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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 393-09TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL 7 FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE DATE: OCTOBER 5, 2009 CMR: 393:09 REPORT TYPE: CONSENT SUBJECT: Recommendation from Policy & Services Committee to Adopt a Resolution Amending the City Council Procedures Related to the Council Meeting Agenda Order RECOMMENDATION Staff and the Policy & Services Committee recommend that the Council adopt a resolution (Attachment A) amending the City Council Procedures related to Council meeting agenda order and categories of items on the agenda, thereby simplifying the agenda for ease of public understanding. COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION At the September 10, 2009 Policy & Services Committee meeting, staff brought forward a report discussing changes to the current Council agenda structure and format based on discussions amongst the City Manager's Office, City Clerk's Office and City Attorney's Office (Attachment B). Staff has included the minutes from that meeting as Attachment C. This report brings forth one recommended change that requires an amendment to the City Council procedures. The yommittee recommended 4-0 that the Council approve this recommended change. The proposed change would collapse the number of agenda categories currently listed in the procedures. By structuring the agenda order and categories as currently detailed in the Council procedures, staff is limited in the ability to place items on the agenda in a manner that would facilitate public comment. While this proposed change will not be a panacea, it will provide staff with the flexibility to rearrange items on the agenda based more on the potential for Council and public discussion as opposed to a proscribed agenda order. It would also help to simplify the agenda for both staff and members of the public. This change is just one of a series of changes to the agenda process and format that staff are considering. Many of the changes being considered do not require Council action. Other future changes might include: layout and format of City Manager reports; creating shorter agenda titles to allow for public ease of understanding; timing of distribution of Council packets; and others. RESOURCE IMPACT CMR:393:09 Page 1 of2 The recommendations in this report do not have any resource impact. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The recommendations in this report are consistent with City policies and previous Council direction. This recommendation helps to support the Council's top 3 priority of Civic Engagement for the Common Good by simplifying the Council agenda in a manner that allows for better public understanding. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This report is not a project requiring review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: Resolution Approving Changes to the' City Council Procedures Attachment B: September 10,2009 City Manager's Report to Policy & Services Committee Attachment C: Minutes from September 10, 2009 Policy & Services Committee Meeting PREPARED BY: KELL Y MORARIU Assistant to the City Manager CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: CMR:393:09 Page 2 of2 Attachment A * NOT YET APPROVED * Resolution No. Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending City Council Procedures Related to Council Meeting Agenda Order WHEREAS, Palo Alto Municipal Code section 2.04.100 requires the Council to establish a handbook of procedural rules governing any aspect of the conduct of meetings and hearings for the Council and its standing committees, including but not limited to agenda requirements, the order of bJ,lsiness, rules of order, rules of evidence, closed session procedures and rules for public participation in meetings; and WHEREAS, the Council wishes to facilitate public participation in Council proceedings and in order to assure procedural fairness during meetings and hearings; and WHEREAS, the Council desires to further expand and implement the public's rights to participate in open government as set forth in the Ralph M. Brown Act, Government Code section 54950, et seq. NOW, THEREFORE, the Council of the City of Palo Alto does hereby RESOLVE as follows: SECTION 1. Section II (B)(I)( c) titled "Agenda Order" of the City Council Procedures and Council Protocols is hereby amended to read as set forth in Exhibit "A" to this Resolution. II II II II II II II II II II 090929 sh 8261167 1 * NOT YET APPROVED * SECTION 2. The Council finds that there is no possibility that the provIsIOns of the City Council Procedures will have a significant effect on the environment and upon that basis finds the project exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act. INTRODUCED AND PASSED: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTENTIONS: ATTEST: APPROVED: City Clerk Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: City Manager City Attorney 090929 sh 8261167 2 * NOT YET APPROVED * EXHIBIT" A" (c) Agenda Order. City Council agendas will be prepared by the City Clerk and presented to the City Council in the order described below. It is the Council's policy to hear the major items of business first at each meeting, to the extent possible. The City Manager, with prior approval of the Mayor, is authorized to designate upon the agenda of the Council, and the City Clerk shall publish