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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 3634 City of Palo Alto (ID # 3634) Policy and Services Committee Staff Report Report Type: Meeting Date: 3/19/2013 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Summary Title: Annual Reorganization Meeting Title: Review and Consider Recommendations to the City Council on Potential Changes to the Conduct of the Annual Reorganization Meeting From: City Manager Lead Department: City Manager Recommendation Draft motion: The Policy and Services Committee recommends that the City Council direct staff to prepare the necessary Resolution or Ordinance to amend the City’s practice for conducting the City’s annual reorganization meeting as follows: Background On February 4, 2013, the City Council considered a Colleagues Memo from Council Member Klein and Council Member Schmid regarding the annual reorganization meeting. The Colleagues Memo, included as Attachment A, identifies a number of potential legal and practical problems associated with the City’s current practice of holding the City’s annual reorganization meeting on the first business Monday in January. The Council discussed potential changes to the City’s current practice and ultimately referred the item to the Policy and Services Committee for further consideration. Discussion The City’s current practice is to swear in new Council Members, elect the Mayor and Vice Mayor, and recognize outgoing Council Members at the first business meeting of each calendar year. A reception follows at the close of the meeting. No additional business is considered at the reorganization meeting. This memo identifies potential issues that the Committee may want to consider and potential options for changes to the City’s current practice that Council Members and staff have raised. Considerations: City of Palo Alto Page 2 1. Under the City’s Charter, terms of outgoing Council Members end at midnight on December 31. New Council Members may not be sworn into office until January 1. New Council Members cannot act until they are sworn in. 2. The City typically takes a holiday break the last week of December and the first day of the new year (January 1). 3. If Council Members are not sworn in on January 1, the City may not have sufficient Council Members to act in the case of an emergency. In this situation the City would initiate its Emergency Standby Council. The City’s Emergency Standby Council is composed of former Council Members that have indicated a willingness to serve in an emergency. 4. The City’s current practice delays the conduct of business until the second Council meeting in January. This is a time when enthusiasm and momentum is high. 5. The annual reorganization meeting provides a ceremonial opportunity to recognize the City’s incoming Council Members and acknowledge outgoing Council Members for their service to the community. Attachment B provides a calendar of the month of January over the next four years and illustrates the first business day and first calendar day of each year. Potential Options for Changes to Current Practice (options are not mutually exclusive) 1. Set the first business day of the calendar year as the date for the meeting to swear in new Council Members, elect the Mayor and Vice Mayor and recognize departing Council Members, with no other business to be transacted at such meeting. 2. Swear in new Council members the first business day of the year individually in the Clerk’s Office. 3. Keep the City’s current practice of swearing in new Council members at the first business meeting of each calendar year and conduct additional City business after the reorganization. A reception may or may not follow the meeting. 4. Conduct the swearing in ceremony and reception at an event separate from the Council’s first business meeting of the year. 5. Keep the City’s current practice. Attachments:  Attachment A. Colleagues Memo (PDF)  Attachment B. Four Year Calendar (DOCX) City of Palo Alto COLLEAGUES MEMO February 04, 2013 Page 1 of 1 (ID # 3513) DATE: February 4, 2013 TO: City Council Members FROM: Council Member Schmid, Council Member Klein SUBJECT: COLLEAGUES MEMO FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS KLEIN AND SCHMID REGARDING ANNUAL COUNCIL REORGANIZATION MEETING Problem: Our present practice of holding our annual Reorganization meeting on the first business Monday in January creates legal and practical problems. Proposed Solution: Council to direct staff to prepare the necessary Resolution or Ordinance to set the first business day of the calendar year as the date for the swearing in of new Council Members, the election of the Mayor and Vice Mayor and the recognition of departing Council Members/Mayor/Vice Mayor, with no other business to be transacted at such meeting. Discussion: Under our Charter terms of outgoing Council Members end at midnight on December 31. New Council Members cannot act until they are sworn in. By delaying the swearing in until as late as January 8 we run the risk of not having sufficient Council Members on hand to act if an emergency should arise. Further, when the Mayor is a departing Council Member, as was true in 2012, he/she cannot serve in that position past December 31. If both the Mayor and Vice Mayor were departing Council Members we would have no person in those positions until the Reorganization