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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-07-12 - AGENDA REPORTS - COUNCIL NORMS (2)CONSENT CALENDAR DATE: SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT: Agenda Item: 3 CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT City Manager Approval: Item to be presented by July 12, 2011 Casey Bingham CITY COUNCIL NORMS AND PROCEDURES FOR COUNCIL MEETINGS AND RELATED FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES City Manager's Office RECOMMENDED ACTION City Council adopt an amended City Council Norms and Procedures resolution adding a procedure on motions regarding a tie vote of the City Council and new norms to uphold order in Council meetings. BACKGROUND At the February 11, 2003, City Council meeting, the Council adopted Resolution No. 03-22 City Council Norms and Procedures for Council Meetings and Related Functions and Activities to ensure the City Council conducts its business in an efficient and orderly fashion. The City Council has requested clarification of procedures relative to tie votes of the City Council. The City Attorney has prepared language for consideration of the City Council in the event of a tie vote. Should the Council wish to adopt language relating to tie votes, it is recommended that the new language be placed as addition to Section 4 -Role of the City Council, Sub -section A. Council Conduct in General, (following what is currently listed as item #6): "When no Councilmember abstains from voting, the motion shall be lost on a tie vote. Any member who abstains for a reason other than a conflict of interest shall be deemed to have acquiesced to the motion and the motion shall be passed on a tie vote. When all Councilmembers are present, 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, the matter shall automatically be continued to the agenda of the next regular meeting of the Council, unless otherwise ordered by the Council. " The City Council has also requested a new policy to address interruptions, objectionable behavior, or disturbances from the public in Council meetings. The City Attorney has prepared language for consideration of the City Council in the event a member of the public or by a group of persons is disrupting Council proceedings. Should the Council wish to adopt language relating to public disturbances, it is recommended that the new language be placed as addition to Section 6- Role of the Public, (following what is currently listed as letter D): "Pursuant to Santa Clarita Municipal Code 2.04.030, any member or other person using profane, vulgar, loud or boisterous language at any meeting or otherwise interrupting the proceedings, who refuses to be seated or keep quiet when ordered to do so by the Mayor or other presiding officer of the Council, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Pursuant to Government Code Section 5495 7.9, the Mayor has legal power and responsibility to preserve order and decorum; prevent demonstrations; order removed from Council Chambers any person whose conduct he/she deems objectionable; and order the Board Room cleared whenever he/she shall deem it necessary. Pursuant to Government Code Section 5495 7.9, in the event that any meeting is willfully interrupted by a group or groups of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of such meeting unfeasible and order cannot be restored by the removal of individuals who are willfully interrupting the meeting, the members of the legislative body conducting the meeting may order the meeting room cleared and continue in session. Only matters appearing on the agenda may be considered in such a session. Representatives of the press or other news media, except those participating in the disturbance, shall be allowed to attend any session held pursuant to this section. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the legislative body from establishing a procedure for readmitting an individual or individuals not responsible for willfully disturbing the orderly conduct of the meeting. " The proposed revisions to the existing City Council Norms and Procedures are identified in the attached resolution in bold italic type. The adoption of this new resolution would rescind, in its entirety, Resolution No. 03-22 adopted on February 11, 2003. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS Other direction as determined by the City Council. FISCAL IMPACT No additional financial resources beyond those already approved in the adopted city budget are required for implementation of the recommended action. ATTACHMENTS Resolution RESOLUTION 11- 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 adopted Resolution No. 00-134 on October 24, 2000, 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. City Council and staff shall recognize that stewardship of the public interest must be the primary concern. B. City Council will work for the common good of the people of Santa Clarita. C. City Council will assure fair and equal treatment of all persons, claims, and transactions coming before the City Council and Commissions. SECTION 2. Advocacy A. Council shall represent the official policies or positions of the City Council when designated as delegates for this purpose. 3 B. When representing their individual opinions and positions, Council shall explicitly state they do not represent the City Council of the City, nor will they allow the inference that they do. 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 shall 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 Tern shall be the presiding officer. 2. All questions and remarks shall 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, staff, and citizens desiring to speak. 5 The Mayor will allow other Councilmembers to speak first on items before the Council and then will state his/her summary. 6. The Mayor shall not permit unauthorized remarks from the audience including applause, stamping of feet, whistles, yells or shouting, and/or similar demonstrations. 7. The Mayor shall designate a time limit for public comment. Upon expiration of that time, the Mayor shall inform the citizen that his or her time has expired and promptly move on to the next speaker or issue on the agenda. 8. The Mayor may call for a short recess in 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 shall manage the agenda in a manner that adheres to the City Council Adjournment Policy; all City Council meetings should adjourn by 11:00 p.m. 10. 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 A. Council Conduct in General 1. Councilmembers shall 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 shall preserve strict order and decorum. No Councilmember shall delay or interrupt the proceedings of the Council or interrupt any member while speaking. 