in the agenda digest, items that shall be taken up first or at a specific time during the course of the meeting. The City Council may take matters up out of order upon approval by a majority vote of those present: 1) Roll call; 2) Special orders of the day; 2a) City Manager Comments; 3) Oral communications, including oral communications related to any study session that began immediately before the regular meeting; 4) Approval of minutes; 5) Consent calendar. Items may be placed upon the consent calendar by any council-appointed officer whenever, in such officer's judgment, such items are expected to be routinely approved without discussion or debate. The consent calendar shall be voted upon as one item. 090929 sh 8261167 (a) Council Comment. No discussion or debate shall be permitted upon items upon the consent calendar; however, any Council Member may request that his or her vote be recorded as a "no" or "not participating" due to a specified conflict of interest on any individual item. Council Members may also explain their "no" votes at the end of the Consent Calendar, with a 3 minute time limit for each Council Member. Council Members may also submit statements in writing to the City Clerk before action is taken. The City Clerk shall preserve and make available such written statements in a manner consistent with the Brown Act and shall assure that the minutes of the meeting make reference to the existence and location of such written statements. (b) Public Comment. If members of the public wish to speak to items on the Consent Calendar, the Mayor will have the option of allowing the testimony prior to adoption of the Consent Calendar, or removing the item from the consent calendar and hearing the public comment at a later time, prior to the vote on the item. 1 090929 sh 8261167 * NOT YET APPROVED * (c) Council Requests to Remove Item. Any Council Member may request that an item be removed from the consent calendar; if the request is seconded, the item will be removed from the consent calendar. The City Manager's office should be advised, in writing, of a request for removal no later than noon the day of the meeting. (d) Hearing of Removed Items. Removed items will be heard either later in the meeting or agendized for a discussion at a subsequent meeting, depending upon the number of speakers and the anticipated length of the items that have been officially scheduled for discussion on a particular evening. The Mayor will decide when during the meeting any removed items will be heard. (e) Consent calendar categories. The consent calendar shall be presented in 5 categories in the following order: (1) Ordinances and resolutions. The Mayor shall read the titles of each ordinance and resolution before Council action. The Council may by majority vote request that the ordinance be read in full. The following ordinances and resolutions may appear on a consent calendar: (i) Second Reading (passage and adoption) of Ordinances. (ii) a resolution which are ceremonial in nature. (iii) Ordinances or resolutions that implement a prior Council policy direction in the manner contemplated by the Council's previous actions, in the Adopted Budget (including the Capital Improvement Program and especially in the department key plans); and the Council Top Priority Workplan, among other sources. (iv) Budget amendment ordinances that accept funding such as grants or gifts, provided Council has previously approved the activity or program. (v) Resolutions approving funding applications, such as grants or loans, provided that the program or activity has been previously approved by Council. (2) Administrative matters including contracts, appointments, approval of applications, and any other matter. The titles of administrative matters need not be read. An administrative matter may be placed on the consent calendar if it is: 2 090929 sh 8261167 * NOT YET APPROVED * (a) An action that is merely the administrative execution of previous Council direction. The Council direction and vote will be quoted in the staff report accompanying the item. (b) A contracts for which the subject or scope of work has been previously reviewed by the City Council. (c) A contract for goods, general services, professional services, public works projects, dark fiber licensing contracts or wholesale commodities, purchases, as outlined in the Purchasing Ordinance, provided such contracts represent the customary and usual business of the department as included in the Adopted Budget. Examples include: routine maintenance contracts, annual audit agreement; software and hardware support agreements, janitorial services, copier agreements or postage machine agreements. (d) Rejection of bids. (e) Designation of heritage trees. (f) Designation of historic building at the request of the property owner if there are no unusual policy ramifications. (g) Approval of funding applications, such as grants or loans, provided that Council has previously approved the general program or activity. (h) Formal initiation, for consideration at a later date, of a zoning code amendment or review process, such as preliminary review. (i) Status report required by law for fee administration. G) Cancellation of meetings or scheduling of special meeting. (3) Request to refer items to any Council Standing Committee, committee, board, commission or Council Appointed Officer. The consent calendar includes matters for which staff is merely seeking Council approval of