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1 City of Cupertino
City Council Procedures
Manual
Attachments:
Ex. A – Ceremonial Correspondence
Policy
Ex. B – Elected Officials’
Compensation Program
Ex. C – Council Technology Policy
Ex. D. – Resolution No. 07-103
Ex. E – Municipal Code Chapter 2.17
Effective Date:
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Responsible Departments:
City Manager’s Office
Related Policies & Notes:
See Exhibits A–E.
1. Introduction
1.1 Purpose. The purpose of this Manual is to promote communication, understanding, fairness, and trust among the members of the City Council, City staff, and members of the public concerning their roles, responsibilities, and expectations for management of the business of the City of Cupertino.
1.2 Values. Courtesy and respect for individual points of view should be practiced at all times. All Councilmembers shall respect each other’s right to disagree. All Councilmembers shall act with decorum and courtesy.
1.3 Brown Act. All actions of the City Council and City commissions, committees, and subcommittees shall comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act.
2. Selection of the Mayor and Vice Mayor
2.1 Selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor. The Mayor and Vice Mayor shall be selected annually at a special meeting on the second Thursday of December.
The Mayor and Vice Mayor shall not serve consecutive terms; provided, however, this provision shall not prevent the Vice Mayor from succeeding to the office of Mayor.
2.2 Removal of Mayor and Vice Mayor. The Mayor or Vice Mayor may be removed from office, for cause, by a 4/5ths affirmative vote of the members.
The Mayor or Vice Mayor must be advised of the proposed cause for removal at least 72 hours before any action is taken. If the Mayor is removed from office,
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2 the Vice Mayor shall become Mayor. If either officer is removed from office, the Vice Mayor shall be appointed from among the remaining three Councilmembers.
3. Councilmember Committees and Subcommittees
3.1 Appointment. The Mayor shall appoint Councilmembers to standing and ad hoc committees and subcommittees established by the City Council, subject to ratification by the Council at its next regular meeting. It will be the responsibility of the committees and subcommittees to inform and submit recommendations to the Council.
3.2 Instructions and Expectations. The Council shall make certain that all Council committees and subcommittees are properly instructed in their assigned scope of work and responsibilities. The committee’s or subcommittee’s jurisdiction shall be defined in writing and approved by a majority of the City Council. All Council committees and subcommittees having a continuing or indefinite jurisdiction shall be subject to the Brown Act.
3.3 Reporting. Council committee and subcommittee members are to keep the Council informed of the work and progress of their committee or subcommittee. These reports or minutes shall be made in writing whenever a recommendation is made to the Council.
4 Other City Commissions and Committees
4.1 Responsibility. The Council will make appointments to City’s commissions and committees. Qualifications to serve on commissions and committees shall be set forth in the Municipal Code or by a resolution or motion of the Council that is not inconsistent with the Municipal Code. Appointment of Councilmembers to City committees shall be governed by the procedures in Section 3.
4.2 Attendance at Council Meetings. At least one commission member must attend City Council meetings when the commission has an item of interest on the Council agenda, so as to be available to answer Council questions.
4.3 Performance Expectations. The Council shall make certain that all commissions and committees are properly instructed on their responsibilities and performance expectations. This will include the issuance of a Council‐ approved Commission and Committee Handbook and a mandatory annual training session for all Commission and Committee members.
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3 4.4 Appointment. Commission and Committee applicants will be interviewed by the Council before being voted on by the Council in a noticed public meeting.
Applicants are considered by motion and appointed by a majority vote of Council. Two members of an immediate family or persons residing in the same household shall not be allowed to serve simultaneously on the same commission or committee. Immediate family members residing in the same household as a Councilmember are not eligible for appointment to any commission or committee. Former Councilmembers are not eligible for appointment to any commission or committee within four years of having served on the City Council.
4.5 Removal. The City Clerk shall remove commission members for failure to comply with attendance policies adopted in the Commissioner’s Handbook.
Council retains full discretion to review commission and committee member performance and may take disciplinary action as needed, including removal from the commission or committee.
