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Home My WebLink AboutStaff Report 165-06City of Palo Alto City Manager’s Report TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL ATTN: FROM: POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE DATE:MARCH 14, 2006 CMR: 165:06 SUBJECT:COUNCIL RETREAT FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Policy and Services Committee Council’s follow-up items from the 2006 Council Retreat. review and discuss the list of BACKGROUND On January 21, 2006, Council held its annual retreat to discuss setting the City’s top priorities and to discuss Council protocols and procedures. During the meeting, Council requested that specific protocols, procedures and policies be further and reviewed by the Policy and Services Committee. DISCUSSION Council Members asked to review the following issues: ¯Discussion of protocol for items returning to Council from Committee ¯Review Consent Calendar Policy ¯Review Council gift policy ¯Feasibility Council and staff revolving door policy ¯Codify Colleagues Memo rule ¯Review Council Liaison Policy Appropriate supporting documentation is attached to this report to assist Council with its review of the above listed protocols and procedures, with relevant sections highlighted as appropriate. The City Attorney has attached a memo about SB8 which creates a state statutory scheme for a revolving door law for Council Members and the City Manager. This may obviate the need for a City revolving door ordinance. CMR: 165:06 Page 1 of 2 ATTACHMENTS Council Protocols Council Procedures Council-Appointed Board Responsibilities (CMR 289:00) and Commission Communication, Roles and PREPARED BY Chris Mo CITY MANAGER APPROVAL arrlson,sistant City Manager CMR: 165:06 Page 2 of 2 CITY OF COUNCIL PALO ALTO PROTOCOLS Attachment 1 All Council Members All members of the City Council, including those serving as Mayor and Vice Mayor, have equal votes. No Council Member has more power than any other Council Member, and. all should be treated with equal respect. All Council Members should: ¯Demonstrate honesty and integrity in every action and Statement ¯Comply with both the letter and spirit of the laws and policies affecting the operation operations of government. ¯Serve as a model of leadership and civility to the community ¯Inspire public confidence in Palo Alto government ¯Work for the common good, not personal interest ¯Prepare in advance of Council meetings and be familiar with issues on the agenda ¯Fully participate in City Council meetings and other public forums while demonstrating respect, kindness, consideration, and courtesy to others ¯Participate in scheduled activities to increase Council effectiveness ¯Review Council procedures, such as these Council Protocols, at least annually ¯Represent the City at ceremonial functions at the request of the Mayor ¯Be responsible for the highest standards of respect, civility and honesty in ensuring the effective maintenance of intergovemmental relations ¯Respect the proper roles of elected officials and City staff in ensuring open and effective government ¯Provide contact information to the City Clerk in case an emergency or urgent situation arises while the Council Member is out of town Council Conduct with One Another Councils are composed of individuals with a wide variety of backgrounds, personalities, values, opinions, and goals. Despite this diversity, all have chosen to serve in public office in order to improve the quality of life in the community. In all cases, this common goal should be acknowledged even as Council may "agree to disagree" on contentious issues. In Public Meetinqs ¯Use formal titles. The Council should refer to one another formally during Council meetings as Mayor, Vice Mayor or Council Member followed by the individual’s last name. ¯Practice civility and decorum in discussions and debate. Difficult questions, tough challenges to a particular point of view, and criticism of ideas and information are legitimate elements of a free democracy in action. Be respectful of diverse opinions. ¯Honor the role of the presidinq officer in maintaininq order and equity. Respect the Chair’s efforts to focus discussion on current agenda items. Objections to the Chair’s actions should be voiced politely and with reason, following the parliamentary procedures outlined in the City Council Procedural Rules. ¯Demonstrate effective problem-solvinq approaches. Council Members have a public stage to show how individuals with disparate points of view can find common ground and seek a compromise that benefits the community as a whole. Council Members are role models for residents, business people and other stakeholders involved in public debate. Be respectful of other people’s time. Stay focused and act efficiently during public meetings. In Private Encounters ¯Treat others as you would like to be treated. Ask yourself how you would like to be treated in similar circumstances, and then treat the other person that way. Council Conduct with City Staff The key provisions on Council-staff relations found in section 2.04.170 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code: "Neither the council nor any of its committees Or members shall direct, request or attempt to influence, either directly or indirectly, the appointment of any person to office or employment by the city manager or in any manner interfere with the city manager or prevent the city manager from exercising individual judgment in the appointment of officers and employees in the administrative service. Except for the purpose of inquiry, the .council and its members shaft deal with the administrative service solely through the city manager, and neither the council nor any member thereof shaft give orders to any of the subordinates of the city manager, either publicly or privately." Governance of a City relies on the cooperative efforts of elected officials, who set policy, and City staff, which analyze problems and issues, make recommendations, and implement and administer the Council’s policies. Therefore, every effort should be made to be cooperative and show mutual respect for the contributions made by each individual forthe good of the community. ¯Treat all staff as professionals. Clear, honest communication that respects the abilities, experience, and dignity of each individual is expected. As with your Council colleagues, practice civility and decorum in all interactions with City staff. ¯Channel communications throuqh the appropriate senior City staff. Questions of City staff should be directed only to the City Manager, Assistant City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, Assistant City Clerk, City Auditor, Senior Assistant City Attorneys, or Department Heads. The Office of the City Manager should be copied on any request to Department Heads. Council Members should not set up meetings with department staff directly, but work through Department Heads, who will attend any meetings with Council Members. When in doubt about what staff contact is appropriate, Council Members should ask the City Manager for direction. However, nothing in these protocols is intended to hinder the access Council-appointed liaisons (e.g. to the San Francisquit0 JPA or NCPA) may require in order to fulfill their unique responsibilities. In order to facilitate open qovernment, all Council Members should make decisions with the same information from staff on aqendized or soon-to-be aqendized items (i.e. items on the tentative aqenda or in a. Council Committee). ¯Never publicly criticize an individual employee, includin.q Council-Appointed Officers. Criticism is differentiated from questioninq facts or the opinion of staff. All critical comments about staff performance should only be made to the City Manager through private correspondence or conversation. Comments about staff in the office of the City Attorney, City Auditor or City Clerk should be made directly to these CAOs through private correspondence or conversation= ¯Do not ,qet involved in administrative functions. Avoid any staff interactions that may be construed as trying to shape staff recommendations. Council Members shall refrain from coercing staff in making recommendations to the Council as a whole. ¯Be cautious in representing City positions on issues. Before sending correspondence related to a legislative position, check with City staff to see if a position has already been determined. When corresponding with representatives of other governments or constituents, remember to indicate if appropriate that the Views you state are your own and may not represent those of the full Council. ¯Do not attend staff meetinqs unless requested by staff. Even if the Council Member does not say anything, the Council Member’s presence may imply support, show partiality, intimidate staff, or hampers staff’s ability to do its job objectively. ¯Respect the "one hour" rule for staff work. Requests for staff support should be made to the appropriate senior staff member, according to the protocol for channeling communications. Any request, which would require more than one hour of staff time to research a problem or prepare a response, will need to be approved by the full council to ensure that staff resources are allocated in accordance with overall council priorities. Once notified that a request for information or staff support would require more than one hour, the Council Member may request that the City Manager place the request on an upcoming Council agenda. ¯Depend upon the staff to respond tocitizen concerns and complaints. It is the role of Council Members to pass on concerns and complaints on behalf of their constituents. It is not, however, appropriate to pressure staff to solve a problem in a particular way. Refer citizen complaints to the appropriate senior staff member, according to the protocol on channeling communications. The senior staff member should respond according to the Policy and Procedure for Responding to Customer Complaints. Senior staff is responsible for making sure the Council Member knows how the complaint was resolved. ¯Do not solicit political support from staff. The City Charter states that "Neither the city manager or any other person in the employ of the city shall take part in securing or shall contribute any money toward the nomination or election of any candidate for a municipal office." In addition, some professionals (e.g., City Manager and the Assistant City Manager) have professional codes of ethics, which preclude politically partisan activities or activities that give the appearance of political partisanship.. Council Conduct With Palo Alto Boards and Commissions The City has established several Boards and Commissions as a means d gathering more community input. Citizens who serve on Boards and Commissions become more involved in government and serve as advisors to the City Council. They are a valuable resource to the City’s leadership and should be treated with appreciation and respect. Council Members serve as liaisons to Boards and Commissions, according to appointments made by the Mayor, and in this role are expected to represent the full Council in providing guidance on Council processes or actions to the Board or Commission. Refrain from speaking for the full Council on matters for which the full council has not yet taken a policy position. In other instances, Council Members may attend Board or Commission meetings as individuals, and should follow these protocols: ¯If attendin.q a Board or Commission meetin.q, identify your comments as personal views or opinions. Council Members may attend any Board or Commission meeting, which are always open to any member of the public. Any public comments by a Council Member at a Board or Commission meeting, when that Council Member is not the liaison to the Board or Commission, should be clearly made as individual opinion and not a representation of the feelings of the entire City Council. ¯ Limit contact with Board and Commission members to questions of clarification. It is inappropriate for a Council Member to contact a Board or Commission member to lobby on behalf of an individual, business, or developer, or to advocate a particular policy perspective. It is acceptable for Council Members to contact Board or Commission members in order to clarify a position taken by the Board or Commission. ¯Remember-that Boards and Commissions are advisory to the Council as a whole, not individual Council Members. The city Council appoints individuals to serve on Boards and Commissions, and it is the responsibility of Boards and Commissions to follow policy established by the Council. Council Members should not feel they have the power or right to unduly influence Board and Commission members. A Board or Commission appointment should not be used as a political "reward." ¯Concerns about an individual Board or Commission member should be pursued with tact. If a Council Member has a concern with the effectiveness of a particular Board or . Commission member and is comfortable in talking with that individual privately, the Council Member should do so. Altematively, or if the problem is not resolved, the Council Member should consult with the Mayor, who can bring the issue to the Council as appropriate. ¯Be respectful of diverse opinions. A primary role of Boards and Commissions is to represent many points of view in the community and to provide the Council with advice based on a full spectrum of concerns and perspectives. Council Members may have a closer working relationship with some individuals serving on Boards and Commissions, but must be fair to and respectful of all citizens serving on Boards and Commissions. ¯Keep political support away from public forums. Board and Commission members may offer political support to a Council Member, but not in a public forum while conducting official duties. Conversely, Council Members may support Board and Commission members who are running for office, but not in an official forum in their capacity as a Council Member. ¯Maintain an active liaison relationship, Appointed Council liaisons are encouraged to attend all regularly scheduled meetings of their assigned Board or Commission, or to arrange for an alternate. Staff Conduct with City Council ¯Respond to Council questions as fully and as expeditiously as is practical. The protocol for staff time devoted to research and response is in application here. If a Council Member forwards a complaint or service request to a department head or a Council Appointed Officer, there will be follow-through with the Council Member as to the outcome, ¯Respect the role of Council Members as policy makers for the City Staff is expected to provide its best professional recommendations on issues. Staff should not try to determine Council support for particular positions or recommendations in order to craft recommendations. The Council must be able to depend upon the staff to make independent recommendations. Staff should provide information about alternatives to staff recommendations as appropriate, as well as pros and cons for staff recommendations and alternatives Demonstrate professionalism and non-partisanship in all interactions with the community and in public meetin,qs It is important for the staff to demonstrate respect for the Council at all times. All Council Members should be treated equally. ELECTRONIC MAIL COMMUNICATIONS As society evolves in an increasingly electronic world, we need to have a reliable system to record and make public all e mail communications and responses to and from Council Members. Staff commits to working to create and implement such a system. OTHER PROCEDURALISSUES o Commit to annual review of important procedural issues. At the beginning of each. legislative year, the Council will hold a special meeting to review the Council protocols, adopted procedures for meetings, the Brown Act, conflict of interest, and other important procedural issues. ¯Don’t politicize procedural issues (e.,q. minutes approval or a.qenda order) for ~trate.qic purposes. ¯Submit questions on Council aqenda items ahead of the meetinq. In order to focus the Council meetings on consideration of policy issues and to maintain an open forum for public discussion, questions which focus on the policy aspects of agenda items should be discussed at the Council meeting rather than in one-on-one communications with staff prior to the meetings. Any clarifications or technical questions that can be readily answered can be handled before the meeting. Council Members are encouraged to submit their questions on agenda items to the appropriate Council Appointed Officer or Assistant City Manager as far in advance of the meeting as possible so that staff can be prepared to respond at the Council meeting. ¯Respect the work of the Council standinq committees. The purpose of the Council standing committees is to provide focused, in-depth discussion of issues. Council should respect the work of the committees and re-commit to its policy of keeping unanimous votes of the committees on the consent calendar. ¯The Mayor and Vice Mayor should work with staff to plan the Council meetin,qs. There are three purposes to the pre-Council planning meeting: 1) to plan how the meeting will be conducted; 2) to identify any issues or questions that may need greater staff preparation for the meeting; and 3) to discuss future meetings. The purpose of the meeting is not to work on policy issues. Normally, only the Mayor and Vice Mayor are expected to attend the pre-Council meetings with the City Manager and other CAOs. ENFORCEMENT Council Members have the primary responsibility to assure that these protocols are understood and followed, so that the public can continue to have full confidence in the integrity of government. As an expression of the