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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 25 - Streamlining City Council MeetingsClerk of the Council Office www.santa-ana.org/cc Item # 25 City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Staff Report November 2, 2021 TOPIC: Streamlining City Council Meetings AGENDA TITLE: Options to Streamline City Council Meetings RECOMMENDED ACTION Accept informational report and provide direction to staff. DISCUSSION At the October 5, 2021 City Council meeting, the City Council directed staff to prepare a report on best practices for streamlining City Council meetings. Staff conducted research on existing policies relating to the rules and procedures for City Council meetings, meeting duration for City Council meetings during the 2021 calendar year, and best practices on streamlining City Council meetings. Review of Duration of City Council Meetings Staff analyzed City Council meetings dating back to January 2021. Over the course of 18 meetings, the average meeting duration hovered just above seven hours. Two of these meetings lasted over twelve hours each. Closed sessions were determined to take approximately two hours on average, and at times were resumed at the end of the City Council meetings if the initial session ran past 6:00 p.m. The proclamations and presentations period takes over an hour on average. Pulled Consent Calendar items averaged ten minutes per item, with an average of pulled items hovering at five per meeting. Business calendar and public hearing items averaged thirty minutes per item. Lastly, contentious items account for over five hours of public comment period alone, on average. Streamlining City Council Meetings at a Comparable City: Long Beach, CA In March 2019, the City of Long Beach conducted a study, referred to as the Council Meeting Streamlining Outreach Survey, to obtain feedback from constituents regarding the then -current structure of their City Council meetings. This study was conducted in response to an inquiry from a councilmember relating to the duration of their City Council meetings. A community survey, composed of six questions asking for feedback from constituents about their thoughts on streamlining City Council meetings, along with demographics -related questions, received 210 responses. Common suggestions to their Streamline City Council Meetings November 2, 2021 Page 2 survey included the following suggestions to streamline their meetings: (1) limit public comment during high attendance meetings; (2) limit councilmember discussion; (3) limit repetition of praise and agreement between councilmembers; (4) adhere to the agenda order; (5) establish time limits for agenda items; (6) limit presentation/ceremonies at the beginning of meetings; (7) publish agendas and estimated times for each item at least a week in advance; and (8) meet more frequently than their then -once -a -week schedule of regular City Council meetings. In response to the community survey and discussion at their City Council meetings, the Long Beach City Council adopted an ordinance to implement procedures that they believed would shorten the duration of (or "streamline") their meetings. Examples of some of the procedural changes imposed by the ordinance include the following: (1) reducing individual public comment from three minutes to 90 seconds if ten or more people request to speak on the same topic; (2) requiring individuals requesting to speak during public comment to sign up to speak before an agenda item is called for discussion; (3) imposing a five-minute speaking limit for individual council members while they're discussing items; (4) updating the order of business for the City Council meeting agenda; and (5) limiting the number of ceremonial presentations. Long Beach isn't the only city to have conducted such studies or imposed procedures to streamline their City Council meetings. The Cities of Anaheim, Downey, and Los Angeles, for example, have all recently enacted changes to their City Council meeting procedures to respond to the increase in duration of their City Council meetings. Existing Policies that Establish Procedures for City Council Meetings In addition to general rules set forth in the City Charter and the Santa Ana Municipal Code relating to conduct of the City Council at public meetings, there are three specific guidance documents that set forth rules and procedures for City Council meetings: (1) Resolution No. 2013-2019 amending the City Council rules and procedures for calling special meetings, altering the agenda format to provide for reports from the City Council, and changing the day of regular City Council meetings; (2) Robert's Rules of Order; and (3) the City Council Handbook. Resolution No. 2013-019, also referred to as the "City Council Rules and Procedures Resolution", sets forth procedures that encompass the time and place of City Council meetings, the City Council meeting agenda, and decorum. Robert's Rules of Order is a manual of parliamentary procedure that governs the meetings of organizations that have adopted it as their parliamentary