a referral to a Council standing committee or other City official, advisory board or commission. This does not preclude staff from making referrals to the standing committees. Staff uses such referrals in order to expedite the business of the full Council, since its agenda is so full. Discussion of a complex issue 3 * NOT YET APPROVED * by another body, provides an opportunity for public input and extended discussion by the members of the body. The full Council is then able to benefit from the minutes of that discussion when the item comes back to the Council for final approval. This practice also allows the City/School Liaison Committee to consider items of interest to both agencies without having to go through the formality of a Council agenda referral. (4) Items recommended for approval if the Committee unanimously recommends placement on the consent calendar, by a majority of a Council Committee. (5) Items recommended for approval, and for placement on the consent calendar, by any council-appointed boards and commissions, provided that other public hearing requirements are not in effect. 6) Agenda changes, additions, and deletions; 7) Unfinished business; .ID Public he~iRgS; Action Items: 81 Ca) Public Hearings. 91 (b) Reports of committees/commissions. +G} (c) Ordinances and Resolutions. +l1 .1,::(d::,L)_--,Reports of officials. ~ (e) Council matters. Any two Council Members may bring forward a colleague memo on any topic to be considered by the entire Council. Two Council Members are required to place such a memo on the agenda, reflective of the Council procedure requiring a motion and a second for consideration of a motion by the Council. Up to four Council Members may sign a colleague memo. The City Attorney recpmmends that the colleague memo be limited to three Council Members in order to avoid the potential of a Brown Act issue. Prior to preparing a colleague memo, Council Members will consult with the City Manager to determine whether he/she is or is willing and able to address the issues as part of hislher operational authority and within current budgeted resources. Council Members are encouraged to share a draft of the proposed colleague memo with the City Manager or appropriate senior staff prior to finalization. Completed Council colleague memos shall be provided to the City Clerk's staff by noon on the Wednesday prior to the Council 090929 sh 8261167 4 * NOT YET APPROVED * meeting that the memo is intended to be agendized, to provide time for the City Clerk to process for the Council packet. The City Council will not take action on the night that a colleague memo is introduced if it has any implications for staff resources or current work priorities which are not addressed in the memo. The Council will discuss the colleague memo and then direct the City Manager to agendize the matter for Council action within two meetings, allowing City staff time to prepare a summary of staffing and resource impacts. Action may be taken immediately by the Council on colleague memos where there are no resource or staffing implications or where these are fully outlined in the colleagues memo. The Brown Act requires that the public be fully informed of the potential action by the Council via the Agenda 72 hours before a scheduled Council meeting. In order to satisfy the Brown Act requirements, the Council should consult with the City Attorney to ensure that the proposed title to the colleague memo contains all actions that the Council Members want completed on the night of the Council review. H2) Council member Questions, Comments and Announcements. The purpose of this agenda item is to allow Council to question staff briefly on matters upon which Council has taken action or given direction, make general comments as a reference to staff on factual matters of community concern, or make brief announcements in a manner consistent with Government Code section 54952.2. New assignments will not be given nor will major policy issues be discussed or considered. To the extent possible, Council will confer with staff before raising matters under this agenda item. This agenda item will generally be limited to 15 minutes in length and the public may not speak to matters discussed; +410) Closed Sessions; +§.ll) Special closed sessions will be scheduled before or after regular or special Council meetings to the extent possible and appropriate. Closed sessions may be scheduled during a regular or special Council meeting, but this is discouraged by Council; Mll) Adjournment. 090929 sh 8261167 5 Attachment B TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL ATTN: POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE DATE: SEPTEMBER 10,2009 CMR: 367:09 'SUBJECT: Recommendation for Approval of Changes to Council Procedures Related to the Council Meeting Agenda Order and Category Titles RECOMMENDATION . Staff recommends' that the Policy and Services Committee recommend to the City Council approval of changes to the Council Procedures related to Council meeting agenda. order and categories of items on the agenda, thereby simplifying the agenda for ease of public understanding. DISCUSSION Staff from the City Manager's Office, City Clerk's Office and City Attorney's Office have been reviewing the current agenda structure and format in an effort to simplify the agenda for ease of public use and to allow for arrangement of items on the agenda to accommodate public comment. This item brings forth one