TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Patricia Matson, Assistant City Clerk
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Request by Councilmember Howorth and Councilmember Lesser to Discuss the Order of the City Council Meeting Agenda as it Pertains to the Process for Pulling Items from the Consent Calendar for Individual Consideration (City Manager Mirzakhanian).
DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss and provide direction regarding the request by Councilmember Howorth and Councilmember Lesser to discuss the order of the City Council meeting agenda as it pertains to the process for pulling items from the Consent Calendar for individual consideration.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action. However, should the City Council direct staff to analyze the request, staff time and resources may be expended to accommodate the request.
BACKGROUND:
Pursuant to the Brown Act, the City Council cannot discuss items not on an agenda unless under limited circumstances. The City Council has developed a process to allow individual Councilmembers to request, with the support of another Councilmember, that items be placed on a future agenda for City Council discussion. At that future meeting, the item is identified on the agenda in full compliance with the Brown Act. Discussion allows an opportunity for the public to provide input and the City Council, as a body, to decide whether City resources (staff time, etc.) should be incurred to present a more comprehensive report at a third City Council meeting.
Accordingly, individual Councilmembers can initiate future agenda items by following the following three-step process:
STEP ONE:
During “Future Agenda Items,” a Councilmember may request that an item be placed on the agenda. If another Councilmember concurs with placing the item on the agenda, the item is placed on a future agenda.
STEP TWO:
The item is placed on the agenda at the section titled, “City Council Requests and Reports Including AB 1234 Reports” at the end of the agenda with this report. If it does not require any staff time, there may be attachments (e.g., copies of ordinances, resolutions, contracts, etc., previously adopted or approved) to provide background or context. For instance, the Council’s current Rules of Procedure Resolution is attached. After discussion, the City Council typically has three options:
a) Receive and File the report.
b) Direct staff to perform the necessary work to prepare a more comprehensive staff report and schedule the item for a future City Council meeting.
c) Continue the item to a future date.
(PLEASE NOTE: For some matters that do not require additional background, a majority of Councilmembers can provide direction during the properly noticed second step, thereby eliminating the need for a third step. On this item, the Council has a fourth option:
STEP THREE:
If City Council chooses option b) in Step Two above, the item is placed on a future City Council meeting agenda for action.
DISCUSSION:
Periodically, the City Council reviews its meeting management rules to: (1) provide ample opportunities for the public to provide comments on any matter within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Council, including agenda items; and (2) attend to the City’s business in an efficient manner. See attached resolution for the latest iteration of the Council’s Rules of Procedure.
Providing opportunities for the public to comment prior to any action is a paramount tenet of the state Brown Act. Likewise, addressing and making decisions regarding City business in an efficient manner is also important. In cities that do not have structured city council meetings, important business may not be considered in an efficient manner, and some cities have council meetings that extend until late in the night, and sometimes past midnight.
With an eye toward accomplishing both goals, the Council has developed over the years a well-honed approach to conducting its City Council Meetings. A feature of the Council’s current process is alerting the public at the earliest stage - during the “Approval of the Agenda” - if there are any changes to the agenda. For instance, an agenda item might be continued to a later date. Informing the public at the earliest part of the meeting will allow members of the public to avoid patiently sitting through hours of discussion on other matters, only to be belatedly told to come back in two weeks for their agenda item.
Specifically, regarding the current Council request, informing the public early in the meeting that a Councilmember would like to discuss a Consent Calendar item on an individual basis helps that person manage their time. Such “pulling” an item off the consent calendar informs the public that the matter will be considered separately from the other items and that they will have an opportunity to speak at the time the matter is considered. For items that are not “pulled” from the Consent Calendar, the member of the public has three minutes to discuss the entire Consent Calendar during public comments. For items pulled from the Consent Calendar, members of the public have an additional two minutes per item. Early notification provides advance notice and allows members of the public to allocate the time they wish to speak on agenda items.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss and provide direction.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENT:
1. Resolution No. 18-0028