standards of conduct expected by the City for Council Members, the protocols .are intended to be self-enforcing. They therefore become most effective when members are thoroughly familiar with them and embrace their provisions. For this reason, Council Members entering office shall sign a statement affirming they have read and understood the Council protocols. In addition, the protocols shall be annually reviewed by the Policy and Services Committee and updated as necessary. The citizens, businesses and organizations of the City are entitled to have fair, ethical and accountable local government, which has earned the public’s full confidence for integrity. To this end, the City Council has adopted Council Protocols and this Code of Ethics for members of the City Council to assure public confidence in the integrity of local government and its effective and fair operation. Comply with Law Members shall comply with the laws of the nation, the State of California and the City in the performance of their public duties. These laws include but are not limited to: the United States and California constitutions, the city Charter, laws pertaining to conflicts of interest, election campaigns, financial disclosures, employer responsibilities and open processes of governments and City ordinances and policies. Conduct of Members The professional and personal conduct of members must be above reproach and avoid even the appearance of impropriety. Members shall refrain from abusive conduct, personal charges or verbal attacks upon the character or motives of other members of the Council, boards and commissions, the staff or the public. Respect for Process Members shall perform their duties in accordance with the processes and rules of order established by the City Council governing the deliberation d public policy issues, meaningful involvement of the public and implementation of policy decisions of the City Council by City staff. Decisions Based on Merit Members shall base their decisions on the merits and substance of the matter at hand, rather than on unrelated considerations. Conflict of Interest In order-to assure their independence and impartiality on behalf of the common good, members shall not use their official positions to influence decisions in which they have a material financial interest or where they have an organizational responsibility or personal relationship, which may give the appearance of a conflict of interest. Gifts and Favors Members commit to follow the laws that apply to accepting any gifts or favors as a public official. Confidential Information Members shall respect the confidentiality of information concerning the property, personnel or affairs of the City. They shall neither disclose confidential information without proper legal authorization, nor use such information to advance their personal, financial or other private interests. Use of Public Resources Members shall not use public resources, such as City staff time, equipment, supplies or facilities, for private gain or personal purposes. Representation of Private Interests In keeping with their role as stewards of the public interest, members d Council shall not appear on behalf of the private interests of third parties before the Council or any other board, commission or proceeding of the City, nor shall members of boards and commissions appear before their own bodies or before the Council on behalf of the private interests of third parties on matters related to the areas of service of their bodies. Advocacy Members shall represent the official policies or positions of the City Council, board or commission to the best of their ability when designated as delegates for this purpose. When presenting their individual opinions and positions, members shall explicitly state they do not represent their body or the City, nor will they allow the inference that they do: Positive Work Place Environment Members shall support the maintenance of a positive and constructive work place environment for City employees and for citizens and businesses dealing with the City. Members shall recognize their special role in dealings with City employees to in no way create the perception of inappropriate direction to staff. Attachment 2 City Council Procedures Handbook TABLE OF CONTENTS II. Public Participation in Council Meetings Policy (1) Purpose (2) Summary of Rules General Requirements 1. Accessibility 2. Presiding Officer’s Permission Required 3. Recording and Identification 4. Specific Requirements and Time Limits a) Oral Communications b) Other Agenda Items (1)Spokesperson for a Group (2)Quasi-Judicial Hearings (3)Addressing the Council after a Motion c) Decorum Council Meeting and Agenda Guidelines Policy 1. 2. Purpose Summary of Guidelines General Requirements 1. Regular Meetings a) Attendance Required b) Items considered after 10:30 p.m. c) Agenda Order d) Unfinished and Continued Business e) Adding New Items to the Agenda 2. Special Meetings 3..Study Sessions a) Time b) Oral Communications and Public Comments c) No Formal Rules d) No Final Action I-1 I-1 I-1 I-1 I-1 I-1 !-2 I-2 I-2 I-2 I-3 I-3 I-3 I-3 I-4 I1-1 I1-1 I1-1 I1-1 I-2 I-2 I-2 I-2 I-2 I-7 I-8 11-8 11-8 11-8 11-8 !1-8 11-8 010404 syn 0091409a City Council Procedures Handbook 4. Closed Sessions a) Announcements before Closed Sessions b) Public Comments c) Attendance d) Public Reports e) No Minutes f ) Confidentiality III. Motions, Debate & Voting Policy 1. Purpose 2. Summary of Rules B. Motions 1. Types of Motions 2. Procedure a) Get the Floor b) State the Motion c) Second Required d) Motion Restated e) Lack of a Second f ) Discussion g) Secondary Motions h) Action 3. Precedence of Motions 4. Secondary Motions Defined a) Fix the time to which to adjourn b) Adjourn c) Take a recess d) Raise a question of personal privilege e) Lay on the table f) Previous question g) Limit or extend debate h) Continue to a certain time i) Refer to a city agency, body, committee, board, commission or officer j) Amend or Substitute 11-9 11-9 11-9 11-9 11-9 11-10 11-10 II1-1 II1-1 II1-1 II1-1 II1-! II1-1 II1-1 II1-! 111-1 II1-1 111-2 111-2 111-2 111-2 111-2 111-2 111-2 111-3 111-3 111-3 111-3 111-3 111-3 111-4 ii 010404 syn 0091409a City Council Procedures Handbook Co Debate and Voting.111-6 1.Presiding officer to State Motion 111-6 2.Presiding Officer May Debate and Vote 111-6 3.Division of Question 111-6 4.Withdrawal of Motion 111-6 5.Change of Vote 111-6 6.Voting 111-6 7.Silence Constitutes affirmativevote 111-6 8.Failure to Vote 111-6 9.Abstaining from Vote 111-6 10.Not participating 111-7 11.Tie Votes 111-7 12.Motion to Reconsider 111-7 13.Appeal from the decision of the presiding officer 111-7 14.Getting the floor; improper references to be avoided.111-7 15.Interruptions 111-8 IV. Quasi-Judicial Hearings IV-1 A. Policy IV-1 1. Purpose IV-1 B. General Requirements IV-1 1. Quasi-Judicial Proceedings Defined IV-1 2. Restrictions on Council Communications Outside of Quasi- Judicial Hearings a) Identification of Quasi-Judicial Matters b) Council to Track Contacts c) Disclosure d) No Contacts after Hearings 3.Written Findings Required 4.Rules of Evidence 5.Burden of Proof 6.Council Members who are Absent During Part of a Hearing 7. Appeals IV-1 IV-1 IV-2 IV-2 IV-2 IV-2 IV-2 IV-3 IV-3 IV-3 iii Ol0404syn 0091409a City Council Procedures Handbook V. Standing Committees A. Policy 1. Purpose B. General Requirements 1. Quorum 2. Referrals 3. Function of Committees 4, Minutes 5. Report of Committee 6. Agenda 7. Public Participation 8. Conduct of Standing Committee Meetings 9. Oral Communications V-1 V-1 V-1 V-1 V-1 V-1 V-1 V-1 V-2 V-2 V-2 V-2 V-2 iv 010404 syn 0091409a City Council Procedures Handbook Introduction & Contents This handbook describes the way the Palo Alto City Council does its business. It is intended to accomplish two goals. First, the handbook is an information guide for anyone doing business or appearing before the City Council. Second, the handbook is a compilation of procedural rules that have been formally adopted by Council Resolution. The handbook is organized in five sections. Public Participation in Council Meetings This section explains the basic rules for speaking to the City Council. It covers things like when to speak, time limits, and how groups of speakers are handled. Council Meeting & Agenda Guidelines This section, explains the different kinds of meetings the City Council holds, what they are for, and how the meeting agenda is prepared. Motions, Debate & Voting This section explains the simplified rules, of parliamentary procedure the Council fo!lows (like Roberts’ Rules of Order, but simpler!). Quasi-Judicial Hearings This section explains the special way the City Council handles hearings that raise constitutional due process concerns. These are usually hearings that seriously impact someone’s life, liberty or property. Standing Committees This section explains how the City Council’s two standing committees -Finance and Policy & Services - operate during their own separate meetings. If you have any questions about this handbook, please feel free to contact the City Clerk by phone at (650) 329-2571 and e-mail at city.clerk @cityofpaloalto.org or the City Attorney by phone at (650) 329-2171 and e-mail at city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org. City Council Procedures Handbook I.Public Participation in Council Meetings A. Policy. Iris the policy of the City Council to assure that members of the public have the opportunity to speak to any regular or special meeting agenda item before final action. These rules establish the rights and obligations of persons who wish to speak during City Council meetings. (1) Purpose. These rules are intended to enhance public participation and Council debate so that the best possible decisions can be made for Palo Alto. Palo Alto has a long and proud tradition of open government and civil, intelligent public discourse. Open government meetings must allow everyone to be heard without fear of cheers or jeers. For these reasons, the City Council takes these rules seriously. Disruptive or unruly behavior in violation of the law can result in removal from the Council meeting and/or arrest and prosecution. (2) Summary of Rules. Every regular City Council agenda has two different kinds of opportunities for the public to speak. The first is during Oral Communications. This part of the meeting is provided so that the public can speak to anything that is in the City’s jurisdiction, even if there is no action listed on the agenda. The Council allows three minutes per speaker, but limits the total time to 30 minutes per meeting. State taw does not permit the Council to respond to oral communications, but City staff may be asked to follow up on any concerns that are raised. The second opportunity to speak is during the public comment or public hearing portion of Each Agenda Item. Public comments or testimony must be related to the matter under consideration. The Counci! allows five minutes per speaker for most matters. During "quasi-judicial" hearings (where the City Council is legally required to take evidence and make impartial decisions based upon that evidence), the applicant or appellant may have up to ten minutes at the outset and three minutes for rebuttal at the end. These hearings are specially marked on the Council agenda. A person who wants to speak to the Council must fill out a speaker card and hand it in to the City Clerk. The Clerk will give the cards to the Mayor or Vice Mayor so that the speakers can be identified and organized in an orderly way. B. General Requirements. 1. Accessibility. Palo Alto makes every reasonable effort to accommodate the needs of the disabled. Any provision of these rules may be modified if needed to provide reasonable accommodation. Persons needing assistance I-1 030105 sd10091409 City Council Procedures Handbook should contact: Fred Herman, ADA Director, City of Palo Alto, 650/329- 2496 (voice) or 650/328-1199 (TDD). 2. Presiding Officer’s Permission Required. The presiding officer at Council meetings (usually the Mayor or Vice-Mayor) is legally required to "preserve strict order and decorum.’" This is important in order to assure a fair opportunity for everyone to participate in an open and civil setting. a) Any person desiring to address the Council must first get the permission of the presiding officer by completing a speaker card and handing the card to the City Clerk. b) The presiding officer shall recognize any person who has given a completed card to the City Clerk. c) No person, other than a Council Member and the person having the floor, shall be permitted to enter into any discussion without the. permission of the presiding officer. 3. Recording and Identification. Persons wishing to address the Council shall comply with the following: a) Use the microphone provided for the public and speak in a recordable tone, either personally or with assistance, if necessary. b) State their name and address if presenting evidence in a hearing required by law. c) Other speakers should state their name and address, but cannot be compelled to register their name or other information as a condition to attendance at the meeting. 4. Specific Requirements and Time Limits. a) Oral Communications. Oral communications shall be limited to three minutes per speaker and will be limited to a total of thirty minutes for all speakers combined. 1) Oral communications may be used only to address items that are within the Council’s subject matter jurisdiction, but not listed on the agenda. I-2 030105 sd10091409 City Council Procedures Handbook 2) Oral communications may not be used to address matters where the receipt of new information would threaten the due process rights of any person. 3) All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a body and not to any individual member. 4) Council members shall not enter into debate or discussion with speakers during oral communications. 5) The presiding officer may direct that the City Manager will respond to the person speaking and/or the Council at a later date. b) Other Agenda Items. Public comments or testimony on agenda items other than Oral Communications shall be limited to a maximum of five minutes per speaker unless additional time is granted by the presiding officer. The presiding officer may reduce the allowed time to less than five minutes if necessary to accommodate a larger number of speakers. I) Spokesperson for a Group. When any group of people wishes to address the Council on the same subject matter, the presiding officer will request that a spokesperson be chosen by the group to address the Council. Spokespersons who are representing a group of five or more people who are present in the Council chambers will be allowed ten minutes and will to the extent practical be called upon ahead of individual speakers. 2) Quasi-Judicial Hearings. In the case of a quasi-judicial hearing, applicants and appellants shall be given ten minutes for their opening presentation and three minutes for rebuttal before tl-ie hearing is closed. In the event a request is made and the need for additional time is clearly established, the presiding officer shall independently, or may upon advice of the city attorney, grant sufficient additional time to allow an adequate presentation by the applicant or appellant in a hearing required by law. 3) Addressing the Council after a Motion. Following the time for public input and once the matter is returned to the Council no person shall address the Council without, first I-3 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook securing the permission of the Council so to do, subject to approval of the City Attorney with respect to any hearing required by law. c) Decorum. The Palo Alto Municipal Code makes it unlawful for any person to: 1) Disrupt the conduct of a meeting; 2) Make threats against any person or against public order and security while in the Council chamber. 3) Use the Council Chambers during meetings for any purpose other than participation in or observation of City Council Meetings. Any Council Member may appeal the presiding officer’s decision on a. decorum violation to the full Council. Decorum violations are punishab.!e as a misdemeanor and may lead to a person being removed from the Council meeting." I-4 030105 sd10091409 City Council Procedures Handbook II.Council Meeting & Agenda Guidelines A. Policy. It is the policy of the Council to establish and follow a regular format for meeting agendas. 1. Purpose. The purpose of these guidelines is to facilitate the orderly and efficient conduct of Council business. This purpose recognizes the value of establishing a community understanding of meeting procedures so that broad public participation is encouraged. This purpose also recognizes that Council Members must have a common approach to the discussion and debate of City business so that meetings are both streamlined and thorough. 