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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 31 - Ad Hoc Committees City Manager Office www.santa-ana.org/cm Item # 31 City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Staff Report March 2, 2021 TOPIC: Ad Hoc Commmittees AGENDA TITLE: Establish City Council Ad Hoc Committees: Solid Waste, Housing, School Collaboration, and Homeless Ad Hoc Committees RECOMMENDED ACTION It is recommended that the Mayor establish the following City Council ad hoc committees: 1. Solid Waste Ad Hoc Committee 2. Housing Ad Hoc Committee 3. School Collaboration Ad Hoc Committee 4. Homeless Ad Hoc Committee DISCUSSION As local elected officials, members of the City Council engage in policymaking relating to matters of importance for City of Santa Ana. While some policy issues may be routine in nature, from time to time the City Council is presented with specific issues, which require the establishment of an ad hoc committee to meet for a limited time duration to address such issues. Ad hoc committees are established by the Mayor and at his discretion. The City Council has been presented with the following pressing issues, which are highly complex and require a short-term, specific discussion through an ad hoc committee: solid waste, housing, school collaboration, and homeless. Mayor Sarmiento has requested the establishment of the aforementioned ad hoc committees to address the limited scope of each topic. To move forward in the most efficient manner, staff is requesting that the City Council establish the aforementioned ad hoc committees in compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act. In establishing ad hoc committees, the City Council must articulate the specific task or objective that the ad hoc committee is expected to complete or perform and further requires the City Council to establish a time frame for the completion of that task or objective. If established as requested, the proposed ad hoc committees will each meet to carry out a specific purpose and for a limited duration of time as further discussed below. Ad Hoc Commmittees March 2, 2021 Page 2 5 3 1 The Ralph M. Brown Act (Gov. Code, § 54950-54963; the “Act”) generally provides that the legislative body of a local agency must hold its meetings open to the public except as expressly provided in the Act. (Gov. Code, § 54953(a).) Section 54952 of the Act defines legislative body to include: The governing body of a local agency or any other local body created by state or federal statute. A commission, committee, board, or other body of a local agency, whether permanent or temporary, decision making or advisory, created by charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of a legislative body. Standing committees of a legislative body irrespective of their composition, which have continuing subject matter jurisdiction, or a meeting schedule fixed by charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of a legislative body. Advisory bodies in general and all standing committees must comply with the open meeting requirements of the Brown Act. However, advisory committees, commonly referred to as ad hoc committees, “composed solely of the members of the legislative body which are less than a quorum of the legislative body” are not subject to the Act’s open meeting requirements. (Gov. Code, § 54952(b).) In forming an ad hoc committee, best practices require the City Council to articulate the specific task or objective that the ad hoc committee is expected to complete or perform and further requires the City Council to establish a time frame for the completion of that task or objective. Once created, the ad hoc committee should report back to the City Council at a noticed public meeting on the committee’s progress, within the time period established by the City Council at the time the committee is created. Once the ad hoc committee’s task or objective is completed, the ad hoc committee is required to report back to the City Council, at which point the ad hoc committee will be dissolved. The actions and reports of each ad hoc committee should be reflected in the City Council meeting minutes. The proposed Ad Hoc Committees are as follows: Solid Waste Ad Hoc Committee Composed solely of three members of the City Council, appointed by the Mayor Serves in an advisory capacity to the City Council Studies, reviews, and/or discusses the following topic: Solid waste services competitive request for proposals process Reports in intervals as needed Automatically dissolves upon the report to the full City Council Housing Ad Hoc Committee Composed solely of three members of the City Council, appointed by the Mayor Serves in an advisory capacity to the City Council Ad Hoc Commmittees March 2, 2021 Page 3 5 3 1 Studies, reviews, and/or discusses the following topics: Housing Element, General Plan amendments, Housing Opportunity Ordinance, and rent stabilization Reports in intervals as needed Automatically dissolves upon the report to the full City Council School Collaboration Ad Hoc Committee Composed solely of three members of the City Council, appointed by the Mayor Serves in an advisory capacity to the City Council Studies, reviews, and/or discusses the following topics: collaboration with the Santa Ana Unified School District and other school districts which provide services to Santa Ana residents relating to advancing programs and services for residents; and existing and future joint-use agreements for City-owned and school district-owned facilities Reports in intervals as needed Automatically dissolves upon the report to the full City Council Homeless Ad Hoc Committee Composed solely of three members of the City Council, appointed by the Mayor Serves in an advisory capacity to the City Council Studies, reviews, and/or discusses the following topics: current state of homeless services and homelessness in Santa Ana; how to provide relief to residents, business owners, and other community members Report in intervals as needed Automatically dissolves upon the report to the full City Council To ensure progress, the ad hoc committees should report to the City Council at regular intervals (e.g. three months, six months, and nine months) with the expectation that a final set of recommendations shall be prepared within one year, for consideration by the City Council. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT There is no environmental impact associated with this action. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact associated with this action. Submitted By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager Approved By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager