AGENDA and NOTICE
Special Meeting
City Council Retreat
Thursday, January 16, 2025
9:00 A.M
**MEETING LOCATION**
Staybridge Suites
Springhill Meeting Room
6000 Newpark Mall Road
Newark, CA 94560
A. ROLL CALL
B. City Council Retreat
1. Welcome from Mayor Hannon
2. City Council discussion consisting of opening comments from City Manager Benoun, discussion of effective governance, looking to the future, celebrating accomplishments and discussion of goals and priorities.
C. ADJOURNMENT
MEETING INFORMATION
This meeting will be held at the Staybridge Suites, Springhill Meeting Room, 6000 Newpark Mall Road, Newark, CA, 94560. Members of the public may attend the meeting in person. This meeting will not be live streamed on YouTube due to the meeting location.
Public Comment on Agenda Items
Persons wishing to address the City Council are generally limited to 5 minutes per speaker.
How to submit written Public Comment:
Send an email to City Clerk by 3:00 p.m. on January 15, 2025. Please identify the agenda item number in the subject line of your email. Emails will be compiled into one file and will be distributed to the City Council before the meeting.
No question shall be asked of a council member, city staff, or an audience member except through the Mayor. No person shall interrupt the meeting. Any person who refuses to carry out instructions given by the Mayor for the purpose of maintaining order may be guilty of an infraction and may result in removal from the meeting.
Council Meeting Access/Materials:
The agenda packet is available for review at Agendas and Minutes. The packet is typically posted to the City website the Friday before the meeting, but no later than 24 hours before a special meeting.
Pursuant to Government Code 54957.5, supplemental materials distributed less than 72 hours before this meeting, to a majority of the City Council, will be made available for public inspection at this meeting and will be posted at https://www.newark.org/departments/city-manager-s-office/agendas-minutes and will concurrently be made available for public inspection during regular business hours at the David W. Smith City Hall, 37101 Newark Boulevard, Newark CA. Materials prepared by City staff and distributed during the meeting are available for public inspection at the meeting or after the meeting if prepared by some other person. Documents related to closed session items or are exempt from disclosure will not be made available for public inspection. For those persons who require special accommodations, please contact the City Clerk at least two days prior to the meeting at City Clerk or 510-578-4266.
Mission Statement
It is our mission to serve and partner with our community to continually enhance the quality of life of everyone in Newark.
Executive Team
David J. Benoun
City Manager
Lenka Hovorka
Assistant City Manager
Kristopher J. Kokotaylo
City Attorney
Steven Turner
Community Development Director
Jonathan Arguello
Police Chief
Edwin Miranda
CIO/Information Technology Director
Howard Young
Public Works Director
Cora Dino
Interim Human Resources Director
Krysten Lee
Finance Director
Ryan Nishimoto
ACFD Deputy Chief
Nicholas Cuevas, Recreation and Community Services Director Item B. 1.
DATE 01/16/2025
TO Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM Sheila Harrington, City Clerk
SUBJECT Welcome from Mayor Hannon
Item B. 2.
DATE 01/16/2025
TO Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM Sheila Harrington, City Clerk
SUBJECT City Council discussion consisting of opening comments from City Manager Benoun, discussion of effective governance, looking to the future, celebrating accomplishments and discussion of goals and priorities.
Attachments
ILG Exceptional Councils
1 Leading public organizations and governing with colleagues on a council is a challenging art of community service. The Institute recognizes that many aspects of leadership and governance are not intuitive. This piece is intended to provide councilmembers and city managers insight into the attributes of exceptional councils as well as provide practical tips to help them become exceptional.
1. Exceptional councils develop a sense
of team – a partnership with the city
manager to govern and manage the city
The mayor, councilmembers and city manager see
themselves and work as a team as they undertake a
series of tasks to further their common purpose. The
individual team members work in a coordinated and
collaborative manner with a high degree of respect, trust and openness. The team values diversity in style and
perspective. The team thinks and acts strategically as it examines issues/situations and decides on a course of
action serving their city’s mission and goals.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
x Successfully transition from candidate
to a member of the council.
x Become a champion of the city. Make
decisions based on the needs and
interests of the community at-large / the
greater good.
x Develop, communicate and support
policy goals and council decisions.
x Demonstrate a willingness to work
collaboratively (as a team) and have a
citywide perspective.
BEST PRACTICE TIPS
Build capacity to create a more effective team. The governance team (mayor, councilmembers and city manager) should get to know each other; how each person approaches issues, decision making style and so on. This can be accomplished at annual meetings or workshops through-out the year.
In the event that councilmembers disagree, clear ground rules (norms of behavior and practice) can help quell acrimony before it becomes a problem. It’s important to remember that trust is built around understanding and respect, not necessarily agreement.
Attributes of Exceptional Councils
Attributes of Exceptional Councils
2 2. Exceptional councils have clear
roles and responsibilities that are
understood and adhered.
Exceptional councils understand their role is to serve as policy maker - to represent the values, beliefs and priorities of their community while serving in the community’s best interest. They carry out a variety of responsibilities including:
developing and adopting a vision for the city; focusing and aligning plans, policies, agreements and budgets in furtherance of this vision; and holding themselves and
the city manager accountable for results.
Exceptional councils understand that the city manager
is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the city.
The city manager is responsible for undertaking and
accomplishing the policy objectives of the council.
