TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Quinn Barrow, City Attorney
Lisa Jenkins, Human Resources Director
Alexandria Latragna, Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consider Adoption of the Restated and Amended Civility Policy and Rules of Decorum for Meetings (City Manager Moe, City Attorney Barrow, and Human Resources Director Jenkins).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 19-0083
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 19-0083 approving the restated and amended Manhattan Beach Civility Policy and Rules of Decorum for public meetings.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
In 2015, City Council adopted a Civility Policy to provide a safe and mutually respectful environment for all members of the public and City employees, free from harassment, disruptions, and intimidation. Additionally, Rules of Decorum have been in place which address expected conduct at public meetings. At this time, Staff is recommending to separate out the two policies and incorporate revisions which further clarify expectations, types of prohibited behavior and the process for administering the policies.
DISCUSSION:
In 2015 and 2016, the City Council adopted a Civility Policy, which underwent several revisions and eventually added in participation at public meetings. While there is overlap in the desired conduct for a civil and respectful dialogue, there are differences between the types of behavior that the City can expect for interactions with City staff versus public comments at public meetings. Accordingly, the attached revisions to the Civility Policy and Rules of Decorum at Public Meetings separate the two policies and outline the expectations and protocols for each.
While the rules of decorum for public meetings relate to Brown Act standards which provide that the City “may adopt reasonable regulations to insure the intent” of the Brown Act is carried out, the expectations for civil behavior relates to the City’s obligation under the law to protect our employees from harassing or intimidating behavior. With the proposed revisions, the City intends to clarify the standard for each interaction and appropriate protocols for responding to deviations from the policy, while ensuring that public meetings provide open-minded consideration to all viewpoints in a respectful manner.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Staff will be working on ways to best communicate the policies to individuals visiting public meetings or City Hall offices.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENT:
1. Resolution No. 19-0083