HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-03-26 - RESOLUTIONS - AMEND RESO NO. 12-73, COUNCIL NORMS AND PROCEDURES (2)RESOLUTION NO. 19-8
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA,
CALIFORNIA, AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 12-73, COUNCIL NORMS AND
PROCEDURES FOR COUNCIL MEETINGS AND RELATED FUNCTIONS AND
ACTIVITIES TO INCLUDE ROSENBERG'S RULES OF ORDER
WHEREAS, the City Council has previously adopted norms and procedures and now
wishes to augment the previously adopted norms and procedures to include formalized
parliamentary procedures.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita, California. does
hereby resolve as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 3.A.1 of Resolution No. 12-73 is hereby amended to read as
follows:
"A. Authority of the Chair
1. The Mayor, subject to the appeal of the full Council, shall have the authority to
streamline the business of the Council by either seeking clarification of motions
which appear to be out of order or by ruling any such motions out of order. In so
ruling, the Mayor should be courteous and fair, and should presume that the
moving party is acting in good faith. Meetings of the City Council shall be run
consistent with the general rules in Rosenberg's Rules of Order, except that
motions shall be voted upon in the order in which they are made, and except
where the Council has expressly adopted a rule inconsistent therewith."
SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this resolution.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 26`x' day of March 2019.
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
G
DATE
1 of 2
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss.
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA )
I, Mary Cusick, City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that the foregoing
Resolution No. 19-8 was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita at a regular
meeting thereof, held on the 26th day of March 2019 by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
Smyth, Weste, Kellar
Miranda, McLean
None
2 of 2
RESOLUTION NO. 12-73
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA,
CALIFORNIA, AMENDING AND ADOPTING COUNCIL NORMS AND PROCEDURES
FOR COUNCIL MEETINGS AND RELATED FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
WHEREAS, it is the intent and desire of the City Council to conduct its business in an
orderly and fair manner; and
WHEREAS, there are certain basic rights of due process and opportunity to address
issues with equity, fairness, and equal protection of the law; and
WHEREAS, certain parliamentary procedures have been found to be useful in order to
assure that the communication and process of government are fair, reasonable, and just; and
WHEREAS, the City has a duty to proceed with the business of government in an
efficient and orderly fashion; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to establish uniform norms and procedures in order
to accomplish these goals; and
WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes that these non -ns and procedures are guidelines
intended to reflect common sense; and
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 11-68 on July 12, 2011, adopting
norms and procedures, and now desires to update that resolution.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita does hereby resolve as
follows:
SECTION 1. Act in the Public Interest
A. Councilmembers and staff should recognize that stewardship of the public interest
must be the primary concern.
B. Councilmembers should work for the common good of the people of Santa
Clarita.
C. Councilmembers should assure fair and equal treatment of all persons, elaiius, and
' transactions coming before the City Council and Coulinissions.
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SEC"TION 2. Advocacy
A. Councilmembers shall represent the official policies or positions of the City
Council when designated as delegates for this purpose.
B. Wlien representing their individual opinions and positions, Councilmembers
should explicitly state they do not represent the City Council of the City, nor
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SECTION 3. Role of the Mayor
A. Authority of the Chair
1. The Mayor, subject to the appeal of the full Council, shall have the authority to
streamline the business of the Council by either seeking clarification of motions
which appear to be out of order or by ruling any such motions out of order. In so
ruling, the Mayor should be courteous and fair, and should presume that the
moving party is acting in good faith.
2. The Mayor's position is as a leader among equals; the City Manager goes to the
Mayor as the representative leader of the Council.
B. Mayor to Facilitate Council Meetings
1. The Mayor is the presiding officer at all City Council meetings. In the Mayor's
absence, the Mayor Pro Tem shall be the presiding officer.
2. All questions and remarks should be addressed to the Mayor.
3. The Mayor shall decide all questions of order, subject, however, to an appeal to
the Council.
4. The Mayor shall recognize the Councilmembers, City Manager , and citizens
desiring to speak.
5 The Mayor should allow other Councilmembers to speak first on items before the
Council and then should state his/her summary.
6. The Mayor should not permit unauthorized remarks from the audience including
applause, - stamping of feet, whistles, yells or shouting, . and/or similar
demonstratioiis.
7. The Mayor shall designate a time limit for public comment. Upon expiration of
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that time, the Mayor should inform the citizen that his or her time has expired and
promptly move on to the next speaker or issue on the agenda.
