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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
OFFICES OF THE CITY ATTORNEY AND THE CITY
MANAGER
DATE: JANUARY 14, 2025
FROM: OFFICES OF THE CITY ATTORNEY AND CITY MANAGER
SUBJECT: AMENDMENT TO COUNCIL POLICY 1.13 – PUBLIC POSTING
OF CALENDARS FOR KEY CITY OFFICIALS
ATTACHMENTS (Y/N): YES ITEM # 05
GOVERNMENT CODE § 84308 APPLIES: NO
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Resolution, amend City Council Policy 1.13 relating to the public posting of calendars for key city officials and rescind Resolution No. 2023-102.
DISCUSSION:
City Council Policy 1.13- Public Posting of Calendars for Key City Officials was adopted by Resolution No. 2023-102 approved by the City Council on November 7, 2023. This policy applies to key city officials who regularly attend external city-related appointments and events as representatives of the City, as well as meetings with members of the public, lobbyists, and others related to city business and decision- making. These key city officials include the mayor, city council members, city manager, assistant city manager, and deputy city manager. The policy requires these calendars to be posted on the City’s website by the tenth business day of each month, reflecting the prior month’s meetings and events.
Recent court rulings have underscored the importance of government transparency by emphasizing the importance of disclosing public officials’ calendars (absent privileged or exempted information) in response to public records requests. The City introduced this policy as a forward-thinking local government dedicated to ensuring transparency and to making more accessible records that would otherwise be subject to a Public Records Act request.
Since the policy’s adoption, the City Manager’s Office has received questions regarding which appointments or events must be included in the calendars. To provide clarity and guidance, the following amendments to the policy are proposed:
Public Events: Require the inclusion of public events attended in an official city capacity in addition to scheduled meetings.
Unscheduled Calls/Meetings: Encourage, but do not require, the reporting of unscheduled calls or meetings related to official city business.
Amendment to Council Policy 1.13 – Public Posting of Calendars for Key City Officials January 14, 2025
Meeting Locations: Specify that listing the location of a meeting is not required. Listing of Attendees: Allow identifying the sponsoring organization of an event instead of listing all attendees.
Exemptions: Introduce a defined list of reporting exemptions.
This policy is not intended to document every interaction public officials may have and some officials may voluntarily disclose additional details beyond what the policy requires. These amendments aim to balance transparency with practical reporting guidelines for officials.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
This amendment will have no budgetary impact.
Respectfully submitted, Respectfully submitted,
Robert Fabela Jim Vanderpool
City Attorney City Manager
Attachments:
1. Resolution
2. Council Policy 1.13 (Final)
3. Council Policy 1.13 (Redline)