4. Councilmembers should give a signal to the Mayor to indicate they want to speak. Mayor will 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 minutes to show that I am opposed to this action for the following reasons..." 6. Once a vote is taken on an issue, Councilmembers will support the law made by the Council. If a Councilmember wants it to be reconsidered, he/she will inform Council. 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 shall respect the opinion of the minority. 7. When no Councilmember abstains from voting, the motion shall be lost on a tie vote. Any member who abstains for a reason other than a conflict of interest shall be deemed to have acquiesced to the motion and the motion shall be passed on a tie vote. When all Councilmembers are present, 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, the matter shall automatically be continued to the agenda of the next regular meeting of the Council, unless otherwise ordered by the Council. 8. Council shall publicly share substantive information, which they may have received from sources outside the public decision-making process, that is relevant to a matter under consideration by the Council and commissions. 9. When a rumor is involved, it is that Councilmember's responsibility to not validate the rumor or repeat it to others. Assess the rumor by addressing the person the rumor involves. If a rumor affects the City, then the issue should be brought to the attention of the Mayor and the City Manager. 10. 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 will allow room for dialogue. When discussing an agenda item, Council will 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 shall be required to do so. B. Council Conduct with One Another 1. Council will value each other's time. 2. All Councilmembers have the opportunity to speak and agree to disagree. 3. Council will avoid negative comments that could offend other Councilmembers during public meetings, in the press, or any other time. 4. Council will practice civility and decorum in discussions and debate. 5. Council will honor the role of the Mayor in maintaining order. C. Council Conduct with Staff Councilmembers should always feel free to speak directly with the City Manager on matters of interest or concern to them. 2. Council shall 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; staff is responsible for implementation of Council policies. 3. Council directs the City Manager to implement Council policy decisions through the administrative functions of the City. 4. City Council shall treat staff professionally. 5. City Council shall not publicly criticize an individual employee. 6. City Council shall not get involved in administrative functions. 7. When possible, Council shall seek answers to questions on an item on the agenda from the City Manager or Department Head prior to the meeting. 8. Councilmembers will not get involved in personnel issues, except during a closed session where personnel issues may be discussed. This includes hiring, firing, promoting, disciplining, and all other forms of personnel matters. 9. If a Councilmember is unhappy about a department or an employee, he/she may discuss the situation with the City Manager or Assistant City Manager, not the Department Head. D. Council Conduct with the Public 1. Council will make the public feel welcome. 2. Council shall not be partial, prejudiced or disrespectful toward the public. 3. Council should not make snappy, sarcastic comments to the public or to each other. 4. Council shall treat members of the public equally, i.e. refer to citizens by surnames. 5. Councilmembers shall make no promises to the public on behalf of the City Council. 6 Council shall not debate issues with members of the public. 7. Council shall listen courteously and attentively to all public comments before the Council. 5 17 E. Council Conduct with Other Agencies 1. Council shall be clear about representing the City or personal interests to members of other agencies. 2. Council shall project a positive image 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. City Council shall show tolerance and respect for other agencies' opinions and issues, and agree to disagree with them when necessary. F. Council Conduct with Commissions 1. The Mayor works through the Commission chairs. 2. Council shall 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 Committee, 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. Council shall never go "off the record" (discuss inside information) when dealing with the media. Providing background information is acceptable. 2. Council shall select words carefully and cautiously. 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 Councilmember who seeks the floor when appropriately entitled to do so. 6 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 not to answer a question while another Councilmember has the floor. 3. Once recognized by the Mayor, a Councilmember shall 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 shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined and, if determined to be in order, may proceed. SECTION 5. 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. Staff will be available to answer questions of the Council prior to and during Council meetings. C. Staff will respond to questions from the public during City Council meetings when required 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 mode. F. Councilmembers and staff who participate in meetings with outsiders should be apprised of any follow up correspondence to that party, particularly if there is some controversy; City Manager and all Councilmembers should get copied on all correspondence. G. Staff will remain objective on issues. Staff should not be an advocate for issues unless so directed by Council. Rather, they should promote or assist the efforts of Council. H. Staff will inform Council as soon as possible of upcoming issues, particularly issues that will impact the City significantly and may be coming before Council on short notice. I. If any one or two Councilmembers feel something is controversial or a "hot" issue, and it may be coming before the Council, the City Manager will inform the y Mayor about the issue. It is up to the Mayor to inform the members of the Council who might be interested. J. City Manager will advise management to become more aware of, and sensitive to, potentially political or controversial issues coming before the Council. K. City staff will implement all Council policies as directed by the City Manager; staff will not implement any actions for the City without prior approval of City Council and City Manager. SECTION 6. Role of the Public A. Members of the public attending the Council meetings shall 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 light 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 time. C. All speakers must approach the podium when recognized by the Mayor. Members of the public shall only speak from the podium. Applause, stamping of feet, whistles, yells, or shouting, and/or similar demonstrations are unacceptable public behavior. D. Members of the public shall not make any impertinent and slanderous remarks, 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. Pursuant to Santa Clarita Municipal Code 2.04.030, any member or other person using profane, vulgar, loud or boisterous language at any meeting or otherwise interrupting the proceedings, who refuses to be seated or keep quiet when ordered to do so by the Mayor or other presiding officer of the Council, is guilty of a misdemeanor. E. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.9, the Mayor has legal power and responsibility to preserve order and decorum; prevent demonstrations; order removed from Council Chambers any person whose conduct he/she deems objectionable; and order the Board Room cleared whenever he/she shall deem it necessary. F. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.9, in the event that any meeting is willfully interrupted by a group or groups of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of such meeting unfeasible and order cannot be restored by the removal of individuals who are willfully interrupting the meeting, the members of the legislative body conducting the meeting may order the meeting room cleared and continue in session. Only matters appearing on the agenda may be considered in such a session. Representatives of the press or other news media, except those participating in the disturbance, shall be allowed to attend any session held pursuant to this section. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the legislative body from establishing a procedure for readmitting an individual or individuals not responsible for willfully disturbing the orderly conduct of the meeting. G. Members of the public shall turn off or switch any electronic equipment, such as pagers and cellular telephones, to a silent mode while attending a City Council meeting. H. Members of the public shall not approach individual City Councilmembers while the meeting is in progress. If a member of the public desires to provide written materials (10 copies recommended) to the Council, 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. 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, except for general inquiries or questions, in which case Council may go to the Department Heads or key staff. Council should not direct employees. B. Any request from City Council requiring financing must go through the City Manager. SECTION 8. Presentations and Events A. Councilmember presentations during a Council meeting are limited to the item or issue being deliberated. To insure that the appropriate presentation equipment is available, Councilmembers must provide the City Clerk advance notice of the intent to make a presentation. 9 B. When there is an accomplishment by a Councilmember, it is appropriate for them to be at the opening, groundbreaking, ribbon cutting, etc., to accept the recognition and acknowledgement, along with the City staff that worked on the project. All Councilmembers will be informed of events, activities, groundbreakings, etc., and given the opportunity to attend; if it is a major event and if it is a Citywide accomplishment, particularly those that are positive and acknowledge the City's efforts, all Councilmembers will be invited to be present. C. When invitations to openings are printed and City accomplishments are announced on the invitation, all Councihnembers will have the opportunity to review the invitations before printing to insure all accomplishments are included. D. 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 presentations will be in, their own style - - - Power Point, lecture, etc. E. During public presentations, the Mayor, and, if the Mayor deems appropriate, a Councilmember who was highly involved in the project will represent the City; however, all Councilmembers will be consulted prior to the presentation. SECTION 9. Council Agenda A. Any Councilmember or the Mayor can put items on the agenda. B. Either staff or Council can present agenda topics. C. The City Manager will 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. D. Staff will flag agenda priorities in the council packets for the Council, E. Council will be given sufficient lead and preparation time for reviewing agendas. SECTION 10. Public Correspondence A. City letterhead with all Councilmember names will be used for responses to policy issues. B. City letterhead with City seal only, will be utilized by individual Councilmembers for responses to constituent letters, so long as it is not a policy issue, or as long as the Councilmember indicates it is his/her opinion, not the policy of the Council. 10 is 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 will forward email correspondence, and phone calls and their responses, to the Council secretary 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 disclosure by any person of the topics or details of such matters is expressly prohibited. B. Notes in closed session shall 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. 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 government. 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 will review and revise ' the City Council norms and procedures as needed. B. During City Council Aiscussions, deliberations, and proceedings, the Mayor has been designated with the primary responsibility to insure that the City Council, staff and members of the public adhere to the Council's norms and procedures. SECTION 14. Resolution No. 03-22 is hereby rescinded. SECTION 15. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this day of 2011. ATTEST: CITY CLERK DATE: MAYOR STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss. CITY OF SANTA CLARITA) I, Kevin Tonoian, Acting 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 day of . 2011, by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: CITY CLERK STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss. CITY OF SANTA CLARITA ) CERTIFICATION OF CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION I, , City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of the original Resolution 11- adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita, California on , 2011, which is now on file in my office. Witness my hand and seal of the City of Santa Clarita, California, this day of 2011. City Clerk By Deputy City Clerk