1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: May 6, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Kimberley Clark, City Clerk
BY: Kimberley Clark, City Clerk
Linda Thai, Assistant City Clerk
SUBJECT: Approval of City Council Expectations of Board, Commission, and Committee Members
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the updated City Council Expectations of Board, Commission, and Committee Members (Attachment 1).
BACKGROUND
At the February 4, 2025, City Council (Council) Meeting, suggestions were made by both Council and staff to strengthen City Council Expectations of Board, Commission, and Committee Members (Council Expectations). A t the March 11, 2025, Council Meeting, Council Member Mullins requested a review and potential update of the Council Expectations concerning speaking time and regulation of public comments by Board, Commission, and Committee (BCC) Members. At the April 8, 2025, Council Meeting, Council was presented with a first step report on proposed changes to Council Expectations.
DISCUSSION
Council Expectations were adopted in 2018 and most recently updated by Council in 2022. This document serves as a code of conduct and provides guidance to BCCs on collaboration with colleagues and staff, transparency and accountability to members of the public, and appropriate conduct as an appointed official.
CITY CLERK’S
OFFICE
2 On April 8, 2025, staff presented proposed changes including dress code guidance, expectations regarding agenda topics aligning with Council goals, guidance on how to provide non-agenda comments in alignment with the Brown Act, and expectations of staff related to conveyi ng Council goals. After discussion and deliberation, Council directed staff to further revise Council Expectations to include the following:
• Limiting the length of BCC meetings to two hours, to be extended only after consultation with the staff liaison to review the status of the remaining items and determine the best manner to proceed.
• F ollowing C ouncil meeting guidelines where appropriate (i.e., guidelines for respectful engagement, public comment speaking time limits, etc.). • Providing training to the Chair, Vice Chair, and staff on how to facilitate a meeting. • Empowering staff to support the Chair in facilitating the meeting, including guidance on how to address disruptive behavior.
• Encouraging the staff liaison and the Chair to meet regularly. • Encouraging Members to wear respectful attire at public meetings or when on official City business.
• Ensuring agenda topics are within the scope of the BCC’s mission , have a clear purpose, and align with the goals set by Council.
• Considering positions taken by Council as final, unless the item is brought back to Council for review.
• Agendizing Council Expectations for review at the first BCC meeting following the biennial August recruitment.
• Expressing individual opinions and directing media inquiries to appropriate staff.
The proposed changes are included for Council consideration (Attachment 2).
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity involves review of a City document and has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. As such, it is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines (14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378).
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
3 CONCLUSION
Staff recommends Council approve the proposed updates to City Council Expectations of Board, Commission , and Committee Members to provide further clarity on Council expectations regarding member roles, conduct of BCC meetings, and guidelines for working with staff. This will enhance the effectiveness of the document and assist Members in furthering the mission of each BCC while achieving Council’s goals.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Updated Council Expectations
Attachment 2 – Redlined Council Expectations