EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: February 21, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Melvin Gaines, City Manager
BY: Melvin Gaines, City Manager
SUBJECT: Meeting Format for Boards and Commissions after February 2023 Recommendation
By motion, provide direction on how the City Council and City boards and commissions shall conduct regular proceedings following the official expiration of the pandemic state of emergency.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 3: Increase Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency Priority No. 6: Create a Healthy and Safe Community
Background
The California Brown Act includes long-established requirements for local agencies to use teleconferencing to conduct meetings. In March 2020, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-29-20 authorizing exemptions to the then-existing Brown Act teleconferencing requirements. Those requirements were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic to promote social distancing and to facilitate remote work and meetings. Executive Order N-08- 21 extended Executive Order N-29-20 until September 30, 2021.
On September 16, 2021, the Governor signed AB 361 into law to allow the continued use of virtual public meetings during a declared state of emergency when certain conditions are met.
AB 361 took effect immediately as an urgency statute and is effective through December 31, 2023. AB361 requires findings be made periodically to substantiate the rationale for continued virtual meetings, and the City Council has satisfied this requirement on a monthly basis. One key requirement is that there be a proclaimed state of emergency.
Governor Newsom recently announced that the State of Emergency he declared on March 4, 2020, will end on February 28, 2023. Assuming there is no major resurgence of COVID-19 or occurrence of other conditions leading to a new state of emergency, a key component for making AB 361 findings will not be in effect and, therefore, virtual participation in meetings will not be available on that basis.
On September 13, 2022, AB 2449 was signed into law, effective January 1, 2023. It will remain in effect through December 31, 2025. AB 2449 clarified teleconferencing requirements and, for a two-year period, provided additional exceptions to the original Brown Act teleconference rules. The two new exceptions allow teleconferencing absent a declared state of emergency when a member of the legislative body is unable to attend in person due to “just cause” or due to an “emergency circumstance.” These new provisions are not as flexible as the AB 361 provisions people have become accustomed to. Accordingly, given that portions of AB 361 will sunset, the Council and the various boards and commission members will be required to attend in-person meetings unless either an exception under AB 2449 is invoked or the traditional Brown Act rules for teleconference would apply (e.g., posting location of remote attendance, permit public access to such location, etc.).
On December 15, 2022, with AB 361 set to expire at the end of February 2023, staff provided the City Council with information about possible approaches that the City may pursue with regard to future hybrid meetings. At the conclusion of staff’s presentation, the City Council directed staff to return with specific recommendations on February 21, 2023.
The purpose of this staff report is to seek City Council approval for the City’s approach to offering hybrid meetings for City Council and City boards and commissions beginning in March 2023.
Analysis
Boards and Commissions
There are four council appointed bodies that are subject to the Brown Act meeting requirements. One body, the Planning Commission, has two regular meetings scheduled each month on Mondays. The other three advisory bodies each have one monthly regular meeting scheduled on different Wednesdays.
Table 1: Advisory Body Size and Regular Meeting Schedule Advisory Body # of
Members
Regular Meeting
Date
Regular Meeting
Time
Planning Commission 8 2
nd & 4th Monday of month 7 pm
Public Works & Transportation
Commission 8
3 rd Wednesday of month 5:30 pm
Rent Stabilization Board 8 2
nd Wednesday of month 7 pm
Senior Advisory Committee 9 1
st Wednesday of month 6 pm
Existing Hybrid Meeting Capability
The Council Chambers at 2415 University is the only City location currently equipped for hybrid meetings. The current hybrid meeting set-up requires all on site participants to use a computer equipped with a camera/microphone to present or provide comments. Meetings are held via Zoom webinar. The chambers are equipped with five Zoom ready computers on the dais which are used by City Council members during council meetings and three to four Zoom ready computers on the tables adjacent to the dais which are used by City staff and/or consultants during council meetings.
There is also a Zoom ready computer available at the podium in the chambers that may be used by members of the public to make comments. Staff and consultants may also use this computer to present from the podium. Members of the public in attendance in the chambers who only wish to observe the meeting may view the Zoom screen and observe remote panelists on the two television monitors located in the chambers.