2. Summary of Guidelines. The City Council generally conducts four different kinds of meetings. These are Regular Meetings, Special Meetings, Study Sessions, and Closed Sessions. Regular tneetings are conducted at City Hall on the first three Monday nights of each month, except during the Council’s annual vacation. The meetings will begin at 7:00 p.m. Regular meeting agendas must be posted outside at the Downtown Library no later than 7:00 p.m. on the preceding Friday, but it is City policy to make every effort to complete and distribute the agenda and related reports by the preceding Thursday. Special meetings are "special" because the mayor or Council can call them on a minimum of 24 hours notice. Specia! meetings need not be held at City Hall, as long as the alternate location is within the City. The Council makes every effort to provide notice well in advance of 24 hours, especially when the special meeting is for the purpose of conducting a Study Session. Study Sessions are meetings during which the Council receives information about City business in an informal setting. The informal study session setting is intended to encourage in-depth presentations by City staff, and detailed questioning and brainstorming by Council. The Council may discuss the material freely without following formal rules of parliamentary procedure, staff may be directed to bring matters back for Council consideration at future meetings, but no action can be taken. During regular study sessions, public comments are received together with oral communications at the end of the session. During special study sessions, public comments will be heard at the end of any Council discussion, but oral communications will be consolidated with the oral communications section of the regular meeting, if one follows the study session. The Decorum rules still apply to the behavior of the Council and public. II-1 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook Closed Sessions can be part of regular or special meetings.. Closed sessions are the only kind of Council meeting that the public cannot attend. State law allows closed sessions to discuss pending litigation, employment issues, real estate negotiations and certain other matters. Members of the public are permitted to make public comments on closed session matters. The Council must make a punic report after the session when certain kinds of actions are taken. These are guidelines, not rules. The Council intends that City staff and Council Members wil! follow these guidelines. However, these guidelines should not be used in a way that leads to inefficiency, unfairness, or the promotion of form over substance. State law establishes a variety of mandatory meeting rules the City must follow in order to assure open and public government, regardless of unusual situations and consequences. B. General Requirements. 1. Regular meetings. a) Attendance Required. Council Members, the City Clerk, City Attorney, and City Manager, along with any other city officers and department heads that have been requested to be present, shall take their regular stations in the Council chamber at 7:00 p.m. on the first, second and third Mondaysl..of each month, except during the established Council vacation.’" The Council expects its members to attend regularly and notify the City Clerk of any planned absences. The Council may levy fines of up to $250.00 against Council members who willfully or negligently fail to attend meetings,iv 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 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 II-2 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook 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; 2)Special orders of the day; 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 "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 heating 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 II-3 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook 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 5 Priority Workplan, among other SOLlrces. (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. II-4 030105 sd1009|409 City Council Procedures Handbook (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: (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 postagemachine 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. 11-5 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook (j) 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 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 heating requirements are not in effect. 6)Agenda changes, additions, and deletions; 7)Unfinished business; 8)Public hearings; 9)Reports of committees/commissions; 10)Ordinances and Resolutions; 11)Reports of officials; 12)Council matters; II-6 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook 13) 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 appropriate. Closed sessions may be scheduled during a regular or special Council meeting, but this is discouraged by Council. 16) Adjeurnment. 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 Manager’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 II-7 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook 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 members 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. calldd for other than regular meeting days should be scheduled by a majority of the Council present and voting at a regular meeting,vi Unlike regular meetings, there are no circumstances that permit the City Council to add new items to a special meeting agenda or notice. 31 Study Sessions. Stgdy sessions are meetings during which the Council receives information about City business in an informal setting. a) Time. Special study sessions will be held as needed. b) Oral Communications and Public Comments. Oral communications and public comments will be listed together on the agenda and heard at the end of the study session. If a meeting follows the study session, public comments will be heard at the end of any Council discussion, but oral communications will be consolidated with the ora! communications section of the following meeting. c) No Formal Rules. Study sessions are intended to be conducive to in-depth factual presentations by City staff and detailed questioning and brainstorming by Council. The Council may discuss the material freely without following formal rules of parliamentary procedure. However, the general rules of decorum apply. d) No Final Action. Staff may be directed to bring matters back for Council consideration at future meetings, but no final action can be taken. II-8 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook 4. Closed Sessions. Closed sessions are the only kind of Council meeting that the public cannot observe. State law allows closed sessions to discuss pending litigation, employment issues, real estate negotiations and certain other matters. To the greatest extent possible, the City Attorney and City Clerk shall use standardized agenda descriptions that are consistent with Government Code section 54954.5. a) Announcements before Closed Sessions. The mayor shall announce the item or items to be considered in closed session by reference to the appropriate agenda number or letter, or in an alternate form that shall be provided by the City Attorney. b) Public Comments. Members of the public are permitted to make public comments on closed session matters. The City Clerk shall be present in the open session to record Council attendance and any statements made during oral communications or by the Council. c) Attendance. The City Manager and City Attorney, or their designees, shall attend closed sessions unless it is necessary to excuse them. Only such additional staff shall attend as are necessary and then only if the legal privileges of confidentiality obtained in an executive session are not waived. d) Public Reports. State Law and a Palo Alto initiative require the Council to make a public re.port after a closed session when certain kinds of actions are taken,v" Reports from closed sessions shall be made by the Mayor, the Vice Mayor in the Mayor’s absence, or such other City representative as designated by the Council or its committees. Such designated person is the only individual authorized to make public statements concerning the closed session. It is the policy of the City Council to inform the public of action ¯ taken in closed session to the greatest extent possible. It is recognized, however, that the need for confidentiality is inherent in closed sessions and that certain matters if revealed may be a detriment to the results desired. The Council shall publicly report: (a) any decision to appoint, employ, or dismiss a public employee and the roll call vote thereon at its next public meeting, (b) actions related to litigation and the roll call vote on such actions, unless the report would, in the written opinion of the City Attorney for specifically stated reasons, clearly jeopardize the city’s ability to effectuate service of process on one or more unserved parties or impair the city’s ability to resolve the matter through negotiation, mediation or other form of settlement. Notwithstanding the City II-9 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook Attorney’s written opinion, the Council may under any circumstance, by majority vote, determine that it is in the-City’s best interests to disclose actions taken in closed session related to litigation. The public report shall be given as soon as possible, but no later than the next regular meeting, and shall include the vote or abstention of every member present. The City Attorney’s written opinion shall be made public, along with any action taken and any vote thereon, as soon as any litigation is concluded. The City Attorney shall record any action and vote upon such forms as the City Attorney may deem desirable. e) No Minutes. No minutes of closed sessions shall be kept. The City Attorney shall record the information necessary to comply with state law and the Palo Alto initiative. f) Confidentiality. No person in attendance at a closed session may disclose the substance or effect of any matter discussed during the session,viii "’000"" II-10 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook III.Motions, Debate & Voting A. Policy. I~ is the policy of the Council to follow simplified roles of parliamentary procedure for motions, debate and voting. These rules focus on the types of motions the Council can debate and when those motions are properly used. 1. Purpose. The purpose of these rules to facilitate orderly and thorough discussion and debate of Council business. These rules shall not be applied or used to create strategic advantage or unjust results. 2. Summary of Rules.. Palo Alto does not follow Roberts Rules of Order. See the Summary Table below. B. Motions. A motion is a formal proposal by a Council Member asking that the Council take a specified action. A motion must receive a second before the Council can consider a matter. Matters returning to the Council with unanimous approval from a standing committee will be introduced without a motion if directed by the committee. 1. Types of motions. There are two kinds of motions. These are the ’°main" motion and any secondary motions. Only one main motion can be considered at a time. 2. Procedure. a) Get the Floor. A Council Member must receive the permission of the Mayor (or other presiding officer) before making a motion. b) State the Motion. A motion is made by a Council Member (the "maker") stating his or her proposal. Longer proposals can be written and may be in the form of a resolution. c) Second Required. Any other Council Member (including the presiding officer) who supports the proposal (or who simply wishes it to be considered) may "second" the motion without first being recognized. A motion to raise a question of personal privilege does not require a second. d) Motion Restated. The Mayor should restate the motion for the record, particularly if it is long or complex. III- 1 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook e) Lack of a Second. If there is no second stated immediately, the Mayor should ask whether there is a second. If no Council Member seconds the motion the matter will not be considered. f) Discussion. The maker shall be the first Council Member recognized to speak on the motion if it receives a second. Generally Council Members will speak only once with respect to a motion. If the Mayor or Council permits any Council Member to speak more than once on a motion, all Council Members shall receive the same privilege. g) Secondary Motions. Secondary motions may be made by a Council Member upon getting the floor. h) Action. After discussion is complete the Council will vote on the motion under consideration. 3. Precedence of Motions. When a motion is before the Council, no new main motion shall be entertained. The Council recognizes the following secondary motions which may be considered while a main motion is pending. These motions shall have precedence in the order listed below. This means: that a secondary motion that is higher on the list wil! be considered ahead of a pending secondary motion that is lower on the list: a) Fix the time to which to adjourn; b) Adjourn; c) Take a recess; d) Raise a question of privilege; e) Lay on the table; f) Previous question (close debate); g) Limit or extend limits of debate; h) Motion to continue to a certain time; i) Refer to committee; j) Amend or substitute; 4. Secondary Motions Defined. The purpose of the allowed secondary motions is summarized in the following text and table. a) Fix the time to which to adjourn. This motion sets a time for continuation of the meeting. It requires a second, is amendable and is debatable only as to the time to which the meeting is adjourned. III-2 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook b) Adjourn. This motion ends the meeting or adjourns it to another time. It requires a second and is not debatable except to set the time to which the meeting is adjourned, if applicable. A motion to adjourn shall be in order at any time, except as follows: (a) when repeated without intervening business or discussion; (b) when made as an interruption of a member while speaking; (c) when the previous question has been ordered; and (d) while a vote is being taken. c) Take a recess. This motion interrupts the meeting temporarily. It is amendable, but is not debatable. d) Raise a question of personal privilege. This motion allows a Council Member to address the Council on a question of personal privilege and shall be limited to cases in which the Council Member’s integrity, character or motives are questioned, or when the welfare of the Council is concerned. The maker of the motion may interrupt another speaker if the presiding officer recognizes the "privilege." The motion does not require a second, is not amendable and is not debatable. e) Lay on the table. This motion is used to interrupt business for more urgent business. A motion to lay on the table requires a second, is not amendable and is not debatable. It shall preclude all amendments or debate of the subject under consideration. If the motion prevails, and the subject is tabled, the matter must be reagendized in the future if further consideration is to be given to the matter. f) Previous question. This motion "calls the question" by closing debate on the pending motion. A motion for previous question requires a second, is not debatable and is not amendable. It applies to all previous motions on the subject unless otherwise specified by the maker of the motion. If motion for previous question fails, debate is reopened; if motion for previous question passes, then vote on the pending motion. A motion for previous question requires a two-thirds vote of those Council Members present and voting. g) Limit or extend debate. This motion limits or extends the time for the Council or any Council Member to debate a motion. It requires a second, is amendable and is not debatable. The motion requires a two-thirds vote of those Council Members present and voting. III-3 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook h) Continue to a certain time. This motion continues a matter to another, specified time. It requires a second, is amendable and is debatable as to propriety of postponement and time set. i) Refer to a city agency, body, committee, board, commission or officer. This motion sends a subject to another city agency, body, committee, board, commission or officer for further study and report back to Council, at which time subject is fully debated. It requires a second, is amendable, and is debatable only as to the propriety of referring. The substance of the subject being referred shall not be discussed at the time the motion to refer is made. j) Amend or substitute. This motion changes or reverses the main motion. It requires a second, is amendable, and is debatable only when the motion to which it applies is debatable. A motion to amend an amendment is in order, but one to amend an amendment to an amendment is not. An amendment modifying a motion is in order. but an amendment raising an independent question or one that is not germane to the main motion shall not be in order. Amendments take precedence over the main motion and the motion to postpone indefinitely. III-4 030105 sdl 0091409 0 © X X X x X X X X X XX X X x O,e~OE X X X X C ~ co D City Council Procedures Handbook C. Debate and Voting. 1. Presiding officer to state motion. The presiding officer shall assure that all motions are clearly stated before allowing debate to begin. The presiding officer may restate the motion or may direct the City Clerk to restate the motion before allowing debate to begin. The presiding officer shall restate the motion or direct the City Clerk to restate the motion prior to voting. 2. Presiding officer may debate and vote. The presiding officer may move, second and debate from the chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all Council Members. The presiding officer shall not be deprived of any of the fights and privileges of a Council Member. 3. Division of question. If the question contains two or more divisible propositions, each of which is capable of standing as a complete proposition if the others are removed, the presiding officer may, and upon request of a member shall, divide the same. The presiding officer’s determination shall be appealable by any Council Member. 4. Withdrawal of motion. A motion may not be withdrawn by the maker without the consent of the Council Member seconding it. 5. Change of vote. Council Members may change their votes before the next item on the agenda is called. 6. Voting. On the passage of every motion, the vote shall be taken by voice or roll call or electronic voting device and entered in full upon the record. 7. Silence constitutes affirmative vote. Council Members who are silent during a voice vote shall have their vote recorded as an affirmative vote, except when individual Council Members have stated in advance that they will not be voting. 8. Failure to vote. It is the responsibility of every Council Member to vote unless disqualified for cause accepted by the Council or by opinion of the City Attorney. No Council Member can be compelled to vote. 9. Abstaining from vote. The abstainer chooses not to vote and, in effect, "consents" that a majority of the quorum of the Council Members present may act for him or her. III-6 030105 sd10091409 City Council Procedures Handbook i0. Not. participating. A Council Member who disqualifies.him or herself pursuant to the Political Reform Act of 1974 because of any financial interest shall disclose the nature of the conflict and may not participate in the discussion or the vote. A Council Member may otherwise, disqualify him or herself due to personal bias or the appearance of impropriety. 11. Tie votes. Tie votes may be reconsidered during the time permitted by these rules on motion by any member of the Council ~oting aye or nay during the original vote. Before a motion is made on the next item on the agenda, any member of the Council may make a motion to continue the matter to another date. Any continuance hereunder shall suspend the running of any time in which action of the City Council is required by law. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any Council Member from agendizing a matter that resulted in a tie vote for a subsequent meeting. 12. Motion to reconsider. A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Council may be made only during the meeting or adjourned meeting thereof wheh the action was taken. A motion to reconsider requires a second, is debatable and is not amendable. The motion must be made by one of the prevailing side, but may be seconded by any Council Member. A motion to reconsider may be made at any time and shall have precedence over all other mcitions, or while a Council Member has the floor, providing that no vested rights are impaired. The purpose of reconsideration is to bring back the matter for review. If a motion to reconsider fails, it may not itself be reconsidered. Reconsideration may not be moved more than once on the same motion. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any Council Member from making a motion to rescind such action at a subsequent meeting of the Council. 13. Appeal from the decision of presiding officer. When the rules are silent, the presiding officer shall decide all questions of order, subject to appeal by a Council Member. When in doubt, the presiding officer may submit the question to the Council, in which case a majority vote shall prevail. Any decision or ruling of the presiding officer may be appealed by request of any member. The presiding officer shall call for a roll call or electronic voting device vote to determine if the presiding officer’s ruling shall be upheld. If said vote passes or results in a tie vote, the presiding officer’s ruling shall stand. If said vote fails, the decision or ruling of the presiding officer is reversed. 14. Getting the floor; improper references to be avoided. Every Council Member desiring to speak shall address the chair and, upon recognition by the presiding officer, every Council Member shall be confined to the III-7 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook question under debate, avoiding all indecorous language and personal attacks. 15. Interruptions. Except for being called to order, a Council Member once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking, except as otherwise provided for in these rules. A Council Member called to order while speaking shall cease speaking until the question or order is determined, and, if in order, said Council Member shall be permitted to proceed. "’000"" III-8 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook IV.Quasi-Judicial Hearings A. Policy. It is the policy of the Council to assure that the due process rights of all persons are protected during City hearings. A "quasi-judicial" hearing is a hearing that requires a higher level of procedural due process because of the potential impact on life, liberty or property. Usually, quasi-judicial.hearings involve a single parcel of land and apply facts and evidence in the context of existing law. Findings must be stated to explain the evidentiary basis for the Council’s decision. 1. Purpose. These rules are intended to assure that City Council decision making on quasi-judicial matters is based upon facts and evidence known to all parties. B. General Requirements. 1. Quasi-Judicial Proceedings Defined. Quasi-judicial proceedings subject to these procedural rules include hearings involving the following matters: a) Conditional Use Permits b) Variances c) Home Improvement Exceptions d) Design Enhancement Exceptions e) Subdivisions, other than final map approvals f) Architectural Review g) Assessment protest hearings h) Other matters as determined by the City Attorney i) Appeals related to any of the above j) Environmental Review relating to any of the above 2. Restrictions on Council Communications Outside of Quasi-Judicial Hearings. It is the policy of the Council to discourage the gathering and submission of information outside of any required hearing when such :information will impair the Council’s impartiality on a quasi-judicial decision. The following procedural guidelines are intended to implement this policy, but shall not be construed to create any remedy or right of action. a) Identification of Quasi-Judicial Matters. The City Attorney, in conjunction with the City Clerk and City Manager, will identify agenda items involving quasi-judicial decisions on both the tentative and regular Council agendas. This identification is intended to IV-1 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook inform the Council, interested parties, and the public that this policy will apply to the item. b) Council to Track Contacts. Council Members will use their best efforts to track contacts pertaining to such identified quasi-judicial decision items. Contacts include conversations, meetings, site visits, mailings, or presentations during which substantial factual information about the item is gathered by or submitted to the Council Member. c) Disclosure. When the item is presented to the Council for heating, Council Members will disclose any contacts which have significantly influenced their preliminary views or opinions about the item. The disclosure may be oral or written, and should explain the substance of the contact so that other Council Members, interested parties, and the public will have an opportunity to become apprised of the factors influencing the Council’s decision and to attempt to. controvert or rebut any such factor during the hearing. Disclosure alone will not be deemed sufficient basis for a request to continue the item. A contact or the disclosure of a contact shall not be deemed grounds for disqualification of a Council Member from participation in a quasi-judi.cial decision unless the Council Member determines that the nature of the contact is such that it is not possible for the Council Member to reach an impartial decision on the item. d) No Contacts after Hearings. Following closure of the hearing, and prior to a final decision, Council Members will refrain from any contacts pertaining to the item, other than clarifying questions directed to City staff. 3. Written Findings Required. On any matter for which state law or City ordinance requires the preparation of written findings, the staff report and other materials submitted on the matter will contain findings proposed for adoption by the Counci!. Any motion directly or impliedly rejecting the proposed findings must include a statement of alternative or modified findings or a direction that the matter under consideration be continued for a reasonable period of time in order for staff to prepare a new set of proposed findings consistent with the evidence which has been presented and the decision which is anticipated. 4. Rules of Evidence. Council hearings need not be conducted according to formal rules of evidence. Any relevant evidence may be considered if it is the sort of evidence upon which responsible persons rely in the conduct of IV-2 030105 sd10091409 City Council Procedures Handbook serious affairs. The presiding officer may exclude irrelevant or redundant testimony and may make such other rulings as may be necessary for the orderly conduct of the proceedings while ensuring basic fairness and full consideration of the issues involved. Evidentiary objections shall be deemed waived unless made in a timely fashion before the Council. 5. Burden of Proof. The applicant and appellant shall bear the burden of proof on all aspects of the action or relief they seek. The person with the burden of proof must offer evidence to the Council to support his or her position. 6. Council Members Who are Absent During Part of a Hearing. A Council Member who is absent from any portion of a hearing conducted by the Council may vote on the matter provided that he or she has watched or listened to a video or radio broadcast, or video or audio recording, of the entire portion of the hearing from which he or she was absent and if she or he has examined all of the exhibits presented during the portion of the. hearing from which he or she was absent and states for the record before voting that the Council Member deems himself or herself to be as familiar with the record and with the evidence presented at the hearing as he or she would have been had he or she personally attended the entire hearing. 7. Appeals. Appeals to the Council shall be conducted de novo, meaning that new evidence and arguments may be presented and considered. All matters in the record before any other City board, commission or official shall be part of the record before the Council. IV-3 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook V=Standing Committees A. Policy. It is the policy of the Council to use standing committees in open and public meetings to study City business in geater depth than what is possible in the time allotted for Council meetings. 1. Purpose. These rules are intended to enhance public participation and committee meetings so that the best possible decisions can be made for Palo Alto. B. General Requirements. Council standing committees shall be subject to the following procedural rules. 1. Quorum. A majority of the committee membership shall constitute a quorum. 2. Referrals. Only the Council or City Manager shall make referrals to the standing committees. Referrals will generally-be directed to only one of the standing committees. Items may be withdrawn from the committee and taken up for consideration by the Council at any Council meeting with the consent of a majority of the Council, and subject to any applicable noticing or agenda posting requirements. Council members who submit matters to the Council which are referred to a standing committee may appear before the standing committee to which the referral has been made in order to speak as proponents of the matter. Standing committee meetings during which such referrals may be considered shall be noticed as Council meetings for the purpose of enabling the standing committee to discuss and consider the matter with a quorum of the Council present. 3. Function of committees. The purpose and intent of committee meetings is to provide for more thorough and detailed discussion and study of prospective or current Council agenda items with a full and complete airing of all sentiments and expressions of opinion on city problems by both the Council and the public, to the end that Council action will be expedited. Actions of the committee shall be advisory recommendations only. 4. Minutes. The City Clerk shall be responsible for the preparation and distribution to the Council of the minutes of standing committee meetings. The minutes need not be verbatim but shall reflect the sense of the discussion and any recommendation made with respect to each subject considered in committee. The minutes shall.be delivered to all Council Members before V-! 030105 sdl 0091409 City Council Procedures Handbook the Council meeting at which the committee’s recommendations are to be discussed. 5. Report of committee. The minutes of each committee meeting shall serve, as the report to the Council. Any member may write a separate report. 6. Agenda. The chairperson of each standing committee shall prepare the agenda for committee meetings, the sequence of study being, within reasonable limits of practicality, the same as the sequence of referral. 7. Public Participation. Public comment on agenda items will be limited to a maximum of five minutes per speaker, or any alternate time limit specified by the presiding officer. 8. Conduct of standing committee meetings. The chairperson of each committee may conduct meetings with as much informality as is consistent with Council procedural roles, which shall also be in effect during committee meetings. The views of interested private citizens may be heard in committee meetings, but in no case shall a committee meeting be used as a substitute for public hearings required by law. 9. Oral Communications. Opportunities for oral communications shal! be provided in the same manner as Council meetings. "’000"" i Palo Alto Municipal Code, § 2.04.080(b) . ii Palo Alto Municipal Code, § 2.04.120(c); ii~ Palo Alto Municipal Code, § 2.04.010(b). iv Palo Alto Municipal Code, § 2.04.050(a). v Palo Alto Municipal Code, § 2.04.070(c) vi Palo Alto Municipal Code, § 2.04.020. vii Palo Alto Municipal Code, § 2.04.030. viii Palo Alto Municipal Code, § 2.04.040. 2.04.150(b) V-2 030105 sdl 0091409 POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR CITY COUNCIL E MAILS FOR AGENDA-RELATED ITEMS Polic,£ The Council-adopted protocols provide a framework for the policy on e mail communications between Council Members and staff on agenda-related items, including the following: In order to facilitate open government, all Council Members should make decisions with the same information from staff on agendized or soon-to-be agendized items (i.e. items on the tentative agenda or in a Council Committee). Submit questions on Council agenda items ahead of the meeting. In order to focus the Council meetings on consideration of policy issues and to maintain an open forum for public discussion, questions which focus on the policy aspects of agenda items should be discussed at the Council meeting rather than in on-on-one communications with staff prior to the meetings. Any clarifications or technical questions that can be readily answered can be handled before the meeting. Council Members are encouraged to submit their questions on agenda items to the appropriate Council Appointed Officer or Assistant City Manager as far in advance of the meeting as possible so that staff can be prepared to respond at the Council meeting. In its settlement agreement with the San Jose Mercury News of February 2003, the City Council agreed to consider a policy under which the Council would waive any deliberative or other privilege, other than attorney-client privilege, that it might assert with regards to e mails on agendized items. This policy and procedure implements that agreement. The Council, in adopting this policy, does not waive attorney-client- privilege or any other privilege associated with a closed session authorized under the Brown Act. Procedure ¯Council Members should direct any questions on City Manager Reports (CMRs) to the Assistant City Manager. Questions on reports from the City Auditor, City Attorney or City Clerk should be directed to the appropriate Council Appointed Officer. Council Members should not direct any questions on agenda items to other members of the City Manager’s staff or the staff of the other Council Appointed Officers. ¯Council Members will submit questions on agenda items no later than 9 a.m. on the Monday of the Council meeting at which the item will be discussed. Any questions received after that time may be responded to via e mail or, alternatively, will be responded to at the Council meeting. ¯Staff will not engage in "dialogues" with individual Council Members regarding questions, i.e. follow-up questions to initial questions will be responded to at the Council meeting. ¯Staff will respond prior to the Council meeting via e mail only on items on the Consent Calendar. Questions which address the policy aspects of the item on the Council agenda will not be responded to prior to the meeting,, although staff welcomes such questions in advance of the meeting in order to prepare for the Council and public discussion. Clarifying questions on items not on the Consent Calendar will also be responded to if they require a minimal amount of staff time. ¯If the staff will be responding to a Council Member’s Consent Calendar question at the meeting rather than responding the questions via e mail, staff will inform the Council Member as early as possible after receipt of the question(s). ¯Questions and all staff-prepared responses will be forwarded to all Council Members as well as put up on the special web page created for public review of Council agenda questions and staff responses. Staff will include the name of the Council Member posing the questions in the "subject" field of the e mail response. ¯Written copies of all Council Member agenda questions and staff responses will be at Council places at the meeting; additional copies will be made available in the Council chambers for members of the public. ATTN: FROM: Attachment 3 Cityof Palo Alto City Manager’s Report. POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE DATE:JUNE 20, 2000 CMR: 289:00. SUBJECT:COUNCIL-APPOINTED BOARD AND COMMISSION COMMUNICATION, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES REPORT IN BRIEF Council-appointed boards and commissions provide special expertise, an in-depth review of issues and an increased level of community participation on topics within their scope. Through their deliberations and recommendations, these Council advisory bodies make a significant contribution to the effective operation of the City in its service to the public. At its May 15, 2000 retreat, Council discussed the general role of the City’s boards and commissions and expressed the desire to improve liaison relationships and communication between the boards and commissions and the Council. Staff was asked to bring a discussion regarding this issue to the Policy and Services Committee. The City Manager’s Office convened the staff liaisons of the boards and commissions to discuss the current methods of communication and to develop .recommendations to improve the flow of information. The ideas and recommendations generated by staff and by the Council during the May retreat are summarized in the staff report and include: a strengthening of the role of staff liaisons; the establishment of a board and commission priority-setting process; clarification of the role of Council liaisons; and the use of Summary sense minutes for board and commission meetings. The Policy and Services Committee is being asked to provide input to these steps to improve communication and transmit its recommendations to the Council. CMR:289:00 Page 1 of 6 RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Policy and Services Committee provide input on ways to improve liaison relationships and communication between the boards and commissions and the Council as outlined in this staff report, including a strengthening of the role of .staff liaisons, the establishment of a board and commission priority-setting process, clarification of the role of Council liaisons, and the use of summary sense minutes for board and commission meetings; and make recommendations to Council. BACKGROUND The City has established seven Council-appointed boards and commissions to advise the Council on a range of important topics. These advisory bodies are the: Architectural Review Board, Historic Resources Board, Human Relations Commission, Library Advisory Commission, Parksand Recreation Commission, Planning/Transportation Commission, Public Art Commission and Utilities Advisory Commission. The purposes and procedures governing these boards and commissions are established in the Palo Alto Municipal .Code. Since the Planning/Transportation Commission, Architectural Review Board and Historic Resources Board make quasi-judicial findings and recommendations on land use projects, their duties are prescribed in more detail in the Municipal Code. At its May 15, 2000 retreat, Council discussed the general role of the City’s boards and commissions and expressed the desire to improve liaison relationships and communication between the boards and commissions and the Council. Staff was asked to bring a discussion and recommendations regarding this issue to the Policy and Services Committee. This staff report transmits these recommendations as part of the implementation of the City’s larger streamlining initiative. DISCUSSION The Council relies on boards and commissions to provide special expertise, an in-depth review of issues and an increased level of community participation on topics within their scope. Through their deliberations and recommendations, boards and commissions make a significant contribution to the effective operation of the.City in its .service to the public. In order to maximize this contribution, it is important that a strong, two-way communication link exists between the Council and its advisory bodies. It can be difficult for boards and commissions to develop-successful recommendations if they are not aware of key policy or budget parameters that impact the assignments they receive from Council. Likewise, it can be difficult for the Council to provide its advisory bodies with direction and support if it is not sufficiently informed regarding the critical issues being addressed by the boards and commissions. Thus, two-way communication can CMR:289:00 Page 2 of 6 ensure that boards and commissions understand. Council’s expectations, Council understands board and commission perspectives and needs, and both are aware of and have the opportunity to provide input into each others’ priorities. There are currently several methods of communication between the Council and boards and commissions. These methods include: reports by boards and commissions at Council meetings; the inclusion of board and commission agendas and minutes in the Council’s packet; Council retreats or study sessions with boards and commissions; attendance by Council liaisons at board and commission meetings; informal meetings between the Council liaison and the board and commission chair and!or members; and transmission of information through the staff liaison. The City Manager’s Office convened the staff liaisons of the boards and commissions in a series of meetings to discuss the current methods of communication ant] to develop recommendations to improve the flow of information. The ideas generated through these meetings and during the May Council retreat are summarized below. Staff Liaisons Each board and commission has a staff liaison. The duties of staff liaisons vary and may include: assisting in setting agendas and preparing minutes; preparing staff reports; providing orientation to new members; and coordinating contact with other City staff or - advisory bodies as necessary. In addition, staff liaisons have a critical role in facilitating communication between the board or commission and the City Manager and/or the City Council. Staff recommends that this role be strengthened and made more explicit. Specifically: When necessary, staff liaisons will be responsible for providing boards and commissions with facilitation to define the scope of Council assignments or referrals. Staff liaisons will prepare staff reports summarizing the policy questions, options and recommendations identified by the advisory bodies for Council response. Such reports might be developed at the outset of, and perhaps at key points in, the course of board or commission work on a Council assignment to ensure that the expectations of the Council and the boards and commissions are aligned, In addition, staff liaisons will be responsible for transmitting issues and recommendations identified by the boards and commissions that may require City Manager or Council attention and working with department heads to keep the City Manager informed. ¯The City Manager will keep the Council informed through his weekly memo. For those issues that can be addressed within existing policy and budget parameters, the City Manager will direct staff to work with the board and commission accordingly. The City Manager will agendize policy issues that require Council action. CMR:289:00 Page 3 of 6 Board and Commission Priority-Setting The priorities and work plans of boards, and commissions are set in a variety of ways. Many boards and commissions go through an annual priority-setting process in which the goals for the year are outlined. Such a process provides an excellent opportunity for communication between the Council and its advisory bodies to ensure that goals and priorities are aligned. Consequently, the t)ollowing steps are recommended: Staff liaisons will engage boards and commissions in an annual priority-setting process. Board and commission priorities will be linked to the department’s priorities .and work plan. ¯Board and commission priorities will be transmitted to Council to be reviewed, revised, affirmed and incorporated into the Council’s development of budget priorities. Council Liaisons Each board and commission (with the exception of the Planning/Transportation Commission and Architectural Review Board) has a Council Member. as a liaison. Council liaisons are seen by boards and commissions as a valuable link to the Council. Because of their broad perspective on issues, understanding of City processes and experience in promoting effective meetings and colleague relationships, Council liaisons are an important resource to boards and commissions. The manner of communication between a Council liaison and a particular board or commission varies from regular attendance at board and commission meetings to relatively informal contact between the Council liaison and board or commission chair person-. Given the multiple commitments and busy schedules of many Council Members, it is not always possible for them to attend board and commission meetings on a regular basis. In addition, there are issues to be considered regarding the role of Council liaisons at board and commission meetings. Since individual Council Members cannot speak for the Council as a whole, Council liaisons may be reluctant to provide guidance on board and commission agenda items. Furthermore, at its May retreat, Council expressed that the current expectation that Council liaisons play an advisory role is "circular" and inconsistent with the function of the boards and commissions as advisors to the Council. The following steps are recommended to strengthen and clarify the Council liaison!board and commission relationship: ¯Council liaisons will attend a minimum of one meeting of the board or commission to which they are assigned. It is anticipated that Council liaison attendance may increase when a board or commission is undertaking a major initiative. ¯Board and commission chairs will be responsible to be proactive and contact their Council liaison when they feel input would be helpful. CMR:289:00 Page 4 of 6 Council liaisons and board and commission chairs will be encouraged to work together to develop a method and schedule for informal communication to facilitate the ongoing, two-way flow of information. Board and Commission Meeting Minutes Minutes are prepared for all board and commission meetings and are placed in the Council packet. These minutes take a variety of formats and are of a variety of lengths, depending in large part on the degree to which the discourse in the meeting is summarized. It has been noted that the length and organization of minutes may not be conducive to a clear communication of the key points discussed and actions taken at board and commission meetings. In addition, minutes that attempt to capture the flow of Conversation rather than summarize the critical points require extensive staff time or contract resources in order to review, and transcribe meeting tapes.._ The following changes have therefore been instituted by the City Manager so that minutes can be a more effective tool for the boards and commissions to communicate critical issues to the Council: ¯ As of July 1, 2000, staff liaisons to boards and commissions will begin preparing summary sense minutes which will summarize the major issues discussed (bullet points are acceptable) and articulate motions on action items. ¯Staff liaisons to non-land use boards and commissions are to limitthe minutes to two pages, if at all possible. (It is acknowledged that longer meetings with more agenda items may require an additional page or pages.) ¯Staff liaisons to landuse boards and commissions may use discretion to prepare more detailed sense minutes when it is necessary to establish a record to inform applicant and staff follow-up in the entitlement process. ¯Board and commission members will be encouraged to write down the motions they make and to correct motions as necessary when minutes are adopted. ¯Minutes are to be generated by staff from notes taken at the meeting. Review and transcription of video or audiotape should not be necessary. Of course, tape can be consulted if needed. Videotapes will be retained as appropriate to serve as the verbatim record. RESOURCE IMPACT Staff time and $43,000 in contract resources will be saved by the transition to summary ~sense minutes. POLICY IMPLICATIONS This staff report does not establish new policy. It clarifies the roles and responsibilities related to Council advisory bodies and strengthens communication between the boards and commissions and the Council. This is consistent with policy in the Comprehensive CMR:289:00 Page 5 of 6 Plan to enhance the-use of advisory bodies to assist City staff and the City Council on policy issues. TIMELINE The procedures described in this staffreportwill be put in place in Summer 2000. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The recommended action in this staff report is not a project under Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Environmental assessment is not rec the California uired. PREPARED BY: CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: Audrey Seymour, Senior Executive Assistant Assistant City Manager CMR:289:00 Page 6 of 6 Special Meeting Tuesday, June 20, 2000 o ADJOURNMENT: Oral Communications .....................................2 Policy to Substantially Reduce Mercury and Dioxin Releases to the Environment ......................................... 2 Council-Appointed Board and Commission Communication, Roles, and Responsibilities .................................... 4 Discussion for Future Meeting Schedules and Agendas .....28 The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m ..............28 06/20/00 P&S: 1 Chairperson Beecham called the meeting to order at 7:20 p.m. in the Council Conference Room, 250 Hamilton Avenue,Palo Alto, California. Present:Beecham, Burch, Kleinberg Absent:Fazzino i.Oral Communications None. o Policy to Substantially Reduce Mercury and Dioxin Releases to the Environment Chairperson Beecham said the policy to substantially reduce mercury and dioxins were altered slightly since it was reduced by the Policy & Services (P&S). Public Works Director Glenn Roberts said the changes were not substantive, emphasizing pollution prevention at the source as much or more than end-of-pipe treatment. The policy intent was not changed. Council Member Kleinberg was in favor of reducing the dioxin level while being mindful of recent reports about companies threatening to sue because of efforts by the State to reduce emission levels for gasoline, for example. The staff recommendation, which was supportive of small businesses and had a careful timeline, was the way the City should proceed. The City was not doing anything to jeopardize businesses, but would encourage protection of the environment. Council Member Burch asked about the sentence on page 8 of the letter from Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) dated March I, 2000 which said, "Elected officials from Oakland and Contra Costa County have asked the Regional Water Board for steps toward zero dioxin at oil refineries, but at a February 16, 2000, hearing Palo Alto staff joined this debate on the industry’s side, saying that requirements to eliminate dioxins should wait for more studies in the overall pollution." Mr. Roberts said the issue for Palo Alto centered on the Water Quality Control Plant (WQCP), which used the incinerators to burn sewage into ash rather than using the landfill, like San Jose and 06/20/00 PSu~: 2 Santa Clara. The tradeoff design issue at the time the WQCP was conceptualized in the late 1960s was the benefit of preserving the baylands and surrounding area. However, incinerators contained traces of dioxin. Staff was using scrubbers as the best technology with advanced to reduce incinerator output, but dioxins would never be reduced to zero. The issue really was one of chlorine; burning chlorine produced dioxins and chlorine was found in sewage from bleach and detergent. The City probably got rid of more dioxin than was produced, and incineration was the only method that was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for getting rid of dioxin. Trace dioxins were still found in the gases from the WQCP, which was an issue Palo Alto faced just like other industries. From that perspective, staff asked for further study consideration of the issues based on the fact Palo Alto was destroying more dioxins than it was creating. Environmental Compliance Manager Phil Bobel said the letter quoted a water hearing for a local refinery. He had personally testified on behalf of the Statewide Association of Treatment Plants. The issue was the level of any pollutant or dioxin. City staff’s argument was that the level should be set to avoid violations due to the fact there were variations in the data. City staff agreed with industry that limits should be set, but the limits should keep in mind the variation of data and not be set at a level where violations would occur with some frequency. Council Member Burch said the industry was always making a case for further studies and he was surprised to see Palo Alto coming down on that side of an issue. Mr. Roberts said the context was significant because concerning many of the other examples, like leaded gasoline or nicotine, industry had taken the position of not even acknowledging a problem but wanting to study whether or not it was a problem. That was not Palo Alto’s position. Council Member Burch thought Palo Alto was always in the forefront of trying to get rid of anything that was harmful. Mr. Bobel said Palo Alto was the third city in the Bay Area to have such a policy. All of the regulatory agencies would probably credit Palo Alto with doing far more than most local governments on dioxin or mercury. City staff had not said more study was needed before action should be taken on dioxin or mercury. Chairperson Beecham clarified staff’s view on the incinerator was that it was the best possible technology. 