CPMS
Agenda Item A.14
CONSENT CALENDAR
Meeting Date: December 19, 2023
TO: Mayor and Councilmembers
FROM: Robert Nisbet, City Manager
CONTACT: Shannon Kirn, Acting Assistant to the City Manager SUBJECT: Consideration of the 2024 City Council Meeting Schedule and City Hall Holiday Schedule
RECOMMENDATION:
A. Authorize cancellation of the City Cou ncil meetings of July 2, 2024, August 6, 2024, and January 7, 2025; and
B. Authorize closure of City Hall from Monday December 23, 2024, through Wednesday January 1, 2025.
BACKGROUND:
Over the past several years, the City Council has canceled or rescheduled some of its meetings to accommodate holidays, vacations, and conferences attended by City Council members. Typically, the 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 2023, and the first meeting in January 202 4. The Council also approved the closure of City Hall from December 25, 2023, through January 2, 2024, in observance of the holidays and because this is a slower time of year for business.
DISCUSSION:
The City Council meeting schedule changes proposed in this report are in reference to the City Council meeting schedule of 2024.
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 Janu ary City Council meetings as currently scheduled for 2024:
1 Meeting Date: December 19, 2023
Table 1. City Council Regular Meeting Dates July 2024 – Jan 2025 July
2024
August
2024
September
2024
October
2024
November
2024
December
2024
January
2025
First
Meeting
July 2 August 6 September 3 October 1 November 5 December 3 January 7 Second
Meeting
July 16 August
20 September
17 October
15 November
19 December
17 January
21 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 between the months of July and August are necessary.
Staff has reviewed the 202 4 summer meeting calendar and recommends City Council cancel the July 2 meeting and August 6 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 2024 League of California Cities Conference is currently proposed to be held October 16-18, 2024 , in Long Beach , California. The City Council is scheduled to meet on September 15, 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 2024 dates have not been announced. Staff does not recommend canceling the meetings immediately before these con ferences at this time. While it is not part of the staff recommendation, the City Council may wish to consider canceling one of these meetings later, depending on attendance and travel plans for these conferences. Alternatively, Council could consider having an 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 adjacent to a Council meeting date, staff may recommend the meeting be cancelled . In 2024 four holidays will fall on the Monday before or the Wednesday after a Tuesday City Council meeting: the Martin Luther King holiday will occur on Monday, January 15; the Presidents Day holiday will occur on Monday, February 19; the Juneteenth holiday will occur on Wednesday, June 19; and the Labor Day Holiday will occur on Monday, September 2. However, staff does not recommend canceling any of the meetings adjacent to these holidays.
The meeting that falls before 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 7, 2025, meeting, due to observance of the 2 Meeting Date: December 19, 2023
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day holidays’ impact on staff’s ability to prepare and distribute the agenda.
A summary of the proposed Council meeting cancellations or adjustments is provided in Table 2 below:
Table 2. Proposed City Council Meeting Cancelation
July
2024
August
2024
September
2024
October
2024
November
2024
December
2024
January
2025
First
Meeting
Cancel
July 2
Cancel
August
6 September 3 October 1 November 5 December 3 Cancel
January 7
Second
Meeting
July 16 August
20 September
17 October
15 November
19 December
17 January
21 City Hall Holiday Hours
City Hall is normally open Monday through Thursday. 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 4/25 holidays, Table 3 below shows the proposed City Hall schedule:
Table 3. Proposed City of Goleta 2024/25 Holiday Schedule Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 12/15/2024 12/16/2024 12/17/2024 12/18/2024 12/19/2024 12/20/2024 12/21/2024 Closed OPEN – NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS Closed Closed
12/22/2024 12/23/2024 12/24/2024 12/25/2024 12/26/2024 12/27/2024 12/28/2024 Closed CLOSED Holiday Holiday CLOSED Closed Closed
12/29/2024 12/30/2024 12/31/2024 1/1/2025 1/2/2025 1/3/2025 1/4/2025 Closed CLOSED Holiday Holiday
OPEN –
NORMAL
BUSINESS
HOURS
Closed Closed
With the observance of these holidays in mind, the proposed schedule above would result in three additional days (Dec 23, 26, and 30) that City Hall would be closed for public business for all departments. Closing on December 23 would connect the two weekends during the holiday closure, allowing extended time for staff to be with family. As noted above, the January 7 meeting is recommended for cancellation because of the holidays’ impact on staff’s ability to prepare and distribute the agenda. 3 Meeting Date: December 19, 2023
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 clo sure. 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 specia l 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 personnel 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 addit ional closure days for City Hall would also result in utility cost savings including water and electricity.
ALTERNATIVES:
Meeting Dates
Council could elect not to cancel the July 2, 2024, August 6, 2024, and January 7, 2025, City Council meetings and instead reschedule these meetings to occur one week later:
July 9, 2024 and August 13, 2024, and January 14, 2025. 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 24, 25, 31 and January 1).
Reviewed By: Legal Review By: Approved By:
___________________ ___________________ _________________ Kristine Schmidt Megan Garibaldi Robert Nisbet
Assistant City Manager City Attorney City Manager
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