authority. The City Council Rules and Procedures Resolution incorporates Robert's Rules of Order as the parliamentary authority that governs City Council meetings and City Council committee meetings. The City Council Handbook is a guidance document that incorporates written procedures from both the City Council Rules and Procedures Resolution and Robert's Rules of Order. Separately, there exists a City Council Recognition Policy, and administrative policy that was approved by the City Council in June 2018. This policy sets parameters for members Streamline City Council Meetings November 2, 2021 Page 3 of the City Council to recognize individuals, groups, and events by issuing proclamations and certificates of recognition. Methods to Streamline City Council Meetings Staff researched methods to reduce the duration of City Council meetings so as to streamline the meetings. Below is an overview of options that the City Council may consider. 1. GET ANSWERS TO TECHNICAL QUESTIONS PRIOR TO THE MEETING. It is suggested that members of the Council reach out to staff prior to the City Council meeting to reduce the amount of time devoted to technical questions or general clarification during the City Council meeting. 2. IDENTIFY PARAMETERS FOR CEREMONIAL PRESENTATIONS. Set scheduled time and time limits for ceremonials and presentations. Presentations for the community are an important part of the meeting and are valued by the community. Having a set time to conduct presentations would provide structure to this part of the meeting and limit their carryover into the general City Council meeting. Staff recommends setting a time limit of five minutes per presentation, with the goal of limiting the number of presentations per meeting to three. The Clerk of the Council would keep track of time during the presentations. 3. DECREASE TIME FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS. Reduce the public comment time to 90 seconds if ten (10) or more speakers are speaking on the same item, with language access and ADA exceptions. 4. REARRANGE THE TIME, PLACE, AND MANNER OF PUBLIC COMMENTS. In addition to encouraging members of the public to submit written comments to share their thoughts on City Council agenda items, the City Council may consider rearranging public comments so that the Public Comments portion of the meeting is either staggered, categorized by item type, or scheduled to a different section of the City Council meeting agenda 5. SCHEDULE SPECIAL MEETINGS WHEN NECESSARY. Schedule special meetings for contentious items. For items where large crowds are expected, it is recommended to schedule a special meeting for the stand-alone item. 6. CALL FOR A POINT OF ORDER. Call for a "point of order" after discussion on any one item has gone longer than 30 minutes. The City Council will be required to vote by majority to continue discussing the item or table it for the next meeting. 7. START THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING EARLIER. Start the Closed Sessions at 4:00 p.m. instead of 5:00 p.m. and start the regular City Council meetings at 5:00 p.m. If Closed Session items require additional discussion, then the closed session can continue upon adjournment of the regular City Council meeting. Or consider starting the City Council meeting earlier altogether. 8. ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER TRAINING. Hold a Robert's Rules of Order refresher training for the City Council by the City Attorney. The City Attorney can explore modified rules used by other agencies and could provide information on those rules at an upcoming meeting. Streamline City Council Meetings November 2, 2021 Page 4 9. UPDATE THE ORDER OF BUSINESS. Revise the agenda order so as to hear items in the following order: public hearings, business calendar, and then consent calendar items. Standard or frequent types of items are placed under the Consent Calendar. Staff recommends hearing the items that would require discussion first before hearing the routine items. Members of the Council would always have the opportunity to pull items from the Consent Calendar for discussion 10. SURVEY CONSTITUENTS TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY THINK. Conduct a City Council Meeting Streamlining Outreach Survey. To increase our community outreach efforts, staff recommends obtaining feedback regarding the current meeting structure. The survey does not need to be a formal, scientific survey with requisite controls; but instead will allow members of the community to vote on different options and allow them to suggest how City Council may streamline meetings. 11.INCREASE THE FREQUENCY OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS. Schedule one or more additional regular City Council meeting each month. 12.TIME LIMITS FOR COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS. Impose a time limit that councilmembers may speak on any City Council agenda item. 13.IMPOSE A SET MEETING END TIME. End City Council meetings at a set time. Next Steps The options presented in this staff report are for discussion by the City Council. Should it be the desire of the City Council, staff can prepare a revised City Council Rules and Procedure document, in the form of a resolution, to include revised procedures to streamline City Council meetings. Alternatively, staff can return to the City Council with additional information at a future meeting. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT There is no environmental impact associated with this action. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact associated with this action. Submitted By: Daisy Gomez, Clerk of the Council Approved By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager SRC 04/22/2013 RESOLUTION NO. 2013-019 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AMENDING THE CITY COUNCIL RULES AND PROCEDURES TO ESTABLISH PROCEDURES FOR CALLING SPECIAL MEETINGS, ALTERING THE AGENDA FORMAT TO PROVIDE FOR COUNCIL REPORTS, CHANGING THE DAY OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETINGS, AND REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 2012- 025. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines and declares as follows: A. Section 409 of the City Charter and Sections 2-100 et seq. of Santa Ana Municipal Code call for the City Council to adopt rules and procedures for the scheduling and conducting of meetings of the City Council. B. The Ralph M. Brown Act found at Chapter 9, Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the California Government Code beginning with Section 54950 (the "Brown Act") sets forth statewide standards for meetings of local agencies including the Santa Ana City Council. C. The City Council desires to change the day of regular City Council meetings in conformance with the Brown Act and in furtherance of the need for well -managed, efficient and accessible meetings; to establish procedures for calling special meetings and to alter the agenda format. Section 2. City Council meetings, time and place. (a) Regular meetings of the City Council shall be on the first and third Tuesdays of each month beginning on January 1, 2014. The meeting shall begin no sooner than the hour of 5:00 p.m. for Closed Session followed by the Regular Open Meeting at 5:45 p.m. The City Council shall publicly convene the meeting and then recess to conduct closed or executive sessions. (b) Regular meetings of the City Council shall be convened in the Council Chamber or as noted on the Agenda and time as specified on the agenda. After being convened, all meetings may be adjourned to such other place or places as the City Council may order. Resolution No. 2013-019 Page 1 of 5 (c) Special meetings of the City Council may be held at such locations as stated in the action calling such meetings and otherwise in conformance with the Brown Act. A special meeting may be called by the Mayor or the Mayor Pro Tern by either of them contacting the Clerk of the Council and requesting orally or in writing the call of a special meeting. A majority of the members of the City Council can also call a special meeting by delivering a written notice to the Clerk of the Council of a request for a special meeting. Upon receiving a request from the Mayor, Mayor Pro Tern or a majority of the City Council, the Clerk of the Council shall notice the special meeting. Section 3. Agenda. The Clerk of the Council shall prepare an agenda for each regular and special meeting of the City Council containing all items known by such officer to be considered. The order of placing items on the agenda shall be approved from time to time by the City Council. The agenda shall contain such information as required by the Brown Act. In addition, the agenda shall contain the following sections to provide for reporting by the City Council: AB1234 reports, Council Committee reports, and Regional Agency reports. Section 4. Rules of Procedure. Procedures before the City Council shall be governed by the most current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised. Application of such procedures shall be vested in the sound discretion of the presiding officer. Section 5. Decorum; Time limits and other regulations for speaking. (a) The City Council shall preserve decorum and an orderly procedure during debate. Councilmembers desiring to speak shall seek recognition from the presiding officer. Upon being recognized, a Councilmember shall confine his or her comments to the questions under debate. A Councilmember, once recognized, should not be interrupted unless a point of order is raised by another member. The presiding officer should not recognize a Councilmember to speak who has already spoken on a matter under debate until all other Councilmembers who wish to be heard have spoken. A Councilmember should limit himself or herself to three (3) minutes at any one time without permission of the presiding officer. At the end of each meeting, the presiding officer shall recognize each Councilmember who may speak up to three (3) minutes on matters of public or community interest. (b) The agenda for all regular meetings of the City Council shall provide members of the public the opportunity to address the City Council on agendized