06/20/00 P8~S: 3 Mr. Roberts said yes. Council Member Kleinberg said the policy was reworked in order to clarify the goa! of the City to completely eliminate dioxins, asking whether staff was saying dioxins could never completely be eliminated. Mr. Roberts said the precursor sources were beyond the City’s control. The long-range goals for the WQCP, which included exploration of the potential for switching fromchlorine disinfection to ultraviolet or ozone or other sources. Chairperson Beecham asked whether the goal would affect dioxin production. Mr. Roberts said to the extent chlorine was removed from the WQCP process and there was less residual chlorine in the sludge, then there would be less dioxin produced by burning. The tributary sources to the WQCP still brought chlorine by means of bleach and detergents, which would still exist. Mr. Bobel said there was no guarantee. The literature suggested that even if the use of chlorine was eliminated, it might not affect the dioxin level the incinerator produced because there was so much other chlorine and chloride. Council Member Burch asked whether the CBE had a good reputation of looking out for the environment. Mr. Bobel said the CBE had a good reputation for looking out for the environment and also had a reputation of being very forcefu! about issues. Chairperson Beecham said the changes were minimal in the staff report (CMR:272:00), perhaps clarifying the appropriate policy. The backup in terms of actions and possible actions was a thorough list. MOTION: Chairperson Beecham moved, seconded by Kleinberg, that the Policy & Services Committee recommend City Council approval of the mercury and dioxin elimination policy as the first step towards achieving a long-term goal of eliminating mercury and dioxin releases to the environment. MOTION PASSED: 3-0. Fazzino absent. 3.Council-Appointed Board and Commission Communication, Roles, and Responsibilities 06/20/00 P&S:4 Senior Executive Assistant Audrey Seymour said the staff report (CMR:298:00) responded to the Council’s request for clarification and desire to improve the roles, relationships, and communication between the Council and its advisory bodies. Some administrative changes could be made by staff to improve communications, however, the Council’s relationships with the advisory bodies was something the Council should define. It was especially important for the non-land use boards and commissions, whose structure and process for communicating, bringing recommendations, and receiving direction from the Council, was not as clearly defined as it was for the Planning and Transportation Commission, Architectural Review Board (ARB), Historical Resources Board (HRB). Based on suggestions received during the Council retreat in May and input from the staff liaisons to the boards and commissions, staff developed a report putting together some recommendations for the Policy and Services (P&S) Committee’s reaction and ultimately for the Council’s approval. The key policy question staff wanted addressed in presenting the item before the P&S Committee was how to ensure that the work of the boards and commissions was aligned with the expectations of the Council and was within the parameters the Council set vis-a-vis the budget and policy. Staff identified some beliefs about what would be necessary. The first was to establish an annual board and commission priority setting process, timed in a way that would allow for input into the Council budget priority process. The second requirement was to communicate issues identified by boards and commissions that might require Council attention on an ongoing basis, not just when the board or commission was making a report to the Council. A process was also necessary by which the scope of Council assignments to boards and commissions were defined. Staff also identified the necessity of clarifying the role of Council liaisons as a resource to the boards and commissions, not necessarily as the Council’s representative in providing direction on Counci! assignments or as being the primary communication link, attending all meetings, for example. Because the staff liaison provided support to boards and commissions, they could help be a conduit of information between the Council and the advisory bodies. Many ideas were presented in the staff report; the recommendation was purposely open-ended because it was for the~ Council to discuss and define its desires for the relationship with the advisory bodies. Staff’s recommendations were summarized and included in a handout on Board and Commission Communication, Roles and Responsibilities. Staff’s recommendation was that the P&S Committee direct staff to i) work with boards and commissions to develop an annual priority setting process to outline board and commission goals for the year and transmit the goals back to the Council for review and incorporation into the Council’s budget priorities, as appropriate; 2) work with boards and commissions to 06/20/00 P&S:5 transmit regularly through the City Manager issues identified by the boards and commissions; and 3) develop a process for clarifying the scope of Council assignments, as necessary. The second recommendation would approve the following guidelines regarding the role of Council liaisons: i) liaisons were encouraged to attend a minimum of one meeting of the board or commission to which they were assigned, or more meetings as necessary when the board or commission was undertaking a major initiative; 2) Council liaison boards and commission chairpersons were encouraged to work together to develop a method and schedule for ongoing and informal communications. Herb Borock, Post Office Box 632, spoke about the absence of any reference to minutes. To save $43,000 in the General Fund, the City Manager recommended changing the minutes. The public made great efforts to communicate their beliefs during meetings of boards and commissions and wanted their words more verbatim. The extent of sense minutes had changed, providing less information by decision of the Council. The written record was the official record, not a videotape. The boards and commissions had not been given the opportunity to respond to the staff report and, since it affected their relative roles, should be allowed. Chairperson Beecham asked staff to respond to Mr. Borock’s comments about the minutes. Assistant City Manager Emily Harrison said the $43,000 removed from the budget was for contract services to transcribe minutes and was a quarter of the actual expenditure of preparing the minutes because after being transcribed minutes, had to be edited by City staff. For that reason, summary sense minutes were seen as an important part of streamlining. Staff was well aware that having an adequate record was extremely important for the Planning Commission and other land use. Staff would be learning during the first year how detailed the sense minutes would need to be for the land-use commissions. The summary minutes were completely adequate for the non-land use commission minutes. Chairperson Beecham asked how much of the $43,000 was for the Planning Commission. Ms. Seymour said $40,000 of the $43,000 was for the Planning Commission. Ms. Harrison said the Utilities Advisory Commission (UAC) would also need to address the need for adequate records for a longer period of time while streamlining the minute preparation process. The final decision was not yet made.The UAC would not be treated 06/20/00 P&S:6 differently from the standpoint of having resources. The goal for the General Fund was to reallocate the resources to the Human Services contracts. Council Member Burch asked whether new technology was available to digitally record the audio so it could be kept for a longer period of time as a resource in a smaller space. Ms. Harrison said if the audio record was the primary record, they would not be kept for just 90 days, but much longer. There was a tradeoff between the retention period and the use as a permanent record. Staff was also considering annotating the visual tapes to allow easier search for a particular item. Council Member Burch said information on a CD would allow an instant search and recovery on certain keyboards. Technology was changing so rapidly, that hard copies could be produced automatically, if so desired. Ms. Harrison said the balance also involved keeping the records accessible to the public. Technology that was not accessible to the public was less desirable. Council Member Kleinberg asked whether staff had already planned to do the digital recording. Ms. Harrison said no; digital recording was just one of the options staff was examining. Council Member Kleinberg said when the communications desk was established with computer capabilities, accessibility would increase. People could come into City Hall, sit down at the computer, enter the key word and commission, and have instant information. She wanted the City to be extremely making information available. Ms. Harrison said the information was also available at the libraries. Council Member Kleinberg actually read most of the minutes, particularly the questions posed by the commissioners and the responses received. Reading the minutes enhanced the flavor of the conversation and how conclusions were reached rather than just reading a bullet-point conclusion. She would, therefore, be sorry not to receive the same kind of minutes because the sense of the process was lost. On the other hand, she understood the minutes were not always valuable based on what was being discussed. A 06/20/00 P&S: 7 compromise might be to allow the commission itself to determine which items would have more complete minutes. Ms. Harrison said staff had held the exact same discussion and commissioners already knew which items would be controversial. Director of Community Services Paul Thiltgen said most of the commissions had already made the decision to go to a form of sense minutes, most of which were two to three pages long. The Parks and Recreation Commission (PARC), the newest commission, expressed the desire for shorter minutes that covered only the vital information. The one body that would have to change was the Human Relations Commission (HRC), which was the most burdensome commission because the staff was so small and took up to 20 to 30 hours to handle the minutes. Council Member Kleinberg said human relations issues were often very ~thorny," where the terminology and expression of opinions was delicate; she understood the desire not to be misunderstood. Ms. Harrison said the first year would be a real trial. Council Member Burch was interested in trying the change. Mr. Thiltgen said commissioners always made sure that for important items, the points they wanted to make were expressed. Ms. Harrison said ideas could be expressed without a great deal of transcription of the conversation. Council Member Kleinberg asked whether the Council could indicate when more complete minutes were desired for a particular item when sent to the commissions. Chairperson Beecham thought Council Member Kleinberg’s suggestion was possible. Council Member Burch said the burden would then be removed from the transcriber who had to determine whether something was irrelevant. Council Member Kleinberg said one of the reasons the issue was more important for the Council to grasp was the desire on the part of the City Manager to give more delegated authority to the boards and commissions, having more items return on the consent calendar. Consequently, the prior record became even more important if the Council was expected to be knowledgeable regarding the Consent Calendar. As more authority was delegated, the Council would need the minutes. 06/20/00 P&S: 8 Ms. Harrison said staff discussed having the Council committees bring items back on the Consent Calendar, but rarely was there an instance where an item went back from a commission on the Consent Calendar. Council Member Kleinberg understood. Ms. Harrison said staff wanted to provide multiple avenues for the Council to know what the boards and commissions were doing. Staff wanted to use the City Manager’s weekly report, and have more ongoing communication, not less. Council Member Kleinberg agreed. Mr. Thiltgen said minute preparation was not just a unilateral process. To ensure the gist of the meeting was caught, the chair of each commission reviewed all minutes. The presenter was also consulted to ensure the minutes were correct. Council Member Burch asked whether the process of preparing minutes slowed the time before the item could be presented to the Council. Ms. Harrison said yes. For example, the standing committee minutes took an average of one month to process before going back to the Council because of the volume of what was said and the editing process. So the Council decisions had to wait unti! the minutes were brought together. Council Member Burch thought the delay was unfortunate. Ms. Harrison said staff wanted to expedite the process because if a contract was waiting for approval or if there was a major policy decision in which the Council had interest, the process could cause delay. Council Member Kleinberg said in court processes, there was no editing and transcripts could be turned around in 24 hours. Ms. Harrison said the City used court transcribers for the Sand Hill Road hearings, which proved very expensive. Council Member Burch said the meetings on the Eruv involved many repetitive comments, for example, 20 people saying the same thing and 20 more saying something different. Ms. Harrison said the format by which staff transmitted Planning Commission decisions required a summary of the public’s major 06/20/00 P&S:9 concerns at the public hearings. than a paragraph or two. Rarely would the summary be more Council Member Kleinberg clarified that HRC minutes took the longest to prepare. Mr. Thiltgen said yes. Ms. Harrison said the Council minutes probably involved the most staff input. The UAC and Planning Commission were the next two most involved minutes. The minutes were admittedly important but staff wanted to try to help the Council communicate with the boards and commissions. Chairperson Beecham said minutes were a form of communication but were more important as a permanent record so when the Council made a decision, it understood what was said. He valued being able to go through verbatim minutes, particularly the minutes from the Planning Commission. He was also highly troubled at the $40,000 cost in addition to the three times that much in staff time. Ms. Harrison said Chairperson Beecham was correct. Chairperson Beecham said over $i00,000 in Planning Commission minutes was a terrible amount of money, but he hated to give it up because of the value in being able to understand why decisions were made, and why motions were made. Such information was not obtained with sense minutes. Ms. Harrison said if the Council was not comfortable with the change, a differentiation should be made between the land use and non-land use commissions. Chairperson Beecham said the bulk of the savings would be lost if Planning Commission minutes were to be transcribed as before. Chairperson Beecham would not want to focus only on contract expenses. He wanted to try sense minutes on all of the commissions except the Planning Commission, to see how it worked, especially if it resulted in a savings of 20 or 30 hours of staff time per set of minutes. Mr. Thiltgen asked Mr. Kaplan how long the Public Arts Commission (PAC) minutes took to turn around. Director of Arts and Culture Leon Kaplan said the PAC minutes probably took eight hours, which included review of the entire 06/20/00 P&S: i0 video. hours. The time spent could probably be reduced to three or four Mr. Thiltgen said the HRC was the only commission that would have to make a major shift; the other commissions were at a lower level of detail already. Council Member Burch agreed with Council Member Kleinberg; he read the minutes as part of the learning process to see what was going on. He looked for how certain people responded or asked questions to come to conclusions, which was very informative and valuable, particularly with the Planning Commission. Council Member Kleinberg said Mr. Borock said the boards and commissions were not asked about the minutes, but staff seemed to indicate the commissions were given the opportunity to provide input. Ms. Harrison said the staff liaisons were asked to inform each of the boards and commissions about the proposed change and asked to tell each chairperson about the current meeting. Mr. Thiltgen said as far as the minutes, each of the boards and commissions were given an opportunity to choose what kind of minutes would be prepared. The HRC recognized the need to make the change and were willing to try. Ms. Harrison said the land use commission liaisons were open but wanted to proceed slowly, recognizing that they would not be able to go as far as others. Mr. Thiltgen said the biggest issue for the commissions was not so much the minutes issue as the communication issue. Ms. Harrison said the need for improved communication came across loud and clear. Chairperson Beecham was not ready to give up the verbatim minutes from the Planning Commission. Ms. Harrison clarified that currently, the Planning Commission minutes were sense minutes, not verbatim. Chairperson Beecham thought although Planning Commission minutes were not technically verbatim, they were edited in the form of near verbatim minutes. 