meeting. Our present schedule also creates an unnecessary delay in getting down to business in January. The newly elected Mayor cannot make appointments until she/he is in fact chosen. This delays such appointments until mid-month. Further, by using the first business Monday solely for swearing in and reorganization we leave ourselves with only two Mondays (three when January has five Mondays) in January for regular business meetings, since the Martin Luther King holiday falls on the third Monday each year. At the very time when enthusiasm is high- particularly in years when new people are joining the Council - we in effect are dawdling. Please join us in supporting this simple change in our schedule. Attachment B. Four Year Calendar – Month on January First Calendar Day of the Month/Holiday First Business Day of the Month JANUARY 2014 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 JANUARY 2015 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 JANUARY 2016 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 JANUARY 2017 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 CITY OF PALO ALTO CITY OF P4LO ALTO CITY COUNCIL EXCERPT MINUTES Special Meeting February 4, 2013 Colleagues Memo From Council Members Klein and Schmid Regarding Annual Council Reorganization Meeting. Council Member Klein reported twice in the last 10-12 years, the City came close to having an emergency in early January. The flood in 1998 occurred on December 28, and the third heaviest rain storm in the history of San Francisquito Creek occurred on December 24 or 25, 2012. If there was a need for an emergency Council meeting on January 1 or 2, in many years the Council would not have a quorum. Council Members who were reelected needed to take a new oath before they could act in the new term. If Council Members did not take their oath until January 6, 7 or 8, they were not authorized to act. Molly Stump, City Attorney agreed. All Council Members who were elected to a new term needed to take the oath before they took any official action. Council Member Klein explained in the. years five Council Members were elected, the City could conceivably not have a quorum. The easiest solution that did not require a Charter Amendment was to set the swearing in and reorganization date on the first business day of the year or January 2. The City Charter was out of sync, but a Charter Amendment required a vote of the people. Term ending dates could be earlier, but that would also require a Charter Amendment and vote of the people. The City Attorney correctly instructed former Mayor Yeh that he could not perform any actions as Mayor after December 31, 2012, because he was no longer in office. Having the swearing in ceremony on the first Monday in January could result in a serious problem. MOTION: Council Member Klein moved, seconded by Council Member Schmid to request Staff prepare the necessary Resolution or Ordinance to set the first business day of the calendar year as the date for the swearing in of new Council Members, the election of the Mayor and Vice Mayor and the recognition of departing Council Members/Mayor/Vice Mayor, with no other business to be transacted at such meeting. Page 1 of 5 EXCERPT MINUTES Council Member Schmid noted four Council meetings in January and February were not business meetings. It made sense to have the organizational meeting on the first business day, and hopefully the first Monday would add a meeting to keep the Agenda moving. Council Member Kniss did not believe this had been a problem for many years. There was a historical precedent for holding the organizational meetingori the first Monday in January. The City liked the pomp and ceremony. She inquired whether anyone could be sworn in as early as January 1. Ms. Stump answered yes. The only people who needed to be sworn were folks who were elected to a new term. They were eligible to be sworn from the first moment of January -1 under the Charter. Council Member Kniss recalled that if the Council wished, it could extend the time period for the Mayor's service until January 7. She asked Council Member Klein if his term was extended in 1984 or 1985 because of extenuating circumstances. Council Member Klein stated the terms of Mayor and Vice Mayor were defined differently. Council Members left office at midnight on December 31. Mayors and Vice Mayors, if they were still Council Members, continued in office until their successors were elected. Former Mayor Yeh could not continue in office beyond December 31, because he was no longer on the Council. The extension of his Mayoral term for three or four weeks in 1985 was not extenuating circumstances; it was a nice honor by his colleagues. Council Member Kniss reiterated that the Mayor's term could be extended. Council Member Klein clarified that only a Mayor serving a new term or continuing on the Council could have his term extended. Former Mayor Yeh's term could not have been extended. Council Member Kniss concurred. That situation was not an issue, because Vice Mayor Scharff was on the Council. She inquired whether an emergency Council could be utilized at any time. Ms. Stump replied yes. Those individuals were available as provided by Ordinance in an emergency where the regular Council was not available. Council Member Kniss felt Staff could handle an emergency. A meeting on January 2 could interfere with