is a vote to Table the Document it becomes “Tabled”. Add to Minutes Tabled When a Document is Tabled it may appear on future Agendas and Input Vote Info Minutes. Final Statuses The initiating department can choose to “Abandon” any Document up until it has been scheduled. Abandoned is almost equivalent to deleting the document, except Abandoned there is a record of it. When the initiator or sponsor Withdraws a document at a meeting, the Town Clerk inputs on the Minutes that the Document was withdrawn and it is no longer an Withdrawn active Document. If a motion to adopt the Document was defeated, the status is updated when the Defeated Town Clerk inputs the vote information on the Minutes. If a motion to adopt the Document was adopted, the status is updated when the Adopted Town Clerk inputs the vote information on the Minutes. Post Adoption Statuses When a Document is “Amending” another Document (via the Document Linking feature) and the amending Document is adopted, the status of the Document is Amended updated to Amended. When a Document is “Replacing” another Document (via the Document Linking feature) and the replacing Document is adopted, the status of the Document is Replaced updated to Replaced. When a Document is “Rescinding” another Document (via the Document Linking feature) and the rescinding Document is adopted, the status of the Document is Rescinded updated to Rescinded. Page 24 IQM2 © 2008 9/19/2008 ? Version 6.2