Needs for Expanding Hybrid Meetings to Additional Bodies The size of City boards and commissions ranges from eight to nine members. Each of these members would need a camera equipped computer to participate in hybrid meetings.
Additionally, at minimum, one onsite staff member would also need a computer. This staff member would set up the chambers for a hybrid meeting, host the meeting, and troubleshoot any issues that arise. The nine computers located on the dais and adjacent table would suffice for most boards and commissions; however, an additional computer would be required for the Senior Advisory Committee. This computer could be added to the table adjacent to the dais, however, the resulting seating arrangement would require one meeting participant to have their back to other participants.
Alternative Hybrid Meeting Options
Many communities operate hybrid meetings that have a number of microphones and cameras that pan the meeting room and focus on different speakers as opposed to each speaker having their own camera/microphone and a separate Zoom square. With these configurations, only staff would be required to have access to a computer. Nevertheless, such a configuration would not be any less intensive for staff to set up the chambers, host the meeting, and trouble shoot any issues that arise.
Hybrid vs In Person Only Meetings
Staffing requirements:
Hybrid meetings will require at least one staff member to be present in the council chambers to set up the chambers for a hybrid meeting, host the meeting, and trouble shoot any issues that arise. Ideally, at least two staff members would be present onsite to help operate hybrid meetings. This will require training for multiple staff liaisons. Still, with hybrid meetings, other staff members and any consultants could attend the meeting remotely. The ability for staff to participate in meetings remotely is a valued benefit. Furthermore, the ability for consultants to participate in meetings remotely has decreased the costs the City pays for consultant travel.
In person only meetings will require all staff liaisons and any consultants to attend meetings in person. There are fewer moving pieces to oversee for in person only meetings and there is less technical training required.
Translation capabilities:
The current contractor that the City uses for translation services provides services remotely.
This provides a costs savings to the City as the costs for the translators to be onsite is higher.
If the City requires translation services at a non-hybrid meeting, the City will incur additional costs.
Public Participation:
The City has not tracked public participation in remote meetings; however, hybrid meetings provide an additional means for community members to participate in meetings. It is likely that community members who have other obligations are more likely to participate in a meeting with remote capabilities than they would be if the meeting was in person only. Community members who want to attend a meeting in person also have the ability to do so with hybrid meetings. Under Government Code Section 54953(b)(4), a hybrid format that allows virtual teleconference/video conference to allow both in-person and virtual public participation is permissible.
City Council Feedback on December 15, 2022
The City Council provided the following comments to staff regarding public meetings, beginning in March 2023:
• The City Council acknowledged that offering hybrid meetings for all public meetings would create a significant administrative and implementation burden to staff, including having the staffing necessary to ensure that computers, microphones, and speakers are available and operable for in-person and remote participation; • Several City Council members commented that the City should consider hybrid meetings for all policy bodies (e.g., City Council, Planning Commission, and the Rent Board);
• The City Council was supportive of the City Manager determining which staff and consultants need to be in attendance based on specific meeting requirements; and • City Councilmembers seemed generally supportive of supporting statewide efforts to rethink hybrid meetings in the future1.
Staff Recommendation
Due to the staffing and budget considerations associated with supporting hybrid meetings for public and staff/presenter attendance, staff has three options for the City Council to consider:
Option 1
1. Work to provide hybrid meeting capabilities for all boards and commissions, to the extent permitted by law; and
2. Direct staff to provide the City Council with detailed staff and cost implications associated with providing hybrid meetings for all boards and commissions during the budget process.
Option 2
1. Beginning in March 2023, offer hybrid meetings for City Council, Planning Commission, and the Rent Board complete with interpretation services.
2. Direct staff to provide the City Council with detailed staff and cost implications associated with providing hybrid meetings for these bodies during the budget process.
Option 3
1. Identify the specific boards and commissions that the City should provide hybrid meetings for.
2. Direct staff to provide the City Council with detailed staff and cost implications associated with providing hybrid meetings for these bodies during the budget process.
Fiscal Impact
No fiscal impact is associated with this item.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by posting the City Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin board outside City Hall and making the agenda and report available at the City’s website and at the San Mateo County Library located at 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
Environmental
The proposed action is not a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378(b)(2), in that it is government administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.