06/20/00 P&S: 11 Ms.Harrison said the minutes were very complete sense minutes, pursuant to the Palo Alto Charter.Even though the minutes seemed voluminous, they could be longer. Chairperson Beecham liked the Planning and Transportation minutes the way they were. Mr. Borock said in 1990, the Planning Division provided the Planning Commission with three choices of minutes. The Council was given the opportunity to express their desire for the type of minutes. The only place the Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC) discussed sense minutes was for the Council’s minutes. The only time the issue was discussed on the Planning Commission, clearly verbatim minutes were desired, not sense minutes or edited. The fact was, a change was made at the staff level that should be made at the Council level. Council Member Burch thought the minutes were verbatim. Chairperson Beecham said the minutes might appear verbatim, that everyone spoke logically and sensibly, but that was not always the case. Ms. Harrison said straight courtroom transcriptions were very word- for-word. Chairperson Beecham said the minutes currently would not say ~Commissioner so-and-so said," but "Commissioner so-and-so:" Ms. Harrison said if the Council wanted the Planning Commission minutes to remain at the same level, then a policy decision could be made to do so. Chairperson Beecham recommended the Planning Commission minutes remain as they were, acknowledging the $40,000 cost plus staff time. For the other boards and commissions, the minutes could be true sense minutes, including the HRC. He thought the HRB minutes were nearly verbatim. Ms. Harrison said Chairperson Beecham was correct. Chairperson Beecham asked whether the entire 8-hour meetings of the ARB were verbatim. He thought only the part of the meeting that was to be passed along to the Council should be verbatim, with the rest being sense minutes. Ms. Harrison said if the Council’s concern was being able to see in more detail the items that would be presented to the Council, staff 06/20/00 P&S:12 would have to be clear about which items would be moved forward. Staff would examine the issue. The Council seemed to indicate it wanted the thought process through which the board or commission went through and what the discussion was about concerning a certain item being presented to the Council. Chairperson Beecham said discussions about sign design and details about buildings were not items desired by the Council in verbatim form. Ms. Harrison clarified the Council wanted verbatim minutes on an item where a decision on an appeal or something else was being brought to the Council; however, staff would not always know what was going to come to the Council on appeal. Chairperson Beecham said staff could make its best guess. Ms. Harrison said staff would work with the ARB to craft something that the Council wanted. Basically, the Council wanted verbatim minutes for items on which a decision was being made. Chairperson Beecham was willing to take the chance of not having al! of the information in order to save the cost of verbatim on everything. Ninety percent of what was done at the ARB would not come to the Council. Council Member Kleinberg thought staff kept some kind of record and could return to the record to transcribe the minutes more fully at a later time. Chairperson Beecham asked about the current practice. Mr. Borock said currently with planning items staff was capable of saving the electronic record for the necessary time to know which items would need to be transcribed verbatim such as Planning Commission items and Historic Review Board items that were appeals. Chairperson Beecham asked whether Mr. Borock’s understanding was that staff was not doing verbatim minutes on the other items. Mr. Borock said yes. When Eric Reil was the Chief Planning Officia!, staff stopped putting the ARB and HRB minutes in the Council packets made available to the public. The minutes were changed from sense minutes to action minutes. Over the past six months, verbatim minutes were no longer provided although the verbatim minutes were formerly provided. In the past, the Planning Division had been able to make a distinction and provide the Council with the information. 06/20/00 P&S: 13 Chairperson Beecham said the intent was not to prepare verbatim minutes when an item would not appear on the Council’s agenda, thus saving money and staff effort. He asked whether the same was possible for the HRC. Mr. Thiltgen said yes. Many items from the HRC appeared on the Council’s agenda. Whenever an item appeared on the Council’s agenda, a report was prepared covering the issues very clearly. That report was drafted by the HRC itself. Council Member Kleinberg agreed with Chairperson Beecham. As the City made the change, she suggested staff work in tandem on the technology side of the issue. As the physical record was lost, she hoped the technological capacity was available to counter-balance the change, examining not only use by staff but also access to the public. Flexibility should also be part of the policy. Boards and commissions should be clear that they had the power to request, as a matter was more heated or complicated, that the minutes be made more extensive, without a vote, even if one person on the board or commission wanted the item to have more thorough minutes. Chairperson Beecham asked for staff’s response to the request. Mr. Thiltgen was concerned about being able to have just one board or commission member request more thorough minutes, since it could create dissention. If a majority of the commission wanted more extensive minutes, that was acceptable. But one person driving the decision was a concern. Council Member Kleinberg said dissent sometimes was the right opinion and sometimes was the minority view. It was difficult in a democracy to be in the minority, therefore protection for the minority view was important. Some people were accepting of the majority rule as long as their dissenting view was on the record. Mr. Thiltgen understood Council Member Kleinberg’s statement. Having one person make the meeting verbatim would change the whole workload issue and would take away from what staff was trying to accomplish. Ms. Harrison said one example was one commissioner who was on a different wavelength from the other commissioners and was very intent on having all his issues documented. It significantly impeded the progress of that commission. 06/20/00 P&S: 14 Council Member Burch asked whether one of the agenda items at the end of each meeting could include a vote on whether or not any item should be transcribed verbatim, sense, or action. Ms. Harrison said yes. Mr. Thiltgen said the problem was a certain commissioner wanting his or her comments verbatim in the minutes, but a vote would be acceptable. Council Member Kleinberg agreed. MOTION: Chairperson Beecham, seconded by Burch, that the Policy and Services Committee recommends to the City Council to: 3)Approve the following guidelines for the preparation of board and commission minutes: a) b) c) d) e) Planning and Transportation Commission minutes will continue to be prepared as verbatim minutes. Architectural Review Board minutes will be prepared as verbatim minutes. Staff liaisons for other boards and commissions will prepare summary sense minutes with the flexibility to develop more detailed minutes as necessary. Board and commission members may request that their comments on a particular item be reflected in the minutes. In tandem with implementing changes to the minutes, staff will explore opportunities to use the City’s web site and current and emerging technology to make video or audio records of meetings more accessible and user-friendly to the public and City staff. Mr. Thiltgen said commissioners would be advised in advance that they had the option to make their comments verbatim. Chairperson Beecham said in his experience as a member of the Planning Commission, commissioners often would say, ~I want the Council to understand this point." Ms. Harrison said staff would remind the commissioners to make that distinction. While making the change, staff would work on the City’s technological capacity so, as less of a written record was available, discussions would be made available both internally and to the public. MOTION PASSED 3-0. 06/20/00 Fazzino absent. P&S: 15 Chairperson Beecham said the staff report (CMR:298:00) was not clear regarding the role of the annua! meeting between the Council and the board or commission in setting priorities, whether the two should be combined so the board or commission did its priority setting and then got together with the Council to discuss the priorities and any other issues. Ms. Harrison said the practice of having annual retreats had been sporadic driven, especially when commissions felt the need to meet with the Council. The regular schedule had not been in place for a several years. Mr. Thiltgen said priority setting would need to be before the budget process. Chairperson Beecham thought board and commission priority setting was independent of the budget. Ms. Harrison thought the boards and commissions were interested in hearing from the Council prior to the Council setting its priorities. Council Member Kleinberg expressed concern about the direction of the recommendation to have staff work with the boards and commissions to develop their annual priorities, rather than the Council using the boards and commissions as advisors and counselors, indicating what its priorities were. The Council would want the boards and commissions to ~chew over" some of the items since the Council would not necessarily have the time and the boards and commissions represented the experts in the fields, helping the Council to figure some of the issues out. The concern was that much of what the boards and commissions did never really helped the Council do what it was doing, querying whether the boards and commissions were "super staff" to the staff or a mini- parliamentary body. She questioned the original rationale for creating the boards and commissions and what the role was in City government. She wanted to see a much tighter articulation between what the Council was trying to accomplish annually or in a two-year segment, and what the boards and commissions were being asked to work on. The Library Advisory Commission (LAC) work would be reflected in the budget. The City was working on approximately 30 issues, to which the boards and commissions should have a linkage and not just be operating on their own. Board and commission members spent a great deal of volunteer time on matters that might not really matter, creating a lot of frustration and ill will. The City should be respectful of volunteer time and extremely cautious about staff time. The staff recommendation was not ~wrong" but 06/20/00 P&S: 16 should be expanded with some regard for concerns about whether the boards and commissions were working towards outcomes of which the Council approved. Mr. Thiltgen said the boards and commissions had somewhat changed over the past few years because some commissions that were not land use or project oriented but were more tied to operations. The PARC, Library Advisory Commission (LAC), and Utilities Advisory Commission (UAC) were examples of such commissions. The commission not only worked for the Council but should also work with staff, providing an opportunity for staff to bounce things off of the board or commission and get assistance on recommendations that might eventually be passed on to the Council. It also provided the community with an opportunity to discuss issues, not Council issues, but issues that related to specific department operations. In many cases, staff would be able to deal with the issue and return to the commission. The boards and commissions could be viewed as a tool to deal with difficult issues, for example, the Mitchell Park renovation plan would be brought before the PARC Commission to get a sense and recommendation prior to moving the issue on to the ARB and then to the Council. The golf course fee schedule was controversial and was a good item to pass through the PARC Commission, who could look at all sides of the issue and give perspective not just from staff. The boards and commissions in that sense were viewed in a teamwork setting. Council Member Kleinberg said the dynamic expressed by Mr. Thiltgen was good and healthy because it was staff-generated or Counci!- generated, with some context or outcome. The process should be outcome-based on someone’s agenda.She was concerned about developing policies that were vague. Ms. Harrison said perhaps the focus should be on developing a board or commission work plan that could be reviewed by the Council. Chairperson Beecham most of the boards and commissions were responsive. The Planning Commission heard items and responded, initiating virtually nothing. He was unsure how much other boards and commissions initiated. Council Member Burch said the Historic Resources Board did not initiate anything. Ms. Harrison said the Planning Commission took as its charge the Comprehensive Plan and its implementation. Chairperson Beecham agreed, but that was the Planning Commission’s charge and responsibility, and was not voluntary. 06/20/00 P&S:17 Ms. Harrison said the Planning Commission took a very proactive stance on the Comprehensive Plan. Chairperson Beecham said by Charter, the Planning Commission was responsible for the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Thiltgen said the Public Arts, Library Advisory, and P&R Commissions initiated items. Council Member Kleinberg said the HRC was disturbed that the Eruv issue never passed through its body and thought they might have been able to resolve the issue. She asked how the decision was made to not have the HRC review the Eruv; it was a policy decision. Chairperson Beecham said some boards and commissions were project- driven from the public. Council Member Burch said the HRB dealt with the historic ordinance due to the public’s desire for. Mr. Thiltgen said the Council often just referred issues back to staff but might need to indicate that a particular commission should review an item, like the Eruv. As a general rule, items that were sent back to staff were simply dealt with by staff. Ms. Harrison said it was being recommended that the staff liaison communicate concerns such as the need for HRC involvement in the eruv item to the City Manager so they might be addressed. Council Member Kleinberg clarified she was not saying that the HRC was in fact upset but merely giving a hypothetical example. Ms.~ Harrison understood. Staff was trying to put in place a process by which the staff liaisons could immediately raise such hypothetical issues with the City Manager’s Office and pass the information along to the Council. Council Member Kleinberg said Ms. Harrison’s suggestion fit with what she was trying to get at, which was that there be some work plan that was outcome-based so the Council would have some sense of the linkages between the board or commission’s work, Council work, and staff work. The syzygy was much better. Mr. Thiltgen said most commissions had a work plan, so having a work plan would be nothing new for them to create. The issue was one of timing so all boards and commissions prepared their work plans at the same time and in time for the budget. 