Agenda Item B.7
CPMS CONSENT CALENDAR
Meeting Date: December 6, 2022
TO: Mayor and Councilmembers
FROM: Kristy Schmidt, Assistant City Manager
CONTACT: Shannon Kirn, Management Analyst
SUBJECT: Consideration of the 202 3 City Council Meeting Schedule and City Hall Holiday Schedule
RECOMMENDATION:
A. Authorize cancellation of the City Cou ncil meetings of July 4, 2023, August 1, 2023, and January 2, 2024; and
B. Authorize closure of City Hall from Monday December 25, 2023, through Tuesday January 2, 2024.
BACKGROUND:
Over the past several years, the City Council has cancelled or rescheduled some of its meetings to accommodate holidays, vacations, and conferences attended by City Council members. Typically, holiday and summer months are less busy than other times of the year and are well-suited to canceling one meeting per month.
Last year, the City Council approved cancellation of the first meetings of July and August 2022, and the first meeting in January 202 3. The Council also approved the closure of City Hall for the period between the Christmas Eve and New Year’s holidays, from December 23, 2022, through January 2, 2023, in observance of the holidays and because this is a slower time of year for business.
The City Council meeting schedule changes proposed in this report are in reference to the City Council meeting schedule of 2023.
DISCUSSION:
The City Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month in the evenings.
Closed session begins at 4:00 p.m. and open session for Council meetings begins at 5:30 p.m. The dates in Table 1 reflect the July through January City Council meetings as currently scheduled for 2023:
1 Meeting Date: December 6, 2022
Table 1. City Council Regular Meeting Dates
July
2023
August
2023
September
2023
October
2023
November
2023
December
2023
January
2024
First
Meeting
July 4 August 1 September 5 October 3 November 7 December 5 January 2 Second
Meeting
July 18 August
15 September
19 October
17 November
21 December
19 January
16 Summer Meeting Schedule
It is typically challenging to schedule meetings during summer months due to vacation plans of Councilmembers and staff. It has been staff’s practice to consolidate agenda items such that only two regular meetings during the months of July and August are necessary.
Staff has reviewed the 202 3 summer meeting calendar and recommends City Council cancel the July 4 meeting in observance of the Independence Day holiday and the August 1 meeting, which would allow additional time between summer meetings . The proposed schedule would provide a significant period during which Council and staff could plan vacations. If any pressing or time -sensitive issues were to arise during this time, staff would consult with the Mayor about whether a special meeting should be scheduled.
Fall/Winter Meeting Schedule
The 202 3 League of California Cities Conference is currently proposed to be held September 20-22, 2023, in Sacramento, California. The City Council is scheduled to meet on September 19, one day prior to the start of the conference. The National League of Cities Conference is generally held on a Wednesday through Sunday in November, though the 2023 dates have not yet been announced. S taff does not recommend canceling the meetings immediately before these conferences at this time. While it is not part of the staff recommendation, the City Council may wish to consider cancelling one of these meetings later, depending on attendance and travel plans for th ese conferences.
Alternatively, Council could consider having a n earlier and/or shortened session for the meetings before these conferences, to accommodate any Councilmembers attending the conferences that want to travel to the site the evening before.
Holidays On or Adjacent to Meeting
When a holiday falls on or adjacent to a Council meeting date, staff may recommend the meeting be cancelled . In 2023, four holidays will fall on the Monday before a Tuesday City Council meeting: the Martin Luther King holiday will occur on Monday, January 16; the Presidents Day holida y will occur on Monday, February 20; the Juneteenth holiday will occur on Monday, June 19; and the Labor Day Holiday will occur on Monday, September 4. However, staff does not recommend cancelling any of the meetings adjacent to these holidays.
2 Meeting Date: December 6, 2022
The meeting that falls on the Independence Day holiday was already recommended for cancellation as part of the summer meeting schedule recommendation. Staff further recommends that Council cancel the January 2, 2024, meeting due to observance of the New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day holidays . Per established policy, the New Year’s Eve holiday that falls on a Sunday , December 31 will be observed on the following Monday, January 1, and the New Year’s Day holiday will be observed on the next day, Tuesday, January 2.