recommended change that requires an amendment to the City Council procedures. The proposed change would collapse the number of agenda categories currently listed in the procedures. Section II of the City Council procedures outlines the guidelines related to Council meetings and agendas. Page 11-4 of that section outlines the agenda order and agenda categories (Attachment A). The current agenda order for regular meetings is as follows: 1) Roll Call 2) Special Orders of the Day 2a) City Manager Comments 3) Oral Communications 4) Approval of Minutes 5) Consent Calendar 6) Agenda Changes, Additions and Deletions 7) Unfinished Business CMR:367:09 Page 1 of3 8) Public Hearings 9) Reports of Committees/Commissions 10) Ordinances and Resolutions 11) Reports of Officials 12) Council Matters 13) Council Member Questions, Comments and Announcements 14) Closed Sessions 15) Special Closed Sessions (can be scheduled before, during or after regular or special Council meetings) 16) Adjournment The proposed agenda order and categories would be as follows: 1) Roll Call 2) Special Orders of the Day 2a) City Manager Comments 3) Oral Communications 4) Approval of Minutes 5) Consent Calendar 6) Agenda Changes, Additions and Deletions 7) Unfinished Business 8) Action Items (to include the former categories of Public Hearings, Reports of Committees/Commissions, Ordinances and Resolutions, Reports of Officials and Council Matters) 9) Council Member Questions, Comments and Announcements 10) Closed Sessions 11) Special Closed Sessions (can be scheduled before, during or after regular or special Council meetings) 12) Adjournment By structuring the agenda order and categories as currently detailed in the Council procedures, staff is lirruted in the ability to place items on the agenda in a manner that would facilitate public comment. For example, members of the public have recently complained that many items with significant public comment are not discussed by the Council until very late in the evening. While this proposed change will not be a panacea, it will provide staff with the flexibility to rearrange items on the agenda based more on the potential for Council and public discussion as opposed to a proscribed agenda order. It would also help to simplify the agenda for both staff and members of the public. Many people do not understand the difference between a public hearing and a report of officials but they do understand an action item. While this is not a major change to the agenda, it is one step of many that staff are evaluating to improve public accessibility to Council meeting agendas and information. Staff are also looking at the layout and format of City Manager Reports in the hopes of making some changes to these in the near term. This type of change would not require Council approval but will change the appearance of the Council agenda packets. After review and recommendation by the Policy & Services Committee, staff will prepare a red- line strike out version of the procedures and a resolution for adoption by the Council. CMR:367:09 Page 2 of3 RESOURCE IMPACT There are no resource impacts associated with the recommendations in this report. POLICY IMPLICATIONS This recommendation helps to support the Council's top 3 priority of Civic Engagement for the Common Good by simplifying the Council agenda in a manner that allows for better public understanding. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This report is not a project requiring review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: Excerpt from City Council Procedures (pp. 11-4 to 11-10) PREPARED BY: CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: CMR:367:09 KELLY MORARIU Assistant to the City Manager Page 3 of3 Attachment A City Council Procedures Handbook b. The Council Member is responsible for posting the Council agenda in the remote location, or having the agenda posted by somebody at the locati9n and confirming that posting has occurred. The City Clerk will assist, if . necessary, by faxing or mailing the agenda to whatever address or fax number the Council Member requests; however, it is the Council Member's resporisibility to ensure that the agenda arrives and is posted. If the Council Member will need the assistance of the City Clerk in delivery of the agenda, the fax number or address must be included in the one-week advance written notice above. c. The Council Member must ensure that the location will be publicly accessible while the meeting is in progress. d. The Council Member must state at the beginning of the Council meeting that the" 72.-hour posting requirement was . met at the location and that the location is publicly accessible, and must describe the location. e. Furthermore, the City Clerk will provide Council with a quarterly report detailing the telephone charges associated with teleconferenced meetings. b) Items considered after 10:30 p.m. The City Council makes every effort. to· end its meetings before 11 :00 p.m. The Council also generally does not take up new matters after 10:30 p.m. Before 10:00 p.m. the Council will decide and announce whether it will begin consideration of any agenda items after 10:30 and, if so, which specific items will be taken up. c) Agenda Order. City Council agendas will be prepared by the City Clerk and presented to the City Council in the order described below. It is the Council's policy to hear the major items of business first at each meeting, to the extent possible. The