S. The Mayor may call for a short recess during a Council meeting when deemed
necessary. If a speaker becomes abusive, boisterous, or discourteous, an
immediate declaration may be made by the Mayor that the Council is in recess.
Upon reconvening the meeting, if the prior speaker attempts to resume, he or she
can either be informed that his or her three (3) minute speaking opportunity has
expired or be allowed to complete the balance of the three (3) minute speaking
opportunity.
9. The Mayor should manage the agenda in a manner that adheres to the City
Council Adjournment Policy; all City Council meetings should adjourn by 11:30
p.m. Pursuant to the City Council Adjournment Policy, exceptions are permitted
upon a 4/5'vote of the Council.
G. The Mayor will represent the City and the majority opinion of the Council on all
actions/positions taken by the Council.
SECTION 4. Role of the City Council and Council Subcommittees
A. Council Conduct in General
1. Councilmembers should treat everyone with courtesy.
2. Inappropriate behavior is derogatory and damages the perception of the City.
3. While the Council is in session, the Councilmembers and City staff should
preserve strict order and decorum. No Councilmember should delay or interrupt
the proceedings of the Council or interrupt any Councilmember while speaking.
4. CounciImembers should give a signal to the Mayor to indicate they want to speak.
The Mayor should acknowledge them before they begin speaking. .
5. Any Councilmember shall have the right to express dissent from, or protest to, or
comment upon, any action of the Council, and have the option to enter the reason
into the minutes, such as "I would like the rninutes to show that 1 am opposed to
this action for the following reasons..."
6. Onec a vote is taken on an issue, Councilmembers should support the decision
made by the Council. If a Councilmember who voted in favor of the decision,
whether the decision was to approve or deny, wants it to be reconsidered, he/she
should make a motion at the meeting where the decision is made or at the next
regutar meeting. A Councilmember voting in the minority is not entitled to make
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a motion to reconsider. When possible, the Council should attempt to reach
consensus on an issue. When this is not possible, the majority vote shall prevail.
However, the Council should respect the opinion of the minority.
7. When less than the full Council is present, or when one or more Councilmembers
abstain based upon a conflict of interest, , a motion shall be lost on a tie vote.
Any member who abstains fora reason other than a conflict of interest shall be
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vote.
In the event of a Council vacancy, or when all Councilmembers are present but
one or more have abstained based upon a conflict of interest, , a tie vote on
whether to grant an appeal from official action or on a quasi-judicial matter shall
be considered a denial of such appeal or matter, unless the Council takes other
action to further• consider the appeal or matter. If a tie vote on an appeal or
quasi-judicial matter results at a time when less than all members of the Council
are present, and no one has abstained for a reason other than a conflict of interest,
the matter shall automatically be continued to the agenda of the next regular
meeting of the Council, unless otherwise ordered by the Council.
8. Councilmembers should publicly share substantive information, which they may
have received from sources outside the public decision-making process, which is
relevant to a matter under consideration by the Council and Commissions.
9. When a rumor is involved, it is each Councilmember's responsibility to not
validate the rumor or repeat it to others. Assess the rumor by addressing the
person the rumor involves. 1£ a rumor affects the City, then the issue should be
brought to the attention of the Mayor and the City Manager.
10. Councilmembers should allow for everyone's opinion to be heard and respected,
even if they do not win the vote or prevail on the issue. Strive for a win-win
situation by respecting diverse opinions.
11. Councilmembers should allow room for dialogue. When discussing an agenda
item, Councilmembers should allow the opportunity to dialogue with each other to
build consensus on an item.
12. Any member of the Council may move to require the Mayor to enforce the rules,
and an affirmative vote of a majority of Councilmembers present should be
required to do so.
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Council Conduct with One Another
Councilmeinbers should value each other's time during Council Meetings.
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2. All Councilmembers have the opportunity to speak and agree to disagree.
3. Councilmembers should avoid negative comments that could offend other
Councilmembers during public meetings, in the press, or any other time.
4. Councilmembers should practice civility and decorum in discussions and debate.
5. Councilmembers will honor the role of the Mayor in maintaining order.
C. Council Conduct with Staff
1. Councilmembers should always feel free to speak directly with the City Manager
on matters of interest or concern to them.