holiday vacations. She did not understand why the Council was trying to fix this; it was not broken. The public enjoyed Page 2 of 5 City Council Meeting Excerpt Minutes: 2/4/13 · . EXCERPT MINUTES attending the ceremony. She would support sending the Item to the Policy and Services Committee if ther~ was strong sentiment for that. . Vice Mayor Shepherd was aware that Mayor Yeh could not perform any Council work after midnight on December 31. She asked-if the candidate's oath was the same as the Council Member's oath. Donna Grider, City Clerk responded yes. The oath was administered to a candidate and then to a Council Member. Vice Mayor Shepherd inquired whether the oath was merely ceremonial. Ms. Stump explained the California Constitution provided that, before exerCising official duties, local officials must take the oath of that office. Taking the oath as a candidate was not the same. Council Members needed to take the oath before exercising the duties of the office they were assuming under the City Charter on January 1. Vice Mayor Shepherd inquired whether the oath had to be administered to all Council Members at the same time. Ms. Stump indicated swearing in could be performedin private. AMENDMENT: Vice Mayor Shepherd moved, seconded by Mayor Scharff instead of having a Council Meeting the new Council Members are sworn in on the first business day of the year. Vice Mayor Shepherd believed the concern was having an official nine­ member Council as soon as the year began. Mayor Scharff felt the pomp and ceremony on the first Monday was a community transition of power. It would be a shame to lose that tradition and many of the community. The practical issue was not having all Council Members sworn in, and the Amendment would take ca<re of that issue. If an emergency occurred; the City would have sworn Council Members and a full contingent of Council Members. This was a situation of more perceived risk than actual risk. Council Member Berman supported the Amendment and original concern. The Amendment did not address voting for Mayor and Vice Mayor and the number of working meetings in January. He did not want to lose the community meeting of the reorganization. The Amendment was a good compromise on the issue. He did not believe the Council could require Council Members to be sworn on January 2. Page 3 of 5 City Council Meeting Excerpt Minutes: 2/4/13 EXCERPT MINUTES Council Member Holman indicated the Motion had a conflict in that the first business day was not always January 2. The Motion also mentioned election of Mayor and Vice Mayor. The Mayor did not have more authority to take action than the Council majority did. A standby Council was available for service. There were a number of questions and issues that required more vetting. . SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Council Member Holman moved, seconded by Council Member Klein to refer this Item to the Policy and Services Committee. Council Member Klein stated the Motion used the first business day. He would support the Substitute Motion. The Amendment may be out of order, because it moved the status quo which was not allowed. The Amendment was not a compromise, because it was already possible. He was concerned about any use of the Emergency Standby Council. There could be situations where both the Mayor and Vice Mayor were leaving office. The Council needed to protect themselves from that. The people's business was more important than a nice party. Council Member Burt recalled as recently as January 1, 2010, both the Mayor and Vice Mayor were termed out, leaving no Council leadership. There was real confusion as to whether the outgoing Mayor was in charge when there was almost a flood at Chaucer Bridge on January 1, 2006. He inquired whether the State Constitution and the Charter prohibited newly elected and reelected Council Members from taking the oath before January 1. Ms. Stump explained the Charter did not prohibit any oath taking wish to engage in, but the oath was ineffective to make one eligible to take authority as a CQuncil Member until one was in the office, which was the first moment of January 1. Council Member Burt stated Mr. Borock asserted that Council Members had taken office prior to January 1 in the past. Ms. Stump indicated, with due respect to Mr. Borock, the office began at the first moment of January 1. Council Member Burt did not believe it was the intention of the community to rely on an Emergency Standby Council. He encouraged the Policy and Services Committee to consider adding a circumstance where if the Mayor Page 4 of 5 City Council Meeting Excerpt Minutes: 2/4/13 .. • • EXCERPT MINUTES and Vice Mayor were termed out and only on that occasion, then the first meeting would be moved to the first business day of the year. Council Member· Price supported the Substitute Motion, and agreed with comments made in support of the Substitute Motion. Council Member Kniss suggested the Council determine why it had an Emergency Standby Council; consider electing a Vice Mayor that would be in office longer than January 1 of the next year; and, consider actions of other cities in similar situations. . Council Member Schmid urged the Policy and Services Committee to address the issue of only four business meetings in January and February. SUBSTITUTE MOTION PASSED: 9-0 Page 5 of 5 City Council Meeting Excerpt Minutes: 2/4/13