4.6 Undue Influence on Commissioners. Councilmembers should not attempt to influence or publicly criticize commission recommendations or to influence or lobby individual commission members on any item under their consideration.
It is important for commissions to be able to make objective recommendations to the City Council on items before them. Councilmembers that attempt to influence commission positions on an item may prejudice or hinder their role in reviewing the commission’s recommendation as a member of the City Council.
Individual Councilmembers shall have the right to attend meetings of commissions and other Cupertino governmental bodies but shall refrain from speaking or becoming involved in deliberations.
5. Administrative Matters
5.1 Attendance. City Councilmembers acknowledge that attendance at lawful meetings of the City Council is part of their official duty. Councilmembers shall make a good faith effort to attend all such meetings. Council members shall notify the Mayor or the City Clerk if they will be absent from a meeting.
5.2 Correspondence. Proposed correspondence from the Mayor or other Councilmembers on City stationery should generally be reviewed by the Council in draft form prior to release. On occasion, there are urgent requests from the League of California Cities for correspondence concerning legislation directly affecting municipalities. If the Mayor and the City Manager agree that the League’s position corresponds with that of the Council, the Mayor may DRAFT
4 send a letter without first obtaining Council approval. City letterhead will be made available for routine correspondence (e.g., thank you notes). Official correspondence (including email) from Councilmembers should be respectful and professional.
5.3 Regional Bodies. The Mayor shall appoint Councilmembers to represent the City of Cupertino on regional bodies subject to ratification by the Council at its next regular meeting. The Mayor should endeavor to provide all Councilmembers a fair opportunity to represent the City. The positions taken by the appointed representatives should be in alignment with the positions that Council has taken on issues that directly impact the City of Cupertino. If an issue arises that is specific to Cupertino and Council has not taken a position, the issue should be discussed by Council prior to taking a formal position at a regional board meeting to assure that it is in alignment with Council’s position.
Council representatives to such various boards shall keep the Council informed of ongoing business through brief oral or written reports to the Council.
Councilmembers shall make a good faith effort to attend all regional meetings that require a quorum of the appointed members to convene a meeting.
Attendance should not be less than 75% of all scheduled meetings. If a Councilmember is unable to attend, they should notify their alternate as far in advance of the meeting as possible so as to allow the alternate to attend.
5.4 Responses to Public. It will be the responsibility of the City Manager to ensure a response is provided to public correspondence for informational requests addressed to the Council. Staff shall respond to all requests for services as appropriate, and the City Manager shall keep Council informed of the City response.
5.5 Ceremonial Correspondence. Proclamations, certificates of appreciation or recognition, and letters of recognition or support are discretionary public announcements directing attention to a local resident, organization, or event.
The Mayor may issue ceremonial proclamations, certificates, and letters as set forth in the City of Cupertino Ceremonial Correspondence Policy (Exhibit A).
5.6 Reimbursement. City Councilmembers may be reimbursed for expenses for travel to and lodging at conferences or meetings related to their role as a Councilmember as stated in the Elected Officials’ Compensation Program, as may be amended from time to time (Exhibit B). Any additional expenses that fall outside the scope of this policy may be reimbursed only if approved by the City Council, at a public meeting before the expenses are incurred. Any request for reimbursement of expenses shall be accompanied by an expense form and DRAFT
5 receipts to document the expenditure. These documents are public records subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act. Councilmembers shall be eligible to receive City‐issued hardware and software for the conduct of official business pursuant to the Council Technology Policy (Exhibit C).
5.7 Council Training. Any member of the City Council and City commissions or advisory committees formed by the City Council shall receive ethics and anti‐ harassment training required by state law. New members must receive the training within their first year of service. Members shall attend training sessions that are offered locally in the immediate vicinity of Santa Clara County or by completing online a state‐approved public service ethics education program, or at any conference attended . The City Clerk shall keep ethics training records for five years.
