Mayor Rocky Anderson sat silent for several hours before having a brief chat with the City Council that could determine his post-City Hall fate.

After a 10-minute discussion late Tuesday, the council gave preliminary approval for a waiver of city rules that will allow Anderson to raise money for his fledgling nonprofit organization between now and when he leaves office Jan. 7.

Anderson wants to set up office space, gather "seed money" and arrange pro-bono legal work for HumanKind Education Fund, Inc., his not-for-profit outfit dedicated to education and advocacy on human rights and climate change. He pledged to disclose donors and refuse money from city contractors.

City rules prevent office holders from taking any gifts, including money, which required a "non-applicability" resolution for the mayor.

Longtime Anderson critics Dave Buhler and Nancy Saxton balked, saying they worried about personal enrichment and blurring an ethical line in the city.

And then: a procedural snafu.

Because the council adjourned its official meeting, a formal vote was pushed until next week.

"The gavel went down," council chairman Van Turner shrugged in a post-meeting work session.

"We spaced it," Councilwoman Jill Remington Love added, as Anderson looked on.

Both made up for the slight by agreeing to the waiver in a straw poll vote. They were joined by council members Soren Simonsen and Eric Jergensen, who made up the necessary four votes. Buhler and Saxton voted no, while Carlton Christensen was undecided.