City Manager, with prior approval of the Mayor, is authorized to designate upon the agenda ofthe Council, and the City Clerk shall publish in the agenda digest, items that shall be taken up first or at a specific time during the course of the meeting. v The City Council may take matters up out of order upon approval by a majority vote of those present: 1) Roll call; II-4 City Council Procedures Handbook (Revised 4/13/09) City Council Procedures Handbook 2) Special orders of the day; 2a) City Manager Comments; """ 3) Oral communications, including oral communications related to any study session that began immediately before the regular meeting; 4) Approval of minutes; 5) Consent calendar. Items may be placed upon the consent calendar by any council-appointed officer whenever, in such officer's judgment, such items are expected to be routinely approved without discussion or debate. The consent calendar shall"be voted upon as one item. (a) Council Comment. No discussion or debate shall be permitted upon items upon the consent calendar; "however, " any Council Member may request that his or her vote be recorded as a "no" or "not participating" due to a specified conflict of interest on any individual item. Council Members may also explain their "rio" votes at the end of the Consent Calendar, with a 3 minute time limit for each Council Member. Council Members may also submit statements in writing to the City Clerk before action is taken. The "City Clerk shall preserve and make available such written statements in a manner consistent with the Brown Act and shall assure that the minutes of the meetin~ make reference to the existence and location of such written statements. (b) Public Comment. If members of the public wish to speak " to items "on the Consent Calendar, the Mayor will have the option of allowing the testimony prior to adoption of the Consent Calendar, or removir).g the item from the consent calendar and hearing the public comment at a later time, prior to the vote on the item. (c) Council Requests to Remove Item. Any Council Member may request that an item be removed from the consent calendar; if the request is seconded, the item will be removed from the consent calendar. The City Manager's office should U-5 City Council Procedures Handbook (Revised 4/13/09) City Council Procedures Handbook be advised, in writing, of a request for removal no later than noon the day of the meeting. (d) Hearing of Removed Items. Removed items will be heard either later in the meeting or agendized for a discussion , at a subsequent meeting, depending upon the number of speakers and the anticipated length of the items that have been officially scheduled' for discussion on a particular evening. The Mayor will decide when during the meeting any removed items will be heard. (e) -Consent calt=mdar categories. The consent calendar shall be presented in 5 categories in the following order: -(l) Ordinances and resolutions. The Mayor shall read the titles of each ordinance and resolution before Council action. The Council may by majority vote request that the ordinance be read in full. The following ordinances and resolutions may appear on a consent calendar: (i) Second Reading (passage and adoption) of Ordinances. (ii).a resolution which are ceremonial in nature. (iii) Ordinances or resolutions that implement a prior Council policy direction in the manner contemplated by the Council's previous actions, in the Adopted Budget (including the Capital Improvement Program and especially in the department key plans); and the Council Top Priority Workplan, among other sources. (iv) Budget amendment ordinances that accept funding such as grants or gifts, provided Council has previously approved the activity or program. (v) Resolutions approving funding applications, such as grants or loans, provided that the program or activity has been previously approved by CounCil. (2) Administrative matters including contracts, appointments, approval of applications, and any other matter. "The titles of administrative matters need not be read. An administrative matter may be placed on the consent calendar if it is: City Council Procedures Handbook (Revised 4113/09) 11-6 City Council Procedures Handbook (a) An action that is merely the administrative execution of previous Council direction. The Council direction and vote will be quoted in the staff report accompanying the item. (b) A contracts for which the subject or scope of work has been previously reviewed by the City Council. (c) A contract for goods, general services, professional services, public works projects, dark fiber licensing contracts or wholesale conunodities, purchases, as outlined in the Purchasing Ordinance, provided· such contracts represent the customary and usual business of the department as included in the Adopted Budget. Examples include: routine maintenance contracts, annual audit agreement; software and hardware support agreements, janitori~l services, copier agreements or postage machine agreements. ·(d) Rejection of bids. (e). Designation of heritage trees. (f) Designation of historic building at the request of the property owner if there are no unusual policy ramifications. (g) Approval of funding applications, such as grants or loans, provided that Council has previously approved the general.program or activity. (h) Fonnal initiation, for consideration at a later date, of a zoning code amendment or review process, such as preliminary review. (i) .Status report required by law for fee administration. 