06/20/00 P&S: 18 Ms. Harrison said having a work plan from each board and commission might provide the Council with a better understanding of what should be sent to the boards and commissions. Chairperson Beecham thought not much of what the boards and commissions did was tied into the budget. A task might be a priority that went to the board or commission, but in terms of setting a work plan, he queried whether it was a budgetary item. Ms. Harrison said if the board or commission wanted to undertake an initiative, it might require considerable staff work and would have to be built into a department’s budget. Chairperson Beecham said the Planning Commission had been told many times that it could not direct staff to do anything. Ms. Harrison affirmed Chairperson Beecham’s observation. Chairperson Beecham said any time a board or commission wanted to delve into a project not already slated for that board or commission or already assigned to staff by the Council, it could not be done unless either staff deemed it appropriate for staff to do or was brought to the Council. Ms. Harrison said the team effort would be much more efficient if everyone was working in concert and staff and the commission both agreed the item was a useful thing to do. Mr. Thiltgen said there was a serious, strong line drawn between staff and commissions. As the City moved into a new era, the line was blurry. Chairperson Beecham said staff using the boards and commissions as tools was different from a board or commission presenting staff with something that it wanted done that appeared nowhere else. Ms. Harrison said items should go through the City Manager. Mr. Thiltgen agreed. If an item was outside of what staff was doing and was a major task, staff would present the item to the City Manager. If appropriate, it was to forward the item to the Council, that would be the next step. Chairperson Beecham was comfortable with that happening. Ms. Harrison said everything seemed to work on an annual cycle, so asking the commissions to work with the staff to examine the year 06/20/00 P&S:I9 ahead to determine what issues should be the focus, knowing where the Council already set its priorities and what was on the policy agenda, was a good exercise around budget time. The discipline would still be useful at another time. Council Member Kleinberg agreed with staff’s recommendation but wanted it expanded to reflect the sentiments the P&S Committee expressed. Mr. Thiltgen said the P&S Committee’s suggestion for the concept of a work plan rather than priority setting would be used, since it was probably more understandable for the boards and commissions. Ms. Harrison said staff would transmit the work plans so the Council was aware of what was going on. Perhaps the Council could find some way to provide useful additions to the work plans. Chairperson Beecham asked about l(c), since the Council did not make assignments to boards and commissions. Ms. Harrison said the issue was currently a ~sore point" with one commission, the LAC felt it was given an assignment for which more clarity was desired in terms of the outcome.The LAC felt there was no clear process by which to come back. Mr. Thiltgen said there had been a limitation in communication, which was not present at the current time. Council Member Burch said there had been outside counsel or analysis at the very last minute. Ms. Harrison said the bottom line was the board or commission’s ability to clarify assignments with the Council. Mr. Thiltgen said it was important when an assignment was given that the staff makes sure there was clarity, giving the board or commission the opportunity to ask questions. Council Member Kleinberg questioned the reference to the Council being ~encouraged" to attend one meeting a year, as mentioned in 2(a). The Council liaisons were important in real time, talking with commissioners to work through some of the issues to better appreciate what the commission was doing and to take the concerns and points of view and perspectives back to the Council prior to even receiving the minutes as a way of accelerating the process when the written process of minutes was so slow. The liaison was not the spokesperson to the commission but facilitated the work of 06/20/00 P&S: 20 the commission going back to the Council. exercise. It was a very valuable Mr. Thiltgen said when the Council liaisons were missing, the boards and commissions felt the absence. The board and commission members wanted to feel important enough for someone to attend the meeting. He agreed with Council Member Kleinberg about the desire to have the connection where the Council liaison was feeding back to the Council. The boards and commissions did not want Council Members lobbying what they were doing. Ms. Harrison said there was an expectation set up which often was not realized that the Council liaison would return to the Council. Council Member Kleinberg said the P&S Committee had yet to talk about that direction of communication, which was very important. The discussion was about the boards’ and commissions’ roles and responsibilities, not the Council’s. Chairperson Beecham said it was the task of the Council liaison. Council Member Burch said as the Council liaison to the HRB, he tried to attend meetings whenever possible and sat at the back of the room. The HRB knew he was present and he spoke with each of the members individually. He was trying to learn what the board was doing and appreciate them more. He was not the conduit of information either to the HRB or from the HRB back to the Council. Ms. Harrison said Council Member Burch’s comment was the key. If staff was doing its job correctly, it would be in a conduit role. The commissioners would be clear about the staff liaison role. Her own experience was on the City/Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) liaison committee meetings which needed clear expectations about how information at committee meetings was to be taken to the Council and school board. If roles were unclear, someone would be upset because the expectations were not met. Council Member Burch said that was a major issue of the Council liaison because none of the Council liaisons were true liaisons. They did not report back to the Council. Council Member Kleinberg thought the City/PAUSD liaison committee was different in that the Council was appointed to the committee and it was not a group of volunteers. The underlying issue was the decision making power of the group and was completely different from the City Council’s issue. There were always things that could be learned from board and commission meetings. Unless the roles 06/20/00 P&S: 21 were defined, the appropriateness of "a minimum of one meeting" was unknown. Ms. Harrison said the definition of the liaison’s role was something the Council would need to make. Chairperson Beecham asked Council Member Burch to define what he thought the liaison’s role was. Council Member Burch said the Council liaison’s role was to be supportive but not get in the way and be a link if the chairman of the commission thought help was needed from the Council, creating a personal relationship. Ms. Harrison asked about mentorship. Council Member Burch said no; if the commissioners were doing something they thought the Council should know about or had a problem, the liaison would be the contact. The liaison should be someone who had an interest in that commission’s function. Council Member Kleinberg asked how often the liaison should participate. Council Member Burch thought the liaison should attend meetings more often than not. Council Member Kleinberg asked whether 50 percent of the time was appropriate. Council Member Butch agreed. Ms. Harrison said rather than designate a specific percentage of time in attendance, each of the Council Members should make the assessment based on each commission. Council Member Burch said HRB was having a retreat the following day at Gamble Garden and he had been invited. He was interested in attending but would not want to attend if it was inappropriate. He would call the chairperson to find out whether his attendance was desired. When it came to understanding an issue and presenting it to his colleagues, he wanted to feel that the commission was being supported. Ms. Harrison said in the past, because of Council Member Fazzino’s work commitments, he had had difficulty attending the meetings. Instead, he set up an alternative way of supporting his commission with breakfast meetings with different members of the commission. 06/20/00 P&S: 22 She would not want staff to require the Council to attend a certain number of meetings. Council Member Kleinberg said that was fine as long as the Council agreed that the role was to create a relationship between the Council Member and at least the chairperson of the commission, whether it was through meetings or breakfasts. A friendly dialogue and having the head of the commission have accessibility to the Council was critical. Chairperson Beecham said if the key was accessibility to the Council, he queried the role definition of the Council liaison. The role was to be available to help, tutor, carry messages back to the Council if requested, and act as a Dutch Uncle letting the commission know when it was doing something wrong. Council Member Butch agreed. Chairperson Beecham said to the degree a member was not functioning well, the role was to sit down with the chair and discuss the problem and provide positive guidance. Council Member Kleinberg said the role was to attend meetings, particularly if requested. The commissions should not feel unsupported because the Council Member did not attend. Council Member Burch said it was an individual relationship based on the time Council Members had available. If one Council Member had a job and another did not, the same rules and regulations should not apply to both. Council Member Kleinberg said the point was to create a relationship between the Council and the commission through identifying one person on the Council who the commission could contact and who would attend meetings. Chairperson Beecham said there should be no expectation that a Council Member needed to attend all or most of the meetings. Council Member Kleinberg said contact needed to be established, however. Council Member Burch there should be a reassignment if for some reason the Council Member could not adequately cover the commission. 06/20/00 P&S: 23 Council Member Kleinberg asked how Council Members could be encouraged to be good liaisons, to establish relationships, and attend meetings. Council Member Burch said liaisons should do whatever worked best given the particular situation. Council Member Kleinberg suggested Council Members have a job description got being a Council liaison. Mr. Thiltgen said the Council would approve the P&S recommendation, which could serve as a job description. Chairperson Beecham read 2(b), that liaisons and the chairs were encouraged to work together to develop a method and schedule of ongoing communication. Senior Executive Assistant Audrey Seymour said the recommendation could be amended to include a definition of the role of the liaison and that the liaison was expected to establish the relationship necessary to fulfill the role. There were a variety of ways of doing so. Council Member Burch said many of the staff members who had served as staff to the commissions had a perspective the Council would not have. People who had seen different Council Members over the years and seen different ways of operation would have a perspective on some of the ways the liaison position worked and ways it would not work. Ms. Harrison was working with the Council liaison for Palo Alto Community Child Care (PACCC), which was not a commission during the crisis time. Council Member Fazzino was the liaison during that period of time and he could not always attend meetings during the day but was tireless in building a relationship, providing support, and sending people to the right person. It was not necessarily attending the meetings, but problem solving. Council Member Kleinberg agreed it was problem solving when necessary. Mr. Thiltgen said the Council liaison should lay out the ground rules with the chairperson of the commission initially. From that point on, as long as everyone knew the rules and how it would work, all would work well. He had seen different Council Members handle the boards and commissions different ways. 06/20/00 P&S: 24 Chairperson Beecham said where there was some dysfunction going on with a board or commission, whether it be the Council liaison or not, staff should feel free to talk to Council in some manner to solve the problem. Ms. Harrison said that had happened in the past and staff had tried to help. Helping particular members of boards and commissions become familiar with parliamentary process, having someone work as a member of the team, had worked well in the past. Chairperson Beecham said it might be necessary to find another Council Member who was more familiar with the task of that board or commission; the Council Member could speak with more authority than a staff member could. Council Member Burch had seen an example on a County commission, where one member ran roughshod over the chair. Ms. Harrison said sometimes the member was not even aware of the actions. Council Member Kleinberg agreed. Ms. Harrison thought the meeting had produced some major creative ideas and thought the amended recommendations should be brought back to the P&S Committee to ensure staff had captured the major discussion. Council Member Kleinberg thanked staff for getting the process to the current point because the core was great. Council Member Burch said the other groups the Council was assigned to that were not boards or commissions was another area of concern and should be discussed. Council Member Kleinberg was interested in discussing the other liaison groups because she received calls that were of concern. The expectation to be Non call" and provide regular reports was excessive. There was an expectation when Council Members were assigned to community groups that it had an affirmative responsibility to that group. She queried where such an expectation came from. Ms. Harrison said sometimes Council Members stepped into a role created by someone else and the expectations that went along with that role. Mr. Thiltgen said the Council had the choice of deciding. 06/20/00 P8~S:25 Council Member Kleinberg said there were a couple of groups that kept track of when Council Members failed to attend meetings. She was delighted to attend as many meetings as possible but she saw her role as listening in the same way she would listen, problem solve, and answer questions. To feel that Council Members had to attend every single meeting and provide a report was inappropriate. The issue with volunteering for city government was that the more such responsibilities were added, the less likely people would be to take the job, and the Council became a spokesperson for the City when they should not be. Council Member Burch said the Neighbors Abroad meetings were on the same night as the P&S Committee, making it impossible for him to attend. He asked Mr. Kaplan about past experience with Council Members. Mr. Kaplan said for the most part, Council Members would not attend the Neighbors Abroad. Some Council Members fully engaged in the program and were still on the board even after leaving the Council. Council Member Burch noticed in the last minutes, a change was being made with the liaison. Mr. Kaplan said generally the attitude about Council presence was the same as the board or commission. There was a sense of City endorsement and respect. He had also seen that the conduct of a board or commission changed if a Council Member was present. Council Member Burch asked whether the board or commission’s behavior changed. Fir. Kaplan said yes. The board or commission behaved better if the Council Member was present, even if the Council Member said nothing. Council Member Burch asked whether another Council Member should be chosen if he was unable to attend. Mr. Kaplan said it was always better to have a Council Member who was genuinely interested in the program or services the commission offered, even if they could not attend. There were ways to commit outside of meetings that would be just as successful. Council Member Kleinberg said when she was not able to attend meetings; she sent someone else and had attended a meeting for someone else. It all continued the learning process. 06/20/00 P&S: 26 Council Member Burch said most of his colleagues were also too busy to attend another meeting. Council Member Kleinberg said to think of it as a learning experience. Chairperson Beecham said Council Members could ask how they could be involved. Mr. Kaplan said there were times when Neighbors Abroad might have a particular need.Having a breakfast meeting, for example, could cover the need. Chairperson Beecham said it would be difficult if the body expected a 15-minute presentation every time. Council Member Kleinberg said she just wanted to know where the expectation came from. It was wonderful to be able to report to people about what was going on, but there seemed a lot more pressure than there should be. Ms. Harrison said the Council should create each of the roles itself. MOTION: Council Member Beecham moved, seconded by Burch, that the Policy and Services Committee recommend to the City Council the following: i)Direct staff to: 2) a) b) c) Work with boards and commissions to develop annual work plans to transmit to the Council so that the Council can provide input and promote coordination with Council’s priorities as may be appropriate Regularly transmit through the City Manager issues identified by the boards and commissions Work with boards and commissions to seek Council clarification and direction regarding the scope of Council assignments and board and commission tasks as necessary Approve the following guidelines regarding the role of Council liaisons: a) 06/20/00 Council liaisons need to establish relationships with the chairs and members of the boards and commissions so they can serve as a resource to them, providing a sounding board, ~advice, and communication back to Council as P8~S:27 b) c) requested. To develop these relationships, Council liaisons should attend board and commission meetings, either on a regular basis or when requested by the board or commission members in order to address particular issues. In addition, Council liaisons can remain in contact and involved with the work of boards and commissions through such avenues as informal meetings with the groups’ chairs and/or other members. Council liaisonswill review their role and anticipated attendance at meetings so that the expectations of board and commission members and Counci! liaisons are aligned. MOTION PASSED: 3-0. Fazzino absent. Discussion for Future Meeting Schedules and Agendas Senior Executive Assistant Audrey Seymour said the next P&S Committee meeting would be held July ii, 2000. The agenda would deal with the Eruvo The meeting on Monday would determine whether the staff had sufficient information from the Eruv Corporation and sufficient time to process the information to be ready for the meeting. Chairperson Beecham said if the P&S Committee failed to have a quorum, it would not want to hold the meeting on July ii, 2000. It would be too difficult to bring someone else in who was unfamiliar. Council Member Burch asked about Council Member Kleinberg’s schedule. Council Member Kleinberg was out of town until Wednesday night. Ms. Seymour said the P&S Committee also had an August i, 2000 meeting during which the Library Master Plan would be addressed. Council Member Burch would miss the Council meeting on August 7, 2000. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. 06/20/00 P&S: 28 NOTE: Sense minutes (synopsis) are prepared in accordance with Palo Alto Municipal Code Sections 2.04.180(a) and (b). The City Council and Standing Committee meeting tapes are made solely for the purpose of facilitating the preparation of the minutes of the meetings. City Council and Standing Committee meeting tapes are recycled 90 days from the date of the meeting. .The tapes are available for members of the public to listen to during regular office hours. 06/20/00 P&S: 29