5.8 Mayor’s Initiative Budget. The Mayor may use the Mayor’s initiative budget established as part of the City Manager’s discretionary fund for projects that the Mayor deems appropriate during the Mayorʹs term of office, subject to the requirements of Resolution No. 07‐103 (Exhibit D). The amount of the Mayorʹs initiative budget is determined by the City Council.
6. Relationship with City Staff
6.1 Incorporation of Municipal Code by Reference. Cupertino Municipal Code Chapter 2.17 (Exhibit E) governs the City Council’s relationship with the City Manager and their staff under the Council‐Manager form of government. To the extent that the provisions of Chapter 2.17 are not set below, they are incorporated by reference into this Manual.
6.2 Council/Manager Form of Government. Under the Council/Manager form of government, the City Council sets policy direction as the direct representatives of the community with the City Manager providing the professional expertise to manage the organization and carry out the Councilʹs direction. The City Manager is responsible for carrying out the Councilʹs policy direction through the day‐to‐day management of City functions, including the oversight of City operating departments. Neither individual Councilmembers nor the Council as a whole shall interfere with the City Manager’s performance of the administrative duties conferred upon them in Cupertino Municipal Code section 2.28.040.
6.3 Council‐Manager Relations. The City Council and its members shall deal with the administrative services of the City only through the City Manager, DRAFT
6 except for the purpose of inquiry, and neither the City Council nor any Councilmember shall give orders to any subordinates of the City Manager.
The City Manager shall take instructions from the City Council only when given at a duly held meeting of the City Council, and no individual Councilmember shall give any instructions to the City Manager.
6.4 Individual Councilmember Influence on Staff Decisions Prohibited.
Individual Councilmembers shall not attempt to influence staff decisions, recommendations, workloads, and schedules, and department priorities without prior knowledge and approval of the City Council. If a Councilmember wishes to influence the actions, decisions, recommendations, workloads, work schedules and priorities of staff, that member must prevail upon the City Council to do so as a matter of Council policy.
6.5 Decorum. All Councilmembers and City staff shall treat each other with dignity, courtesy, and respect. In exercising the City Council’s policymaking authority, Councilmembers must often critique, modify, or reject a staff recommendation. While thorough vetting and criticism of staff policy recommendations or decisions is a necessary component of Council’s policymaking role, criticism should focus on the policy recommendations and decisions and should avoid personal attacks. Councilmembers shall refrain from publicly criticizing the general abilities, character, or motivations of any staff member and should share any such concerns privately with the City Manager or City Attorney.
6.6 Councilmember Access to Information. City Council members have free access to the flow of any information related to the operation of the City. The City Manager shall ensure that such information is communicated by staff in full and with candor to the Council. City staff will make every effort to respond in a timely and professional manner to all requests made by individual council members for information or assistance, provided that, in the judgment of the City Manager, the request is not of a magnitude either in terms of workload or policy, which would require that it more appropriately be assigned to staff through the collective direction of the City Council, based on the guidelines set forth in Cupertino Municipal Code section 2.17.043. No Councilmember shall circumvent the City Manager’s direction regarding a request for information by seeking information through a Public Records Act request.
6.7 Authority of City Council. Nothing in this Manual shall limit the City Council’s power to accept, reject, amend, or otherwise guide and direct staff DRAFT
7 actions, decisions, recommendations, workloads and schedules, department priorities, and the conduct of city business through the office of the City Manager. This power cannot be delegated to individual Councilmembers, nor to committees composed of Councilmembers consisting of less than a quorum of the City Council.
7. Agendas and Staff Reports
7.1 Future Agenda Items. The City Manager, the City Attorney, the Mayor, or any two Councilmembers may request that an item be added to a future agenda for Council action. The City Manager shall provide a quarterly report to Council regarding the status of future agenda items, which may include a request to remove items from the list of future agenda items. Any item may be removed for the future agenda items list by a majority vote of the City Council.