0) Cancellation· of meetings or scheduling of special meeting. (3) Request to refer items to any Council Standing Committee, committee, board, commission or Council Appointed OffiCer. The consent calendar includes matters for which staff is merely seeking Council approval of a City Council Procedures Handbook (Revised 4/13/09) II-7 City Council Procedures Handbook referral to a Council standing committee or other City official, advisory board or commission. This does not preclude staff from making referrals to the standing committees. Staff uses such referrals in ord~r to expedite the bu'siness of the full Council, since its agenda is so full. Discussion of a complex-issue by another body, provides an opportunity for, public input and extended discussion by the members of the body. The full Council is then able to benefit from the minutes of that discussion when the item comes back to the Council for final approval. This practice also allows the City/School Liaison Committee to consider items of interest to both agencies without having to go through the fonnality of a Council agenda referral. (4) Items recommended for approval if the Committee unanimously recommends placement on the consent calendar, by a majority of a Council Committee. ' (5) Items recommended for approval, and for placement on the consent calendar, by any council-appointed boards and commiSSions, . provided that other public hearing requirements are not in effect. 6) , Agenda changes, additions, and deletions; . 7) Unfinished business; -(0,,-...... -;/' W' A c.:.\-"D t\ -8) Public hearings; .~ 9) Reports of committees/commissions; -10) Ordinances and Resolutions; _ 11) Reports of officials; 12) Council matters; (-a)-Any two Council Members may bring forward a colleague memo on any topic to be considered by the entire Council. Two Council Members are required to place such a memo on the agenda, reflective of the Council procedure requiring a motion and a second for consideration of a motion by the Council. Up to four Council Members may sign a colleague memo.· The City Attorney recommends that the colleague memo be limited to three Council Members in order to avoid the potential of a Brown Act Issue. Prior to preparing a colleague memo; Council Members City Council Procedures Handbook (Revised 4/13/09) 11-8 City Council Procedures Handbook will consult with the City Manager to detennine whether he/she is or is willing and able to address the issues as part of hislher operational authority and within current budgeted resources. Council Members are encouraged to share a draft of the proposed , colleague memo with the City Manager or appropriate senior staff prior to finalization. Completed Council colleague memos shall be provided to the City Clerk's staff by noon on the Wednesday prior to the Council meeting that the memo is intended to be agendized, to provide time for the City Clerk to process for the Council packet. The City Council will not take action on the night that a colleague memo is introduced if it has any implications for staff resources or current work priorities which are not addressed in the memo. The Council will discuss the colleague memo and then direct the . City Manager to agendize the matter for Council action within two meetings, allowing City staff time to prepare a summary of' staffing and resource impacts. Action may be taken immediately by the Council on colleague memos where there are no resource or staffing implications or where these are fully outlined in the colleagues memo. The Brown Act requires that the public be fully infonned of the potential action by the Councjl via the Agenda 72 hours before a scheduled Council meeting. In order to satisfY the Brown Act requirements, the Council should consult with the City Attorney to ensure that the proposed title to the colleague memo contains all actions that the Council Members want completed on the night of the Council review. at ''N) Council member Questions, Comments and Announcements. The purpose of this agenda item is to allow Council to question staff briefly on matters upon which Council has taken action or given direction, make general comments as a reference to staff on factual matters of community 'concern, or make brief announcements in a manner consistent with Government Code section 54952.2. New assignments will not be given nor will major policy issues be discussed or considered. To the extent possible, Council will confer with staff before raising matters under this agenda item. This agenda item will generally be limited to 15 minutes in length and the public may not speak to matters discussed. 14) Closed Sessions. 15) Special closed sessions will be scheduled before or after regular or special Council meetings to the extent possible and City Council Procedures Handbook (Revised 4/13/09) 11-9 , . City Council Procedures Handbook appropriate. Closed sessions may be scheduled during a regular or special Council meeting, but this is discouraged by CounciL 16) Adjournment. ., d) Unfinished and Continued Business. When the Council is unable to complete its agenda the remaining business will generally be rescheduled as follows. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to supersede or conflict with state law. (1) Meeting adjourned sine die. When a regular meeting is adjourned sine die (without a day), all unfinished items will be listed under unfinished business on the next regular Council meeting agenda; except, that where deemed necessary, the City Clerk, with the City M;anager's concurrence,. may place those business items in a different order on the agenda. (2) Meeting adjourned to date certain. When a regular meeting is adjourned to another regular meeting night, all unfinished items will be listed in their original order after roll call on the agenda of such designated regular meeting. (3) Continued items. When an item on the agenda is continued to a subsequent meeting, such item will be listed under unfinished business on such agenda unless the Council by majority vote chooses to place such item in a different location on such agenda or unless the City Clerk, with the City Manager's concurrence, deems it necessary to place such item at a different location on such agenda. e) Adding New Items to the Agenda. No matters other than those on the agenda shall be finally acted upon by the Council. However, emergency actions (as defined in Government Code section 54956.5) and matters upon which there is a lawful need to take immediate action (as defined in Government Code section 54954.2) may, with the consent of two-thirds, or all mempers present if less than two- thirds are present, be considered and acted upon by the CounciL 2. SpeCial Meetings. Special meetings may be called by the Mayor or City Council by providing a minimum of 24-hours posted notice in the manner required by state law. To the greatest extent possible, special meetings called for other than regular meeting days should be scheduled by a majority of the Council present and voting at a regular meeting. vi Unlike Ci~Councii Procedures Handbook (Revised 4(13/09) 11-10 Attachment C POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE Regular Meeting September 10, 2009 Chairperson Espinosa called the meeting to order at 8:53 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. Present: Espinosa (Chair), Barton, Kishimoto, Yeh 1. Oral Communications None 2. Recommendation for Approval of Changes to Council Procedures Related to the Council Meeting Agenda Order and Category Titles. Assistant to the City Manager, Kelly Morariu said this item is part of Staff efforts to streamline the agendas and make them more user friendly for the public. Currently there are 'required categories such as Public Hearings, Reports from Officials, and Council Matters. All are actions of the Council. When they are listed individually on the agenda it presents some challenges to Staff regarding structuring the agenda in a way that is more accessible to the public and allows Staff to rearrange the order of the meeting to accommodate anticipated public comment. The recommendation is to make changes to Council Procedures that collapses all of those categories into one category called Action Items, which would include; Public Hearings, Reports of Committees/Commissions, Ordinances and Resolutions, Reports of Officials and Council Matters. City Manager, James Keene said that under Action Items, Staff would still be able to identify if an item is a Public Hearing, or a Report from Committees/Commissions. He explained that often large numbers of the public will come to speak on an item, but Staff is locked into the sequence of the agenda delaying the public's opportunity to speak. Having this flexibility would allow the agenda to be rearranged based on anticipated public turn out. While the Council can change the order during the meeting now, this change would allow Staff tb do it so the public gets some advance notice. Herb Borock, City of Palo Alto, urged the Committee to adjourn the meeting immediately as it started two hours late. He stated that for years Council P&S: 090910 PS 1 agendas have been too packed and have had too much ceremonial process at the beginning. The Council meetings have a tentative starting time, but the public doesn't know when it will really start. He said that because this meeting is about procedures and making City business more accessible to the public he urged the Committee to adjourn the meeting immediately. He stated that approving minutes, and Special Orders of the Day are mostly action items as well. He stated that changing the Oral Communications time from five minutes to three minutes affects public participation. The agenda packet will change but it seems it will be without telling the public in advance. Chair Espinosa apologized for being late. He defended the Council working hard to avoid such things. He said that he would prefer to continue with the meeting and not postpone it. Council Member Kishimoto agreed that two hours is unforgiveable and thinks they should plan to not do this again. Council Member Yeh suggested a real time communication with the members of the public that self select into a particular meeting with email blasts or some other form of communication. Ms. Morariu said Staff has not looked at that but could consider it. A challenge would be collecting emails and getting notification out. Chair Espinosa said the biggest problem would be having real time reporting. The City Clerk or another Staff member would have to predict events. A member of the public might be at home wanting to know if a specific item is coming up in 10 minutes or two hours so they can time their arrival. Staff can report on what has already happened but they have no way to predict when an item will be heard. Even that would take extra Staff as the City Clerk is busy