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Although councilmembers may be tempted to abstain from voting on a controversial matter,they should remember that the abstention will ultimately tend to pass or defeat the matter.The best advice is to avoid the kinds of problems that can arise from abstentions and vote,unless an abstention is required because a councilmember has a personal interest in the matter. b. Long-distance voting Minn.scat.§13D.02. Although the open meeting law permits meetings to be held by interactive television,the use of other types of technology have not yet been authorized. i. Voting by proxy Sometimes councihnembers who are not able to be at a meeting want to vote on a matter that will be addressed at the meeting.However,state law does not permit a statutory city councilmember to vote by proxy.Home rule charter cities may find permission in their charters. ii. Voting by phone Likewise,state law does not authorize a councilmember to phone in his or her vote or participate in the meeting by conference call,facsimile or e-mail. 7. Agendas City clerks generally prepare agendas for council meetings.The agendas are then given to councilmembers and other interested individuals such as department heads and citizens.The agenda establishes the order in which the matters are to be addressed during the meeting. a. Consent agenda The consent agenda or consent calendar is used by many city councils to help shorten the length of the meetings by using time more efficiently.A consent agenda typically groups together many items that are routine and not controversial.Although the council must take action on these items,they do not require further discussion. Examples of items typically included in a consent agenda are the approval of the minutes,the setting of the next meeting date,approval of routine expenditures,and the final approval of licenses and permits. The council generally approves all items on the consent agenda with the passage of one motion.If there is any item on the consent agenda that a councilmember feels warrants further discussion,it is removed from the consent agenda and dealt with individually. It may be placed anywhere within the regular agenda. 34 League of Minnesota Cities