Exceptional councils recognize the subject matter expertise of staff and utilize their knowledge and experience to
guide and inform decision making.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
x Understand the role of local
government and their responsibilities.
x Know their role- to set vision and policy,
avoid micromanagement.
x Councilmembers should strive to be
informed about the issues facing the
city and be prepared to ask questions of
staff and each other.
BEST PRACTICE TIPS
Create a shared understanding of the city manager’s role and the council’s expectations to optimize the working relationships. This shared understanding is informed by local charter and ordinance provisions that provide the overall framework for the relationship. The council should make time to have conversations during retreats and or study sessions to define and/or reveal and refine their role and responsibilities. Since role clarity between the city council and city management is critical to mutual success, having clear protocols helps avoid misunderstandings.
Attributes of Exceptional Councils
3 3. Exceptional councils honor the
relationship with staff and each other
Exceptional councils understand that a good working
relationship with staff is vital for the city to be run successfully. Exceptional councils treat each other and staff with dignity and respect. They act with civility and a high level of professional decorum. Councilmembers
build trust by not playing the “gotcha game” and strive to have a no secrets, no surprises approach as an operating norm. Finally, they respect the diversity of styles and perspectives among their colleagues and staff and are
open to new ideas.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
x Councilmembers have the ability to
respectfully disagree (to disagree
without being disagreeable).
They are able to leave it at the dais;
debates are about policy, not
personality.
x Exceptional councilmembers reflect
positive decorum/model of leadership
by providing respectful tone with
colleagues.
x Establish a set of behaviors ahead of
time, potentially documented in a code
of conduct, to help promote civility and
respect.
BEST PRACTICE TIPS
Set council priorities and strategic goals at an annual meeting; these goals and priorities are a tool to guide the city manager and staff on where to focus their efforts. This annual meeting provides time for the council to reflect on community priorities as well as offer an opportunity to discuss their decorum and their relationship among each other and the relationship between the city manager/staff and the council.
4. Exceptional councils routinely conduct
effective meetings
Open and public meetings are central to democratic
decision-making. Exceptional councils master the art
of effective meetings. They develop and adhere to meeting protocols and processes. They spend time planning and
organizing the agenda with the aim of having a more
focused meeting. They allocate the council’s time and
energy appropriately (focused on the council’s role and responsibilities) and meeting short- and long-term priorities.
They honor the public’s participation and engagement
and they generally start on time and are held during
reasonable hours.
Exceptional councils use public meetings not only for their intended purpose, information sharing and decision-making,
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
x Councilmembers are respectful of each
other, the public and everyone’s time.
x Councilmembers use engaging body
language as a way to demonstrate
respect.
x Issues are not personalized, thoughtful
dialogue is the objective.
x Agenda packets are read,
councilmembers come prepared and
have an open mind
x Respect is demonstrated for varied
opinions.
x Everyone strives to be civil and act with
decorum.
Attributes of Exceptional Councils
4 but they also use the meeting to demonstrate respect and civility for each other, staff and the public. Exceptional councilmembers prepare in advance of the meeting, remain focused on the city goals and objectives and mindful of their role and responsibilities.
BEST PRACTICE TIPS
Develop and adopt (with regular reviews and updates), guidelines for conducting meetings and making decisions. These governance protocols typically address meeting procedures (agenda preparation, how to put issues on the agenda, debate and voting procedures (parliamentary rules) and standards of decorum (civility)). As part of a regular self-assessment, councils should evaluate their meetings and their effectiveness and adjust behavior and practices for better results.
5. Exceptional councils hold themselves
and the city accountable
Exceptional councils operate openly, ethically and work to engage the community in a myriad of decisions impacting the prosperity and well-being of their community. Toward that end, exceptional councils consistently provide shortand long-term strategic direction and goals, as well as provide budget, program and policy oversight.
Exceptional councils hold themselves accountable for the conduct, behavior and effectiveness of the council. They establish clear priorities and goals and hold the city
manager accountable for results. And finally, they embrace accountability as a process and tool to calibrate ongoing efforts to address and meet policy and program objectives.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
x Councilmembers operate ethically and
with integrity.
x Councils conduct team building / goal
setting exercise to track progress
towards mutually agreed upon goals
x Councils taking responsibility for the
results (good and bad).
x Councils celebrate success.
x Councilmembers hold themselves
responsible for adhering to operating
protocols and codes of conduct.
BEST PRACTICE TIPS
Annually evaluate council and city manager performance toward achieving the city’s priorities and goals (consider having this be part of an annual goal setting meeting). Council should consider assessing its own behavior and effectiveness as part of its annual self-assessment.
Attributes of Exceptional Councils
5 6. Exceptional councils have members
who practice continuous personal
learning and development
Governance is not intuitive. In addition, the policy and economic environment impacting cities are ever changing.
Exceptional councils continually provide the opportunity to build their knowledge and skills, to enhance their
understanding of key issues, increase their awareness
of best practices and sharpen their leadership and
governance skills.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
x Stay informed on key issues
x Gain key insights and knowledge on all
aspects of governing, from budgets to
plans and everything in between.
x Learning to listen is sometimes more
important than learning to give a
speech.
BEST PRACTICE TIPS
Seek out national, state and local professional growth and educational opportunities. These opportunities can focus on the nuts and bolts of governing to helping you gain valuable information and/or insights on key policy issues facing your city. In addition, city run orientations for newly elected officials provide a good way to acclimate new members to the council’s norms and protocols as well as the budget and key policy issues.