Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: JANUARY 7, 2025
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: LUCINDA WILLIAMS, CITY CLERK
PREPARED BY: LUCINDA WILLIAMS, CITY CLERK
SUBJECT: BOARD, COMMISSION AND COMMITTEE REORGANIZATION
SUMMARY
Staff requests City Council consider reorganizing the City Board, Commission and Committee structure to achieve greater resource efficiencies and increase legislative body effectiveness.
PROPOSED MOTION
Direct staff to prepare legislative documents to enact the following changes to the board, commission and committee structure:
Active Transportation Committee: Reduce schedule to quarterly meetings and reduce membership to five directly appointed members.
Cultural Arts Subcommittee: Disband and redirect duties to the Parks and Recreation Commission.
Investment Advisory Committee: Change membership from five at-large to five directly appointed members.
Planning Commission: Add two at-large members.
Parks and Recreation Commission: Reduce schedule to meet every other month and reduce membership to five directly appointed members.
Transportation and Circulation Commission: Reduce schedule to meet every other month and reduce membership to five directly appointed members.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Approve the Proposed Motion
Other options proposed by committee staff include reducing the Infrastructure and Natural Resources Advisory Committee to seven members and/or revising the Active Transportation Committee (ATC) resolution Other options brought by City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends the Proposed Motion.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
The recommended changes will bring some of the Commissions in alignment in membership. The meeting changes are due to trying to manage the ability to have meetings in the Council Chambers and provide for maximum efficiency from the Commissions.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statement:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability.
FISCAL IMPACT
No direct fiscal impact but reorganization would reduce impact on existing City resources.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The City has twelve standing boards, commissions, committees and subcommittees. Each committee meeting requires a significant investment of staff time to prepare agenda packets, attend and broadcast meetings, prepare minutes and implement direction given during the meeting. Several departments support multiple legislative bodies. The Community and Economic Development Department provides staff support to three bodies, including Planning Commission that meets twice monthly. The Public Works Department provides staff support to four legislative bodies, three of which have monthly meetings. The Parks and Recreation Department provides staff support to four legislative bodies. The Administrative Services Department provides staff support to two legislative bodies (and, currently, the Fiscal Sustainability Ad Hoc Committee). The Library provides staff support to the Library Board of Directors.
The number of legislative body meetings in the Council Chamber makes scheduling ad hoc committee meetings and other events in the Chambers challenging.
Staff conferred with the Mayor regarding ways to reorganize the City board, commission and committee structure to achieve greater resource efficiencies as well as increase legislative body effectiveness and impact and proposes the following:
Active Transportation Committee (ATC): ATC cancelled seven monthly meetings and had five or six (of seven) members in attendance at meetings in 2024. Staff recommends adjusting the meeting schedule to quarterly meetings and changing membership to five directly appointed members to match committee activity. This would provide consistency with a majority of commission / committee membership, more efficiently utilize commissioner time, reduce impact on department staff, streamline the appointment process and increase Council Chamber availability for other events.
Cultural Arts Subcommittee: Three Parks and Recreation Commissioners sit on the Cultural Arts Subcommittee. The Subcommittee held three of five scheduled meetings in 2024. This Subcommittee generally has light agendas consisting of receive and file items. One meeting had only Chair and Vice Chair selection and minutes approval on the agenda. Staff recommends disbanding the Subcommittee and redirecting duties to the Parks and Recreation Commission to efficiently utilize commissioner time, reduce impact on the Parks and Recreation Department and increase Council Chamber availability for other events.
Investment Advisory Committee: Staff recommends changing membership from five at-large members to five directly appointed members. This would provide consistency with a majority of commission / committee membership, streamline the appointment process and eliminate the need to establish an at-large interview panel, schedule applicants and conduct interviews.
Planning Commission: The Planning Commission had seven members until 2019. Staff recommends adding two at-large members to return to pre-2019 practice.
Parks and Recreation Commission: The Parks and Recreation Commission cancelled three of 12 meetings in 2024. Staff recommends reducing the monthly meeting schedule to meeting every other month and reduce membership to five directly appointed members to provide consistency with a majority of commission / committee membership, efficiently utilize commissioner time, reduce impact on department staff, streamline the appointment process and increase Council Chamber availability for other events.
Transportation and Circulation Commission: The Transportation and Circulation Commission cancelled eight of 13 meetings in 2024. Staff recommends reducing the monthly meeting schedule to meet every other month and reduce membership to five directly appointed members to provide consistency with a majority of commission / committee membership, efficiently utilize commissioner time, reduce impact on department staff, streamline the appointment process and increase Council Chamber availability for other events.
Boards, Commissions and Committees may hold special meetings should business requiring immediate attention arise between meetings, provided the legislative body holds the meeting in accordance with California Brown Act provisions.
Staff requests City Council provide direction regarding the proposed board, commission and committee reorganization and staff will prepare the legislative documents to enact the changes for City Council consideration at the January 21, 2025 meeting.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Board, Commission, Committee Matrix with Proposed Changes cc: City Manager Eric J. Levitt
Board, Commission and Committee Reorganization
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