CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
1/10/2022
1 SUBJECT:
Appointment of Councilmember Ad Hoc Subcommittee to Develop and Recommend Updates to the City Council Rules and Code of Ethics
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Appoint a two Councilmember Ad Hoc Subcommittee to work with the City Manager and City Attorney to recommend updates to the City Council Rules and Code of Ethics for future consideration by the full City Council.
STAFF CONTACT:
Kevin Woodhouse, City Manager
650-738-7409
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
As part of the City’s ongoing goal for continuous improvement in its policies and procedures for its conduct of business, it is a best practice to periodically review and consider updates to important policies and procedures. Dating back to Fiscal Year 2019-20, the City Council had identified this practice as a City Council Priority, which stated “Miscellaneous administrative policy updates: Continue to prioritize and update Council and administrative policies.” Numerous various policies and procedures have been gradually updated, such as the Streetlight Banners Policy, the Flag Policy, the Lands Acknowledgment Statement Policy, and the City Five Year Capital Improvement Program Policy, to name a few. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in March 2020 has slowed progress somewhat on this continuous improvement goal.
The City Council Rules and Code of Ethics (Attachment A) is an important policy that has not been reviewed and updated since 2014. As summarized in its Introduction, this policy is important to establishing the standards for the roles, responsibilities and expectations of the governing board and staff in the operation of the organization, promoting communication, understanding, and trust in these roles, responsibilities and expectations, and helping to make City Council meetings as productive as possible.
The City Council Rules and Code of Ethics covers a broad range of topics, including:
• Operation of City Council Meetings
• Order of the Agenda
• Council Communications
• Councilmember and Public Decorum
• City Council Relationship with City Staff
The City Manager recommends work to begin on reviewing and updating the provisions of this policy, and for the City Council to consider appointment of a two Councilmember Ad Hoc Subcommittee to assist the City Manager and City Attorney with this review and update process. Recommended updates developed by the Ad Hoc Subcommittee would be brought to Pacifica City Council 2
January 10, 2022
the full City Council for discussion and consideration before June 30, 2022, the end of the fiscal year.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
The City Council could decide to not undertake this update work at this time.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
Reviewing and updating the City Council Rules and Code of Ethics supports achievement of all of the Council Goals.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this recommendation ORIGINATED BY:
City Manager's Office
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A: City Council Rules and Code of Ethics, September 2014 (PDF)