SR 01-22-2019 3H
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: January 22, 2019
Agenda Item: 3.H
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Cole, City Manager, City Manager's Office, Administration
Subject: Modifying Council Rules for Public Comment at Council Retreat
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council direct staff to inform the public that Council
intends to suspend the Council rules to modify the time limits for public comment at the
Council Retreat on January 26, 2019.
Summary
The Council will meet for its annual Retreat on January 26, 2019. The outcome of this
year’s Retreat will be to determine the Framework Priorities for the upcoming Fiscal
Years (FY) 2019-21 budget. The retreat will feature multiple opportunities for
community input, including public comment as well as facilitated workshop exercises.
To ensure a collaborative and inclusive process, staff recommends suspending the
Council rules on the morning of the retreat to shorten the time allotted to each member
of the public for individual public comment. Staff further recommends that Council direct
staff to inform the public in advance of this anticipated change to the time limits.
Discussion
The Council Retreat offers a unique opportunity for Council, staff, and the community to
collaborate to inform Council’s decision making. The 2019 Retreat is a key milestone in
the development of the FY 2019-21 budget, a budget that will lay the foundation for
Santa Monica’s transition to Performance-Based Budgeting, using the City’s Framework
for a Sustainable City of Wellbeing. The Retreat will focus on identifying the Framework
Priorities for the next two-year budget.
The Retreat will include different opportunities for public input, including both traditional
public comment as well as facilitated small group collaboration. This will be added to
the input collected by over 2,000 survey respondents and 50 participants in discussions
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with the City Manager to help the Council assess where focused attention is needed.
Additionally, Boards and Commissions were asked to participate in the survey and
submit letters to Council.
Staff recommends that Council suspend the Council rules on the morning of the retreat
and adopt modified rules for individual public comment, limiting time for each speaker to
a total of one minute and suspending the ability to donate time to other speakers and to
submit late chits. Staff also recommends limiting the time for Board and Commission
members to two-and-a-half minutes. This will allow for as many attendees to speak as
possible and allow for input through facilitated exercises.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of
recommended action.
Prepared By: Christopher Smith, Assistant to the City Manager
Approved
Forwarded to Council