7.2 Preparation of Agenda. The City Clerk shall prepare the agenda in consultation with the City Manager, the Mayor, and the City Attorney. Absent exigent circumstances, an item will be scheduled for Council action no sooner than 14 days after receipt of a request to add the item to the future agenda items list. Any item requiring preparation of a staff report requires City Manager approval or, in case of a report prepared by City Attorney’s Office staff, City Attorney approval, before being added to an agenda. The Mayor, in consultation with the City Manager and the City Clerk, shall determine the order of items on the agenda.
7.3 Agenda Item Descriptions. Each agenda item shall include a brief general description of the matter to be discussed (approximately 20 words in length), including any action that may be taken under the California Environmental Quality Act, and should generally include the recommendation of the City Manager.
7.4 Staff Reports. Staff reports should include the following sections:
1. Subject
2. Recommended Action
2. Reasons for Recommendation
3. Sustainability Impact
4. Fiscal Impact
5. California Environmental Quality Act
7.5 Agenda Publication. Agenda packets for a regular meeting should be published and delivered to Councilmembers no later than the Wednesday prior DRAFT
8 to a Tuesday Council meeting. Councilmembers are encouraged to contact staff in advance for answers to questions regarding an agenda packet. Written communications addressed to Council shall be forwarded to Council and made available to members of the public, consistent with the requirements of the Brown Act.
7.6 Supplemental Materials. Supplemental reports received by the City Clerk after the agenda is published but before 12:00 p.m. on the Monday prior to the City Council meeting shall be published and delivered to Councilmembers at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Supplemental reports received by the City Clerk after 12:00 p.m. on Monday but before 4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting shall be published and delivered to Councilmembers prior to the Council meeting.
8. Meeting Procedures
8.1 Meeting Schedule. The City Council conducts its regular meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, except when Council is in recess. At the second regular meeting in January, the City Council will approve the schedule of meetings for the calendar year, which in addition to the regular meeting schedule may include the cancellation of regular meetings and the addition of special meetings and study sessions. This practice does not, however, preclude the Mayor or a majority of the members of the City Council from calling additional meetings pursuant to the Brown Act.
8.2 Rules of Order. City Council meetings shall be governed by Rosenberg’s Rules of Order. Unless otherwise required by state law or City ordinance, decisions of the Council shall be made by a majority of members present and voting. The Mayor may impose additional reasonable procedural rules not inconsistent with Rosenberg’s Rules of Order and the provisions of this Manual, unless objected to by a majority of Councilmembers present.
8.3 Order of Business. The order of agenda items for regular Council meetings is as follows:
1. Call to Order
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Roll Call
4. Closed Session Report
5. Ceremonial Items
6. Oral Communications (public comment on non‐agenda matters)
7. Consent Calendar
8. Public Hearings
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9 9. Action Calendar
10. Council Reports and Comments
11. City Manager Report
12. Oral Communications (continued)
13. Informational Items
14. Adjournment
Oral communications shall be limited to 30 minutes. Additional speakers wishing to comment on non‐agenda items may be given time to speak at the end of the agenda, after the City Manager’s report. In the absence of an objection made by a majority of Councilmembers present and voting, the Mayor may modify the order of business to facilitate the fair and efficient conduct of Council meetings.
8.4 Consent Calendar.
8.4.1 Adding Item to Consent Calendar. The Mayor, the City Manager, the City Attorney, or the City Clerk may recommend that items appearing on the agenda be placed on the consent calendar for action by the City Council. In addition, any item may be placed on the consent calendar by a majority vote of the City Council. All items placed on the consent calendar shall appear together on the agenda with the recommendation as to the action to be taken by the City Council with respect to such item.
Upon the motion of any member of the City Council, all items placed upon the consent calendar may be acted upon together, and each shall be deemed to have received the action recommended. Items may be removed from the consent calendar only by a member of the City Council.
8.4.2 Removing Item from Consent Calendar. Any member of the City Council who would like to remove an item from the consent calendar shall notify the City Manager and the City Clerk prior to the meeting.