2. Councilmembers should respect and adhere to the City's form of government,
which is a general -law City operating under a Council -Manager form of
government, with the City Council acting as the legislative body of the City.
Council is the visionary policy maker; -the City Manager is responsible for
implementation of Council majority policies.
3. Council directs the City Manager to implement Council policy decisions through
the administrative functions of the City.
4. Councilmembers should treat staff professionally.
5. Councilmembers should not publicly criticize an individual employee.
6. Councilmembers should not get involved in administrative functions.
7. When possible, Councilmembers should seek answers to questions on an item on
the agenda from the City Manager prior to the meeting. Councilmembers are also
encouraged to let the City Manager know of questions that will be asked publicly
or during the Council Meeting to allow staff an opportunity to be prepared to give
a response.
8. With the exception of closed session discussions permitted by the Brown Act,
Councilmembers will not get involved in personnel issues. This includes luring,
firing,'pr6moting, disciplining; and all other forms ofpersonriel matters, which are -
the responsibility of the City Manager.
9_ if a Councilmember is unhappy about a department or pan employee;, he/she may
discuss the situation with the City Manager or Assistant City Manager, not the
Department Head.
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10. To be consistent with requirements of the California Fair Political Practices
Commission (FPPC), individual Councilmembers must not use their influence to
effect a decision on a matter or project for which they have a conflict of interest,
Individual Councilmembers must not discuss or meet with the City Manager,
staff, or Commissioners about projects or issues in which the Councilmember has
a conflict of interest.
D. Council Conduct with the Public
1. Councilmembers should make the public feel welcome.
2. Councilmembers should not be partial, prejudiced or disrespectful toward the
public.
3. Councilmembers should not make snappy, sarcastic cornments to the public or to
each other.
4. Councilmembers should treat members of the public equally, i.e. refer to citizens
by surname.
5. Councilmembers should make no promises to the public on behalf of the City
Council.
6 Councilmembers should not debate issues with inembers of the public.
7. Councilmembers should listen courteously and attentively to all public comments
before the Council.
E. Council Conduct with Other Agencies
1. Councilmembers should be clear about representing the City or personal interests
to members of other agencies.
2. Councilmembers should project a positive ii -nage of the City when dealing with
other agencies.
3. Individual Councilmembers can lobby or discuss with other legislators,
government officials, or developers issues that have been adopted by the Council
or are Council policy, they should not represent themselves as the City if it is only
an. individual issue.
4. Councilmembers should show tolerance and respect for other agencies' opinions
and issues, and agree to disagree with them when necessary.
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Council Conduct with Commissions
The Mayor works through the Commission chairs.
2. Council should treat all members of the Commissions with appreciation and
respect.
3. Commissioners or Committee members may address the Council on items
discussed by their respective bodies, but this should be limited to the chair or a
representative which has been appointed by the Commission or Conunittee, and
should be done only when asked by the majority of the Commission or
Committee. This will not take precedence over any individual's first amendment
right to address the Council as an individual.
G. Council Conduct with the Media
1. Councilmembers should never go "off the record" (discuss inside information)
when dealing with the media. Providing background information is acceptable.
2. Councilmembers should select words carefully and cautiously.
3. Councilmembers shall represent the City's official position when speaking on
behalf of the City to the media. Individual Councilmembers should indicate if
they are making comments that represents their own opinion and not of the
Council majority.
4. Councilmembers are encouraged to infonn the Mayor or City Manager of
interviews or comments made to the media about City projects or issues so the
City Manager can inform the rest of the City Council of issues that could be of
interest
H. Obtaining the Floor
1. Any member of the Council wishing to speak must first obtain the floor by being
recognized by the Mayor. The Mayor must recognize any Councilmeiuber who
seeks the floor when appropriately entitled to do so.
2. With the concurrence of the Mayor, a Councilmember holding the floor may
address a question to another Councilmember, and that Councilmember may
respond while the floor is still held by the Councilmember asking the question. A
Councilmember may opt to not answer a question while another Councilmember
has the floor.
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3. Once recognized by the Mayor, a Councilmember should not be interrupted while
speaking, unless called to order by the Mayor, or unless another Councilmember
raises a point of order or personal privilege. If a Councilmember, while speaking
is called to order, they should cease speaking until the question of order is
determined and, if determined to be in order, may proceed.
4. Before the question is called, there shall be an opportunity for all
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dialogue in order to build consensus on an item or agree to disagree. When the
question is called, no further debate shall occur. A motion is required in the event
of an objection to ending the debate.
