TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Liza Tamura, City Clerk
George Gabriel, Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration to Cancel the January 2, 2018 City Council Meeting (City Clerk Tamura).
APPROVE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the cancellation of the January 2, 2018 City Council Meeting.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
No fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
The Manhattan Beach Municipal Code requires that the City Council regular meetings be held on the first and third Tuesday of each calendar month.
However, Chapter 2.01.020 of the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code (MBMC) provides the flexibility to reschedule or cancel regularly scheduled City Council meetings. The MBMC states, “The Council may, however, by minute action, at its discretion, reschedule any specific regularly scheduled meeting to an alternate date or cancel any regular meeting.”
DISCUSSION:
Currently, City Council is scheduled to have a regular meeting on January 2, 2018, a day after the New Year holiday. Some local governments cancel meetings once during the summer and once during the winter season. In a survey sent out to 899 recipients of the League of California Cities City Clerks e-mail listserv, 82 local governments responded throughout the State of California. In the survey, 52 (or 66.7%) local governments indicated they cancel one meeting during the summer, 51 (or 65.4%) local governments indicated they cancel one meeting during the winter, and 32 (or 41%) local governments indicated they cancel two regular meetings in the year.
This practice allows the public the opportunity to contribute to discussions at City Council meetings without conflicting with their holiday plans. In addition, it enables the public and staff to plan vacation schedules around this time.
Due to the fact that the City Council is scheduled to have a regular meeting on January 2, 2018, a day after the New Year holiday, it is recommended that the City Council cancel the January 2, 2018 City Council meeting. With approval of this recommendation, staff will schedule agenda items for City Council consideration either before or after the January 2, 2018 City Council meeting.
POLICY ALTERNATIVES:
ALTERNATIVE #1:
Keep January 2, 2018 City Council meeting as scheduled.
PROS:
- Continue business.
CONS:
- Potentially limits public input due to those away for the holiday.
ALTERNATIVE #2:
Reschedule the January 2, 2018 meeting to the next day, January 3, 2017.
PROS:
- Allows an additional day for the public and staff to schedule holiday plans.
CONS:
- Potentially limits public input due to those away for the holiday.
- Strain on staff resources (due to limited staffing during the holidays).
ALTERNATIVE #3:
Reschedule the January 2, 2018 meeting to the following week, January 9, 2017.
PROS:
- Postpones meeting rather than cancels it.
CONS:
- Strain on staff resources to prepare reports for two consecutive weeks.
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue. However, if approved, staff will conduct extensive outreach to inform the public of the meeting cancellation (i.e. post notices on city boards and city website, send out e-notifications and post to social media including Facebook, Twitter and Nextdoor).
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.