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;YOf City Council Report
Santa Monica
City Council Meeting: September 14, 2010
Agenda Item:
To: Mayor and City Council ~r.~}
From: Rod Gould, City Manager
Subject: Council Meeting Rules and Procedures
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Consider adopting the attached resolution amending the Rules of Order and
Procedure for the Conduct of City Council meetings.
2. Repeal Resolution Number 10382 which established the present rules.
3. Direct staff to implement:
a. Special one-topic meetings, as necessary
b. Five-minute time limits on staff presentations, with exceptions granted by
the City Manager
c. An elapsed time display for Councilmembers and speakers
4. Consider adopting listed practices that promote shared responsibility for running
Council meetings.
Executive Summary
Santa Monica's Council meetings are the business meetings of the municipal
corporation. Rules and procedures have been crafted to support effective and efficient
decision-making, transparency, and inclusiveness. Seven changes to existing policy
and practice are proposed to streamline Council meetings without shortchanging the'
legislative process or public dialogue.. Changes to policies related to the time and order
of the meeting, accommodation to speakers with special needs, and the use of ad hoc
committees would require amendments to the Rules of Order and Procedure. Use of
special one-topic meetings, adoption of five-minute time limits on staff presentations,
and elapsed time displays for speakers could be implemented at Council's direction. In
addition, suggestions are offered to promote shared responsibility for running Council
meetings.
Background
The Council rules were revised on May 22 2008 by adoption of Resolution Number
10290 and again on February 24, 2009 by adoption of Resolution 10382. While
changes made in 2008 and 2009 have helped the meetings become more efficient
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without forsaking the public process, the volume of items recently presented to Council
and the large number of complex issues slated for the future has sparked a desire to
revisit the issue of Council meeting rules and procedures.
Staff reviewed the rules and procedures in place in over forty jurisdictions in California,
Texas, and Colorado and identified eight areas where innovative practices have been
put in place: (Attachment A)
• Frequency of regular meetings
• Use of workshops or study sessions
• Standard adjournment time
• Length of Council comments/limits on debate
• Public comment time limits/repetitious comments/use of spokesperson
• Staff presentation time limits
• Special public hearings
• Use of a timed agenda
Santa Monica's current practices are in line with many other cities. However,
opportunities for improvement exist. In July, the City's Executive Management Team,
prompted by the innovations made by other cities, brainstormed additional refinements
to the rules and procedures that govern Santa Monica's Council meetings. The goal of
this effort was to identify practices that would aid in conducting the City's business in an
efficient, transparent, and inclusive manner. The group developed athirty-item list of
actions that might streamline Council meetings without shortchanging the legislative
process or public dialogue. (Attachment B) Consensus emerged around seven of the
items, which are discussed below.
Discussion
The seven items are changes to policy and practice that would facilitate focused
attention and engagement in the City's business by Council, staff, and the public.
Adoption of three of the seven items, listed first, would require amendment to the. Rules
of Order and Procedure for the Conduct of City Council meetings. Another three of the
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seven are modifications to practice and existing technology that can be made by staff,
should Council concur with staff's recommendation and direct staff to implement the
changes. The remaining item, which concludes the list, details practices that
Councilmembers could adopt which would promote shared responsibility in running
effective, efficient, and inclusive meetings.
1. Time and Place for Holding Regular Meetings
Currently, the Council's regular meetings are set to begin at 5:45 p.m. for consideration
of the Consent Calendar and Closed Session, and all other agenda items begin no
earlier than 6:45 p.m. Closed Session is often, as it is intended, accomplished in one
hour. However, the practice of convening the meeting, considering the Consent
Calendar, adjourning the meeting, and moving to Closed Session during which time the
public waits for Council to return, creates an uneven start-stop-start flow to the meeting
and a disengagement with the public. Staff recommends that the Council's regular
meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. to call the meeting to order and that gone-hour Closed
Session follows immediately. This will effectively result in the public portion of the
meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m., a time at which many members of the public can
attend, and continuous consideration of the public agenda items.
2. Accommodation to Speakers with Special Needs
A relatively recent revision to the rules allows a person with special needs the
opportunity to request the opportunity to speak "early" and gives the presiding officer
discretion to grant the request. This amendment was intended to ensure that disabled,
elderly and very young people who could not stay at the meeting awaiting a particular
agenda item could nonetheless offer their input. Based on the experience with this
amendment, staff suggests that it be eliminated and that a different accommodation be
offered to persons who cannot await the item on which they wish to offer input.
The experience with the current accommodation has been problematic. The Council
practice has been to hear all early speakers at the start of the meeting and to
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automatically grant the opportunity to anyone who submits a chit. Understandably,
presiding officers have been reluctant to make individualized determinations as to
whether individuals requesting the accommodation actually need it or whether they
could await their items. As a result, the start of every meeting is delayed for a small
group of speakers who routinely speak early. Because each speaker addresses a
number of items, the delays are significant. As a result of this practice, at every
meeting, all other members of the public must wait longer for their items and their turns
to speak.
Staff has considered various possibilities for addressing this inequity while preserving
opportunities for those with special needs to provide their input. Consideration was
given to the possibility of requiring persons who want to speak early to demonstrate
their need. However, this possibility appeared to be both overly intrusive and
impractical.
To avoid individualized determinations of need, staff suggests that all members of the
public who cannot await their turns to speak on particular items be offered a different
option: assistance at the meeting in preparing a written statement of their testimony.. A
member of the Clerk's office could be available of the meeting to provide assistance,
and the presiding officer could make an announcement at the start of each meeting
about the availability of the accommodation. Of course, any member of the public
would still be able to submit written comments in advance of the meeting or to contact
Councilmembers individually. However, providing assistance at the meeting would allow
anyone who cannot stay at the meeting the opportunity to provide their input with the
certainty that it would be considered by the full Council. Such written statements would
be distributed by the Clerk to Councilmembers and could even by read or summarized
orally by the presiding officer at the end of the public hearing. If Council has concerns
about this approach, staff recommends that it be implemented on a trial basis and then
modified and improved according to experience.
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If this recommendation is adopted, meetings could start promptly at 6:30 p.m., and all
members of the public would retain their opportunity to speak on their item or on any
matter within the Council's jurisdiction, and those opportunities would come earlier for
all.
3. Council Committees
Large cities often utilize standing Councilmember committees to continually vet
complex, topic-specific agenda items and develop recommendations for the larger body.
For example, the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego have committees devoted to
budget and finance issues, public safety concerns, and land use. These committees
have appointed Councilmembers with delegated authority and hold regular meetings
which are subject to the Brown Act. Meetings are publically noticed, staffed, and official
minutes are kept.
In comparison, ad hoc committees are established by legislative bodies as needed to
allow less than a quorum to focus on a specific issue and then report back to the larger
group. Ad hoc committees are used to help the legislative body work through special
matters, or aid the movement of complex and time-sensitive items. Meetings are
exempt from the Brown Act and cease when the item has been resolved.
As a means to developing in-depth understanding of the City's complex business and
maximizing the group's efficiency during public meetings, staff recommends that as a
first pass at committee work, the Council consider adopting a rule that would allow for
ad hoc committees of three or less members. Should Council wish to consider
implementation of standing committees, staff will return with a detailed analysis of the
additional staff resources necessary to support holding public Council committee
meetings.
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4. Special One-Topic Meetings
Already this year, Council has convened two special meetings to hold FY10-11 budget
study sessions, four special meetings to consider the proposed Land Use and
Circulation Element (LUCE), one special meeting for both adoption of the FY10-11
budget and consideration of the LUCE, and a special meeting to consider placing
measures on the November 2010 ballot. While this may be slightly more than the norm,
Council has a history of calling special meetings to dedicate the needed time to specific
topics. With few or no other items on the agenda; special one-topic meetings allow
Council, staff, and the public to engage in a robust process absent usual time
constraints. Staff recommends continued and expanded use of special one-topic
meetings as a means to enhance the quality of attention to the City's business.
5. Five-Minute Limit on Staff Presentations
All Council agenda items are presented to Council and the public in advance of the
meeting in the form of a written staff report. Written reports are comprehensive and
detailed, include history, analysis, budget impacts, alternatives, and recommendations
and serve as the item's written record. In addition, staff generally provides an oral and
sometimes visual presentation during the meeting. The length and manner of staff
presentations has varied widely, depending on the nature of the item. Given the
production of an ample written report prior to the meeting, staff believes that in most
cases the key elements of staff's presentation to Council - a summary of the item,
staff's recommendation and corresponding rationale, and any changes since publication
of the written report -can be conveyed in five minutes. Complex items may require
additional time, which would be granted at the discretion of the City Manager. If Council
concurs with this change in practice, staff will begin implementing it at the next meeting.
6. Ela sed Time Display for Councilmembers and Speakers
Currently, the City Manager's Office provides a draft "timed agenda", an estimate of the
approximate start and end times of each agenda item, to Council and others seated on
the digs. The timed agenda is meant to serve as a guide to running a meeting that
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adheres to the Council's current rule that no new item, other than public input, shall be
considered after 11:00 p.m. unless approved by two-thirds of the body.
Like the timed agenda, an elapsed time display for Councilmembers and individuals
speaking at the podium could be a tool to help meetings stay on track. The new
audio/visual system in the Council chambers allows for a timer to be triggered when a
speaker's microphone is turned on, and turned off in tandem with the microphone..
Councilmembers and speakers at the podium would see a running clock on their display
screen of the elapsed time since the speaker's microphone was turned on. The elapsed
time display would not be visible to others and would remain on the display screen until
the microphone was turned on again. Staff is not proposing time limits for
Councilmembers or individuals speaking in response to Council questions. Rather, the
self-timing function is offered as another tool to raise awareness of the length of time
spent on an item.
7. Shared Responsibility for Running the Meeting
Santa Monioa's Council meetings are the business meetings of the municipal
corporation. Procedures are governed by Roberts Rules of Order. Rules advance a free
interchange of information and public debate while providing a process that is meant to
allow effective and efficient decision-making by the majority, fairness towards the
minority, and the opportunity for each member as well as the public to voice an opinion.
As there is much business for the Council to consider, deliberate, and decide all
Councilmembers have a role in running meetings in an orderly and inclusive manner
and the chair has the added responsibility of ensuring that members conform to the
rules. In order to expedite the City's business, offer a clear and understandable audio
and visual record, encourage participation by members and the public, allow for the
equal consideration of all comments, and maintain transparency, staff offers a few
reminders:
speak one at a time
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• be recognized by the chair before speaking
• assure that statements and comments are on the subject matter and concise
• assure that public comment is received as mandated by the Brown Act, maintain
uniformity in providing equal time to all, do not publically agree or disagree with
comments made or engage in dialogue with members of the public
• use professional titles and formal methods of address
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
There are no direct financial impacts to implementing the actions recommended in this
report.
Prepared by: Marsha Moutrie, City Attorney
Maria Stewart, City Clerk
Danielle Noble, Assistant to the City Manager, Management Services
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
Rod Gould, Rod Gould
City Manager City Manager
Attachments:
A. Resolution
B. Summary of Innovations in Council Meeting Rules
C. Executive Team Brainstorming
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Reference Resolution No.
10525 (CCS).