I. Council Subcommittees
1. The role of Council Subcommittees is to develop program . and policy
recommendations for the full Council's consideration at meetings of the City
Council,
2. Council Subcommittees will not make final and binding decisions on behalf of the
City, nor will they commit the City's financial resources, nor direct staff.
SECTION S. Role of City Staff
A. City staff will provide written analysis and information on all agenda items prior
to the meetings. Additionally, a copy of the materials, including technical reports,
will be available to the public.
B. The City Manager and staff will be available to answer questions of individual
Couneilmembers prior to and during Council meetings.
C. Staff will respond to questions from the public during City Council meetings
when requested to do so by the City Manager.
D. Staff will not debate issues with the public or the Council.
E. During City Council meetings, staff shall turn .off or switch any electronic
equipment such as pagers and cellular telephones to a silent anode.
F. Councilmen-ibcrs and staff who participate in ieetings with other agencies outside
the City should be apprised of any follow up correspondence to Ahat party; City
Manager and all Councilmembers should receive a copy of that correspondence.
G. It is staff's role to snake recommendations to the City Council based on
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professional judgment and analysis of issues. Additionally, the City Manager will
implement Council majority direction.
H. The City Manager should inform Council as soon as possible of upcoming issues,
particularly issues that will impact the City significantly and may be coming
before the Council on short notice.
I. The City Manager should advise management to become more aware of, and
sensitive to, potentially political or controversial issues coming before the
Council.
J. City staff will implement all Council majority policies as directed by the City
Manager.
SECTION 6. Role of the Public
A. Members of the public attending the Council meetings should observe the same
rules and decorum applicable to the Council and staff.
B. Members of the public wishing to speak during the public participation portion of
the City Council meeting shall prepare a presentation of not more than three (3)
minutes. Public participation speaker's slips must be submitted to the City Clerk
before this portion of the meeting begins. Members of the public wishing to
address an item on the agenda during a City Council meeting should fill out a
speaker's slip and submit it to the City Clerk before the Mayor announces the
item. Each person addressing the City Council is given three (3) minutes to
speak, indicated by a colored light system on the Council dais; a green lighf
appears when the speaker begins; a yellow light appears when 30 seconds remain;
and a red light appears when time has expired. Comments should be complete at
this tune. '
C. All speakers must approach the podium when recognized by the Mayor. Members
of the public shall only speak from the podium.
D. Applause, stamping of feet, whistles, yells, or shouting, and/or similar
demonstrations are unacceptable public behavior. Applause is allowed during the
Awards and Recognition section of the.agenda.
E. Members of the public should not make any impertinent and slanderous
remark's, or become boisterous while addressing the Council or while attending
the Council meeting in a manner that impedes the City Council to conduct an
orderly meeting.
F. Members of the public should turn off or switch any electronic equipment, 5sc1i as
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pagers and cellular telephones, to a silent mode while attending a City Council
meeting.
G. Members of the public shall not approach individual Councilinembers while the
meeting is in progress.
H. If a member of the public desires to provide written materials (10 copies
recommended) to the Council during a Council meeting, all such materials shall
be given directly to the City Clerk. At no time shall the public provide the
materials directly to members of the Council during a Council meeting.
SECTION 7. Council Requests
A. All Council requests dealing with policy issues, and those requests which may be
construed as direction, go through the City Manager. Council should not direct
employees. Councilmembers can make general inquiries for information of staff.
If the City Manager determines that a request by an individual Councilmember of
City Manager or staff requires creation of reports or undertaking of analysis that
will involve a significant amount of time, the individual Councilmember shall be
advised to make the request of the entire Council at an agendized meeting,
B. Any request from City Council requiring financing must go through the City
Manager.
C. The City Attorney undertakes legal work at the request of a majority of the City
Council, the City Manager and Department Heads or their designees. Individual
Councilmembers may contact the City Attorney concerning conflicts of interest.
Individual Councilmembers may also request legal opinions and advice of the
City Attorney, provided that such work does not require more than I/2 hour to
complete. The results of such work will be shared with all Councilmembers, only
if applicable to the City Council or future item to be considered by the City
Council. If the work is anticipated to require more than 1/2 hour to complete, the
City Attorney will so advise and the Councilmember can make the request of the
entire Council at an agendized meeting.