matters and non-agendized matters as required by the Brown Act. All requests to speak shall be submitted in writing and submitted to the Clerk of the Council. No such requests shall be accepted after the public comment session begins without permission of the Resolution No. 2013-019 Page 2 of 5 presiding officer. The agendas for adjourned, special and emergency meetings of the City Council shall provide for public comment as provided in the Brown Act. (c) Subject to (d) below, members of the public shall be given a total of three (3) minutes to: (i) address the City Council on any and all matters contained on the City Council agenda as well as the agendas of any of the City's related entities, such as the Successor Agency (formerly the Community Redevelopment Agency) or the Housing Authority, if those entities have meetings scheduled at the same time, and/or (ii) address any matters of public interest provided that they are within the jurisdiction or official business of the City of Santa Ana. (d) For public hearings, members of the public shall be given three (3) minutes to address the City Council for each duly noticed hearing, unless continued prior to taking testimony. This time limitation shall not apply to the applicant/appellant and/or their representative(s) whose matter is the subject of the public hearing. Applicants shall limit their presentations to a reasonable period of time, subject to the discretion of the presiding officer. (e) Upon being recognized by the presiding officer, a speaker should step to the designated speaker location, state name and address for the record, and identify the matter by agenda designation (if applicable), and direct remarks to the City Council as a body and not to any individual member thereof. A speaker shall not be denied an opportunity to speak if they do not wish to state their name and address for the record. No person other than members of the City Council and the person having the floor may be permitted to enter into the discussion without permission of the presiding officer. (f) It shall be within the sound discretion of the presiding officer to set a maximum time for public comment. In setting any limit, the presiding officer shall take into consideration the level of public interest in the matters in question, the length of the meeting and the need to provide for an orderly and effective meeting. As a means of limiting time while maximizing the public's opportunity to address the City Council, if a group of people seeks to address the City Council on the same matter or topic, the presiding officer may direct the group to designate a spokesperson or limited number of speakers to address the City Council. (g) The following rules shall apply to all persons addressing the City Council. All speakers are requested to: ■ direct all testimony to the City Council or the presiding officer and not individual Councilmembers, ■ when speaking on agenda matters, limit comments to the agenda item(s), ■ when speaking on non -agenda matters, limit comments to matters within the jurisdiction or official business of the City of Santa Ana, and, ■ refrain from profane language, racial epitaphs, libelous or slanderous statements that disturb the decorum of the meeting. Resolution No. 2013-019 Page 3of5 (h) The presiding officer shall have the power and responsibility to enforce decorum and order of the meeting as set forth in Section 2-104(c). Among the other means of enforcement, the presiding officer may order the podium microphone turned off and/or video broadcast interrupted when the presiding officer has determined that an individual or group has disrupted the meeting, or the individual or group has exceeded their allotted time to speak without permission of the presiding officer. (i) All cell phones, pagers, or electronic devices belonging to the public, press, or personnel that may be disruptive must be placed on vibrate mode/quiet or be turned off while a meeting is in session. Section 6. The provisions of Section 4 and Section 5 of this resolution shall apply to meetings of committees of the City Council, as may be modified from time to time by such committees. Section 7. This Resolution shall supersede Resolution No. 2012-025 and shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council. The Clerk of the Council shall attest to and certify the vote adopting this Resolution. ADOPTED this 6th day of May 2013. ,- y— APPROVED AS TO FORM: SONIA R. CARVALHO, City Attorney By- SONIA R. CARVALHO, City Attorney YES: Councilmembers: Amezcua, Benavides, Martinez, Reyna, Pulido, Sarmiento, Tinaiero (7) NOES: Councilmembers: None (0 ABSTAIN: Councilmembers: NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers Resolution No. 2013-019 Page 4 of 5 None (0) None (0) CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY I, MARIA D. HUIZAR, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify the attached Resolution No. 2013-019 to be the original resolution adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on May 6, 2013. Date: Maria D. Huizar, Clerk of the Council Resolution No. 2013-019 Page 5 of 5