Although members of the City Council are encouraged to ask questions and share concerns about the agenda item with staff before the meeting, they are not required to do so. Items removed from the consent calendar shall be placed at the end of the agenda for consideration.
8.5 Public Comment. An opportunity for public comment shall be provided for the consent calendar, each other agenda item under consideration, and, during regular meetings, on any matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council. The Mayor may consolidate public comment for related DRAFT
10 agenda items, subject to overruling by a majority vote of the Council. Non‐ agenda matters (including Council and staff reports and informational items) may be addressed by the public during oral communications. Members of the public wishing to speak regarding an item shall submit a request to comment to the Clerk (“blue card”) or, where applicable, raise their hand in Zoom within five minutes of the time the Mayor opens public comment. Each individual speaker will ordinarily have up to three minutes to address the Council. If a speaker representing five or more members of the public in attendance and wishing to comment on the item but electing not to speak, the speaker may have up to 10 minutes to address the Council. Consolidation of time among speakers is not otherwise allowed. No member of the public may be allocated more than a combined total of 10 minutes to speak during a Council meeting. If a large number of speakers wish to address Council on an item, the Mayor may reduce the time allotted to each speaker consistent with the Brown Act. Twice the speaking time will be provided to any member of the public who uses a translator.
8.6 Communications with Members of the Public. The City Council may ask questions of speakers providing public comment but should avoid an extended discussion with members of the public during meetings. Additionally, when a member of the public provides comments regarding a matter that is not on the agenda, Councilmembers may (1) refer the speaker to staff; (2) refer the speaker to appropriate reference material; (3) request that staff report back at a future meeting; or (4) request that staff place the item on a future agenda.
Councilmembers should not otherwise respond to or comment on an item of business that is not on the agenda. City staff should generally avoid responding to comments or questions from members of the public during Council meetings, although the City Manager or City Attorney may offer to arrange a time to discuss the subject matter of public comments with members of the public subsequent to the Council meeting.
8.7 Conduct of Meetings
8.7.1 Councilmembers. Members of the City Council value and recognize the importance of the trust invested in them by the public to accomplish the business of the City. Councilmembers shall accord courtesy to each other, to City employees, and to members of the public appearing before the City Council.
8.7.2 City Employees. City staff shall observe the same rules of decorum applicable to the City Council. City staff shall act at all times in a DRAFT
11 businesslike and professional manner towards Councilmembers and members of the public.
8.7.3 Members of the Public. Members of the public attending City Council meetings are encouraged to treat Councilmembers, City staff, and other members of the public with the same courtesy that Councilmembers and City staff must accord to them. Any members of the public who engages in conduct that disrupts a City Council meeting shall be removed from the meeting. Nothing in this Manual or any rules of conduct that may be adopted by the City Council shall be construed to prohibit public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs, or services of the City, or of the acts or omissions of the City Council, City advisory bodies, or City staff.
8.8 Discussion and Deliberation
8.8.1 Ex Parte Contacts. Councilmembers shall disclose any ex parte contacts prior to deliberation on a quasi‐adjudicative matter.
8.8.2 Relevance. All discussion must be relevant to the issue before the City Council. A Councilmember is given the floor only for the purpose of discussing the pending matter; discussion which departs from the item agendized for discussion is out of order. Councilmembers should avoid repetition and shall not discuss matters that are not on the agenda.
Arguments for or against a measure should be stated as concisely as possible.
8.8.3 Council Questions and Deliberations. Councilmembers may obtain the floor by seeking recognition from the Mayor. Following presentations to Council on an agenda item, Councilmembers shall each be given 5 minutes to ask questions of any presenter. The Mayor may allow additional time for questions where appropriate. Following public comment, the Mayor may request that a motion be made and seconded.
After the motion has been stated to the Council and seconded, any member of the Council has a right to discuss the motion after obtaining the floor. A member who has been recognized should limit their time to 5 minutes.