transcribing the minutes. Mr. Keene said that it might not be perfect, but some level of communication may be beneficial to the public. An update is better than no update. There are other methods of communication available as well, such as Twitter. The timing and pace of instant communication is uncertain, but Staff would be willing to try. He said that it would be inappropriate for Staff to get dinged for miscalculating future events such as the timing of a pending agenda item. Council Member Yeh said that perhaps it's best not to start with individual items but rather study sessions having updates on when they might be ending. In regards to setting up updates on Twitter, that is a huge market with potential for millions of subscribers and should be looked into. P&S: 090910 PS 2 MOTION: Council Member Barton moved, seconded by Council Member Yeh to recommend the City Council approve changes to Council procedures related to the Council meeting agenda order and category titles. Council Member Barton said that there is only so much the agenda structure can do. What goes on the agenda is up to Staff. How the Council handles it is up to them. Sometimes it's easy to stay on track, sometimes it's not. And then there are times when there are a lot of public comments. So these agenda changes are good, but all of us have some responsibility for how the agenda goes. Council Member Kishimoto asked Staff about the Action Items. Ms. Morariu said "Action Items" was only a naming convention and Staff is open to other suggestions. In recognition that there are other action items elsewhere on the agenda, Staff is open to another title. Council Member Kishimoto said she was not sure why these changes are part of an Ordinance. Mr. Keene said he has seen this convention used in four or five other communities. It is difficult for the public to be clear about what's going on in a Council meeting if they've never been. What they really want to know is when the item they are attending for is going to be presented. Giving Staff this bit of flexibility with the timing will get a 25-40 percent approval from the public. Chair Espinosa asked Staff when they plan to come back with structural changes to the agenda. Ms. Morariu said this is a first step. One of the next steps is changing the format of the Staff reports to make them more user friendly. The timing depends on how we can package it all together. It would be ideal to keep it all together, but sometimes it's easier to gain momentum with one small piece. Chair Espinosa said that he would encourage all of it staying together rather than piecemealing it out. He supported waiting longer if needed and coming back with a vision for a combined set of changes in terms of citizen engagement, efficiency of meeting, and structure of discourse. It would be more beneficial than making small adjustments which over time people have a hard time seeing where they are going. Mr. Keene said that there are two changes Staff is looking at. One is to address the requirement that agendas have very exact legal titles, which can be difficult to read. Staff is looking at including a short title in addition to the legal title to P&S: 090910 PS 3 offer some clarity. Secondly, Staff is trying to put together a type of Executive Summary of each agenda item. It would be more work for Staff, but it would be easier for the public. Chair Espinosa said it would also be helpful, as a matter of public accessibility, to have on the outside door of the chambers a debrief sheet for members of the public that are new to Council Meetings. The sheet would welcome members of the public, and include information on how the meetings work, what Oral Communications are and how one participates in them, and what the agenda covers. It would help people that have never been to a meeting before. MOTION PASSED 4-0 3. Recommendation to Council on Policy & Services Committee Workplan for Remainder of 2009 and Proposed Structure for Setting Future Year Workplans. Assistant to the City Manager, Kelly Morariu spoke about having a strategic conversation with the Committee regarding the workplan for the remaining year and any topics the Committee feels Staff should put more energy into. Staff is suggesting a structure for setting workplans in the future years. Each year, in early January, the Council has a retreat to set priorities for the upcoming year. Staff suggests that the Committee hold a Study Session after the annual retreat to define some initiatives or key issues related to Council priorities. This will help guide Staff. At the last Policy and Services meeting the Committee asked about the See It site. The Committee could pick one subject from the site and request that Staff come back with information about what they are doing to bring the vision to life. Chair Espinosa suggested they split the item in two. He suggested they discuss planning for the remaining year first. It would be helpful to come together and discuss what will be addressed for 2009. After that, he said they can look at what to cover for 2010. Council Member Barton asked for clarification that they were discussing the next three months. Chair Espinosa confirmed that he was referring to the remaining three months in 2009. MOTION: Council Member Espinosa moved, seconded by Council Member Kishimoto that the Policy & Services Committee accepts Staffs recommendations for setting future year workplans after the January 2010 Retreat. P&S: 090910 PS 4