SECTION 8. Presentations and Events
A. Councilmember presentations during a Council meeting are liihited to the item or
issue being deliberated, with the exception of Council Continents. To ins«re that
the. appropriate presentation equipment is available, Councilme.mbers, must
provide the City Manager advance notice of the intent to make a presentation.
Presentations by individual Council Members regarding an item on the agenda
that include a video, PowerPoint, or other visual aids are limited to five minwes.
to
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Individual Councilmembers will provide a copy of the presentation to the full City
Council at least twenty-four hours in advance of the meeting.
B. All Councilmembers will be informed and invited to events, activities,
groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings, etc., that acknowledge a Citywide
accomplishment. The Mayor should preside at each event on behalf of the City
Council and should work with the City Manager to determine who should speak at
each event. if the Mayor is not available, to preside at an event, the Mayor Pro
Tem should preside. Councilmembers could preside at an event if the Mayor and
Mayor Pro Tem are not available.
C. The Mayor, City Manager, and each Councilmember may present a segment of the
City's Annual State of the City Address, taking 4-5 minutes each. The Mayor
should work with the City Manager to determine the format of the presentation
and issues or projects that should be discussed.
D. During public presentations, the Mayor, and, if the Mayor deems appropriate, a
Councilmember who was Highly involved in the project, should represent the City.
SECTION 9. Council Agenda
A. The City Manager is responsible for setting the agenda for Council Meetings.
Additionally, any Councilmember or the Mayor can put items on the agenda, with
a verbal majority of the Council. Any Councilmember can request a subsequent
need item be added to the agenda if requirements of the Brown Act are met.
B. Consistent with requirements of the Brown Act, the Mayor or majority of the
Council may call a special meeting.
C. Either the City Manager, staff or Councilmembers can present agenda topics.
D. The'City Manager should try to research ahead of time any controversial agenda
item, what the issues might be, and try to avoid any "surprise' conflicts. In a
democratic process it should be recognized that sometimes this is unavoidable_
E. Councilmembers will be given sufficient lead and preparation time for reviewing
agendas, lh the event that an individual Councilmember feels=that they have not'
been given sufficient time to review the agenda and materials, the Councilmember
can ask the Council to continue the item. An item can be continued with a
majority vote.
SECTION 10. Public Correspondence
A. City letterhead with all
Councilmember names should
be used
for responses to
policy issues.
B. City letterhead with
City seal only, should be
utilized
by individual
Councilmembers for responses to constituent letters, so
long as
it is not a policy
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policy of the Council.
C. Councilmembers should respond to an e-mail inquiry if they are comfortable with
the Council's policy and stand on the issue; if not, refer it to the City Manager.
D. Councilmembers are encouraged to forward ernail correspondence, and phone
calls and their responses, to the City Manager or designee who will monitor
responses and track the request, suggestion, issue, etc.
SECTION 11. Closed Session Confidentiality
A. All proper matters discussed during closed sessions shall be private and
confidential, and the disvlosure by any person of the topics or details of such
matters is expressly prohibited.
B. Notes in closed session should not be taken; however, if a Councilmember feels it
is necessary, then only cursory notes should be permitted. All closed session
information, verbal or written, is confidential and private. Councilmembers will
return written documents to staff at the end of each closed session.
SECTION 12. Compliance and Enforcement
A. Councilmembers have the primary responsibility to assure that ethical standards
are understood and met by the Council, and that the public can continue to have
full confidence in the integrity of govermlient.
B. The Mayor and the Council have the responsibility to intervene when actions of
members are in violation of the standard norms and procedures.
SECTION 13. Administration
A. The Council can review and revise the City Council etonns and procedures as needed.
B. During City Council discussions, deliberations, and proceedings, the Mayor has been
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designated with the primary responsibility to insure that Councilmernbers, staff and
members of the public adhere to the Council's norms and procedures.
SECTION 14. Resolution No. 11-b8 is hereby rescinded.
SECTION 15. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this resolution.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 13th day of November, 2012.
-i n �
1 �iV 1� 1 -
IN ERK
DATE:
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
}
) ss.
MAYOR
I, Armine Chaparyan, Interim City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify
that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita at
a regular meeting thereof, held on the by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
COUNCILMEMBERS: Kellar, Boydston, McLean, Weste, Ferry
COUNCILMEMBERS: None _.
COUNCILMEMBERSNone
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