8.8.4 Opportunity for Equal Participation. It is the policy of the Council to encourage the full, fair participation of all members of the Council in discussions and deliberations. The Mayor may impose reasonable limits on the time any Councilmember is permitted to speak to advance this DRAFT
12 policy. In addition, all Councilmembers wishing to be recognized should be given an opportunity to speak before any member is allowed to speak a second time.
8.8.5 Civility. While it is appropriate to vigorously debate a motion, its nature, or its consequences, Councilmembers shall avoid attacks on the motives, character, or personality of other Councilmembers, City staff, and members of the public. The Mayor shall rule out of order any Councilmember who engages in such attacks.
8.8.6 Role of the Mayor. The Mayor has the responsibility for controlling and expediting the discussion of an agenda item. It is the duty of the Mayor to keep the subject clearly before the Councilmembers, to rule out irrelevant discussion, and to ensure civil discussion among Councilmembers.
8.9 Meeting Length. Meetings of the City Council shall adjourn by 11:00 p.m. unless the time of adjournment is extended by a vote of a majority of the City Council. Discussion of an agenda item shall not begin after 10:30 p.m. Any motion to extend the meeting beyond 11:00 p.m. shall include a list of specific agenda items to be discussed or approved and shall specify the order these items shall be considered. If a meeting continues past 11:00 p.m., it shall end at 11:30 p.m. All meetings shall be adjourned at 11:30 p.m. unless by a 2/3 vote the City Council suspends this rule and votes affirmatively to extend the meeting past 11:30 p.m. Following the adjournment of the meeting, any remaining items on the agenda shall be continued to the next regular meeting of the City Council.
8.10 Public Hearing Procedures. The order of proceeding where there is a public hearing item (non‐appeal items) before the City Council shall be as follows:
1. Open Public Hearing
2. Staff Report (≤ 10 minutes)
3. Applicant’s presentation (where applicable) (≤ 8 minutes)
4. Questions from the Council
5. Public comment
6. Applicant’s response to public comment (where applicable) (2 minutes)
7. Close Public Hearing
8. City Council discussion and vote
Where the public hearing involves an appeal of a decision to the City Council, the order of proceeding shall be as follows:
1. Open Public Hearing
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13 2. Staff Report (≤ 10 minutes)
3. Appellant’s statement (≤ 8 minutes)
4. Applicant’s statement (where applicable) (≤ 8 minutes)
5. Questions from the Council
6. Public comment
7. Applicant’s response to public comment (where applicable) (2 minutes)
8. Appellant’s response to public comment (2 minutes)
9. Close Public Hearing
10. City Council discussion and vote
8.11 City Council Recess Period. The City Council recess period shall begin the first Tuesday in August and end the Tuesday following Labor Day. During any recess period, the City Manager is authorized to take such ministerial actions for matters of operational urgency, including such emergency actions as are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, as would normally be taken by the City Council during the period of recess, except for those duties specifically reserved to the Council by law. This authority extends throughout the period of recess established by the City Council and includes the authority to execute agreements and make expenditures necessary for the exigent operational matters. The City Manager shall make a full and complete report to the City Council at its first regularly scheduled meeting following the period of recess of actions taken by the City Manager pursuant to this section, at which time the City Council may make such findings as may be required to ratify the actions of the City Manager.
Nothing in this Section prevents the City Council from calling a special meeting during the recess period.
9. Closed Sessions
A closed session may be held at any regular or special meeting for any purpose authorized by the Brown Act. The City Attorney will schedule closed session meetings in consultation with the Mayor and the City Manager. Public comment shall be received in open session prior to a closed session. To ensure strict compliance with the Brown Act, the City Attorney or the City Attorney’s designee shall report out in public session any reportable action taken during closed session and any other information from closed session authorized to be disclosed based on a majority vote of the City Council.
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14 10. Enforcement of Rules; Suspension of Rules
The City Council may enforce repeated or serious violations of the rules set forth in this Manual through a censure action placed on a Council agenda. Nothing in this Manual shall be cited to invalidate a properly noticed and acted upon action of the City Council. Any rule set forth in this Manual may be suspended by a 2/3 vote of the Council.