Call him Mr. Mayor.

Jay Franson took the oath of office as Highland's new mayor on Tuesday -- and then announced he would be making some changes.

For starters, council members and city staffers should call him Mr. Mayor, he said.

"The meetings will be more formal than in the past," he said, noting he would like to shorten meetings.

"You as a council are the policy and lawmakers. I am just the facilitator."

Council members should follow the formula used for school classes, he said.

"For every one hour in class you are expected to do two hours of homework," he said. "The same should apply to the council. For every one hour of a meeting you should have done two hours of homework on the issues."

Franson then told council members they must do more to adhere to the rules of parliamentary procedure.

"I want to emphasize the art of the motion," he said. "Each member should come to the meetings prepared to make a motion on the action items. After that, a discussion can be held and the motion can be amended or voted down and a new motion entertained."

In order to help council members be more prepared, Franson said he will be available on Thursday afternoons to first get an update from the staff and then to talk to council members who wish to have an item added to a meeting agenda.

"We will then have a tentative agenda sent out to the council for them to consider before the next scheduled meeting," he said.

"This will give the staff a chance to prepare the background so everyone has time to do their homework, ask questions of staff and come to the next council meeting with a good idea of the issues."

Franson said he recognizes council members may not be able to change old habits overnight, but he said he hopes to have meetings running smoothly in the new format within three to six months.

And while the public is welcome to observe council meetings, they will only be invited to participate in the time allotted for appearances at the first of the meeting and during public hearings, he said.

Residents who want to discuss items not on the agenda may make an appointment to speak with him, "and if necessary put it on the agenda for a future meeting," he said. "I am looking to spending a half-day each week at the city building. People can make appointments to see me about their concerns at that time."

He will delegate more to city staffers, he said.

"I want to keep the small-town feel of Highland, but with 13,000 people, we are getting too big for the mayor and council to deal with everything," he said.

He said his aim as mayor is "to leave in four years and have people say 'He was a good mayor.' To do that I will have to establish a good relationship with the community. You can't please everybody but you need to work with them so they know they were heard and you tried your best."