A summary of the proposed Council meeting cancellations or adjustments is provided in Table 2 below:
Table 2. Proposed City Council Meeting Cancelation
July
2023
August
2023
September
2023
October
2023
November
2023
December
2023
January
2024
First
Meeting
Cancel
July 4
Cancel
August 1
September
5 October 3 November
7 December 5 Cancel
January 2
Second
Meeting
July 18 August 15 September
19 October
17 November
21 December
19 January
16 City Hall Holiday Hours
Annually, the City Council considers a holiday schedule for City Hall, and typically authorizes that City Hall be closed for public business between the Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day holidays. The holiday period is typically the slowest for calls and visits to City Hall by the public and for meetings with other agencies. A holiday closure will allow staff an opportunity to schedule vacation time if they wish without impacting operations.
Should the Council authorize a closure for the 202 3/24 holidays, Table 3 below shows the proposed City Hall schedule:
Table 3. Proposed City of Goleta Holiday Schedule
Sunday
12/17/23
Monday
12/18/23
Tuesday
12/19/23
Wednesday
12/20/23
Thursday
12/21/23
Friday
12/22/23
Saturday
12/23/23
Closed OPEN – NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS Closed Closed
Sunday
12/24/23
Monday
12/25/23
Tuesday
12/26/23
Wednesday
12/27/23
Thursday
12/28/23
Friday
12/29/23
Saturday
12/30/23
Closed Holiday Holiday CLOSED CLOSED Closed Closed
Sunday
12/31/23
Monday
1/1/24
Tuesday
1/2/24
Wednesday
1/3/24
Thursday
1/4/24
Friday
1/5/24
Saturday
1/6/24
Closed Holiday Holiday OPEN – NORMAL
BUSINESS HOURS Closed Closed
With the observance of the holidays in mind, the proposed schedule above would result in two additional days (Dec 27, and 28) that City Hall would be closed for public business for all departments. As noted above, the January 2 meeting is recommended for cancellation because the New Year’s Day holiday will be observed on that day. In other 3 Meeting Date: December 6, 2022
years, this first meeting in January has also been cancelled because of the impact of the holidays on staff’s ability to prepare and distribute and agenda.
If the City Council elects to support this modified schedule, staff will notify the public accordingly, and will take the following steps to mitigate any potential service or other impacts:
No additional holiday leave time other than what employees receive for designated holidays including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, will be granted. If employees would like to take time off during the additional days of closure, they would be required to use other types of leave time (such as vacation or management leave) to cover those hours. Employees with insufficient leave balances will have the option to request leave without pay if they prefer to be off during the closure. If employees prefer to work, that option is available pending approval of the supervisor, director, and City Manager. The main City Hall phone number will have an after -hours greeting indicating the City Hall closure period and will provide a special phone number in the event the public has an urgent need for timely assistance. Staff will be assigned to address these calls during the scheduled closure.
Field maintenance and code compliance perso nnel will be on stand -by for emergency and other needed responses.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
Cancellation of regularly scheduled City Council meetings in July and August would save staff time, which would be devoted to other projects, while also resulting in reduced video recording services costs. The proposed additional closure days for City Hall could also result in utility cost savings including water and electricity.
ALTERNATIVES:
Meeting Dates
Council could elect not to cancel the July 4, 2023, August 1, 2023, and January 2, 2024, City Council meetings and instead reschedule the July and January meetings to occur one week later: July 11, 2023 and January 9, 2024 to accommodate the holidays. Council could also elect to cancel other meetings not mentioned in this report.
City Hall Holiday Closure
The Council could elect not to close City Hall for public business during the holiday period, except on those days which fall on observed legal holidays (December 2 5, 26, and January 1 and 2).
4 Meeting Date: December 6, 2022
Reviewed By: Legal Review By: Approved By:
___________________ ___________________ _________________ Kristine Schmidt Megan Garibaldi Robert Nisbet
Assistant City Manager City Attorney City Manager
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