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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-06-09 Policy & Services Committee Summary MinutesPOLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE FINAL MINUTES Page 1 of 5 Regular Meeting June 09, 2020 The Policy and Services Committee of the City of Palo Alto met by virtual teleconference at 7:01 P.M. Present: Cormack (Chair), Filseth, Kou Oral Communications Jennifer Landesmann thanked the Policy and Services Committee (Committee) for their work. She said she would wait for Future Agenda Topics to make her comments. Cherril Spencer spoke on behalf of the Women’s International Leagues for Peace and Freedom (WILF). In October 2018, City Council (Council) passed a Motion that directed Staff to study options for a City Ordinance endorsing Convention on the Elimination on all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). She was frustrated that the Committee had not discussed CEDAW as was recommended by the Motion that Council had made. Helen Young urged Staff to bring forward the CEDAW initiative to the Committee for discussion and recommendation soon. Chuck Jagoda was frustrated that it took so long for the City to move CEDAW forward. Agenda Items 1. Policy and Services Committee and Staff Recommend the City Council Accept the Status Update of the Audit of the Business Registry. David Ramberg, Assistant Director of Administrative Services reported that Staff was seeking acceptance of the status update of the audit for the Business Registry from the Policy and Services Committee (Committee). Of the three remaining recommendations, one was complete and two were to be completed in fall, 2020. Council Member Kou asked how in-person data gathering was performed. FINAL MINUTES Page 2 of 5 Policy & Services Meeting Final Minutes: 06/09/2020 Jennifer Davis, Management Analyst answered that Staff physically visited different businesses as well as partnering with the Transportation Management Association (TMA); they used the data they collected. Council Member Kou questioned if there was a set of questions that were asked of each business. Ms. Davis disclosed that the TMA had their questions. One valuable data point that the TMA captured was they verified which businesses were actually in business. Council Member Kou rephrased if Staff had specific questions, they were interested in knowing the answer to. Ms. Davis noted that Palo Alto’s (City) vendor, Avenu Insights and Analytics, was going to follow up with additional questions the City had. Mr. Ramberg added that the Avenu System is an online system and the City had not done any in-person visits. Council Member Kou wanted to know what the Muni Services vendor was used for. Mr. Ramberg reported that Avenu and Muni Services were the same company. Avenu mainly provided Sales Tax data to the City, but they did other projects as well. Council Member Kou wanted to know what services InfoUSA and Dun and Bradshaw provided. Ms. Davis declared that those were companies that Avenu pulled data from. Council Member Kou inquired how the Information Technology (IT) Department shared data and what kind of data they shared that helped the Business Registry. Mr. Ramberg expressed that the IT was the gatekeeper of the City's shared data through the Open Data Portal. Council Member Kou recalled that the Business Registry Fee was waived for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. Mr. Ramberg confirmed that was correct. He reminded the Committee that the Business Registry Fee was scheduled to start collecting again in March, 2021. FINAL MINUTES Page 3 of 5 Policy & Services Meeting Final Minutes: 06/09/2020 Council Member Filseth asked how the City compared to surrounding Cities. Ms. Davis added that the biggest difference between Palo Alto and surrounding Cities was that most surrounding Cities had a Business License Tax versus a Business Registry. Mr. Ramberg suggested that the Committee and Council have a discussion with Staff about what components were useful to know when it came to the Business Registry data. Chair Cormack was confident that the City was headed in the right direction in terms of the Business Registry. She wondered how confident Staff felt in meeting the fall 2020 deadline. Mr. Ramberg answered that the deadline was realistic. MOTION: Council Member Kou moved, seconded by Council Member Filseth to recommend the City Council accept the Status Update of the Audit of the Business Registry. MOTION PASSED: 3-0 2. Policy and Services Committee and Staff Recommend the City Council Accept the Status Update of the Audit of Parking Funds (Continued From March 17, 2020). Sherry Nizkat, Principal Analyst articulated that Staff recommended that the Policy and Services Committee (Committee) recommend the City Council (Council) accept the status update on the audit of Parking Funds. The purpose of the audit was to determine if Palo Alto’s (City) Parking Funds were collected, accounted for and used in accordance to applicable laws. The remaining recommendation made a significant improvement when it came to administration oversight of Parking Funds. The Public Works Department created a template and a procedure to ensure appropriations, funding sources and capital expenses were accurately and completely tracked during the life of each new parking Capital Improvement Project (CIP). Staff determined that the last recommendation was complete and there were no outstanding recommendations. Council Member Kou questioned if the in-lieu fee was recalculated after the project was completed. Ms. Nikzat confirmed that was correct. Council Member Kou wanted to know what parking mitigation and temporary parking measures meant. FINAL MINUTES Page 4 of 5 Policy & Services Meeting Final Minutes: 06/09/2020 Brad Eggleston, Director of Public Works answered that the mitigations would be similar to the valet service that the City provided on California Avenue. MOTION: Council Member Filseth moved, seconded by Council Member Kou to recommend the City Council accept the Status Update of the Audit of Parking Funds. MOTION PASSED: 3-0 3. Delay of Review of Council Travel Policy, Council Procedures and Protocols, Section 7, and Public Availability of Council Travel Expense Reports, as Referred by City Council at the Annual Retreat, February 1, 2020. Monique LeConge Ziesenhenne, Assistant City Manager commented that the reason for the requested delay was because the item was eliminated from the proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Budget. MOTION: Council Member Filseth moved, seconded by Council Member Kou to recommend the City Council delay a discussion of the Council Procedures and Protocols, Section 7, City Council and Boards and Commissions Policy for Travel and Miscellaneous Expense Reimbursement to determine whether Council’s Travel Expense Reports should be made available to the public, and refer any recommended changes to Council for approval and adoption until such time as Council has a Travel Budget to expend. Council Member Filseth emphasized that the item needed to be discussed as soon as it was deemed reasonable. MOTION PASSED: 3-0 Future Meetings and Agendas Jennifer Landessman asked the Policy and Services Committee (Committee) to agendize a discussion regarding airplane noise. Council Member Kou suggested the Colleague’s Memo regarding Renter Protection as well as Safe Parking be agendized as topics the Committee could discuss. Monique LeConge Ziesenhenne, Assistant City Manager articulated that Staff was able to provide an update regarding the Safe Parking Program. Council Member Kou suggested the Committee discuss Staff continuing to work from home. FINAL MINUTES Page 5 of 5 Policy & Services Meeting Final Minutes: 06/09/2020 Chair Cormack announced that she would have to check with the Legal Department in terms of Staff’s continuation of working from home. She added that the protocol for virtual meetings was another topic she wished to discuss. Ms. Ziesenhenne noted that the Surveillance Use Policy was to be brought before the Committee at the next meeting. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:43 P.M.