RESOLUTION NO. R-2022-006
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PISMO BEACH,
CALIFORNIA ADOPTING A VIRTUAL LEGISLATIVE MEETING CONDUCT POLICY WHEREAS, the City Council has been conducting various forms of virtual legislative meetings since February of 2020; and
WHEREAS, as staff and the City's legislative body members have learned how best to administer virtual meeting sessions over the past two years, some best practices have emerged; and
WHEREAS, some form of virtual legislative meeting practice is likely to be the norm for the foreseeable future, and as such staff now recommends that the Council adopt written standards of conduct for virtual legislative meeting sessions.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Pismo Beach hereby adopts a Virtual Legislative Meeting Conduct Policy (Exhibit A).
UPON MOTION OF Council Member Blake, seconded by Council Member Newton, the foregoing resolution was adopted by the City Council of the City of Pismo Beach this 1st day of February 2022, by the following vote:
6000 AYES: 5 Blake, Newton, Guthrie, Reiss, Waage
NOES: 0
ABSENT: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
RECUSED: 0
App�gy d:
Ed Waage, Mayor
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R-2022-006
Exhibit A
CITY OF PISMO BEACH ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY
Policy Name:
VIRTUAL LEGISLATIVE MEETING CONDUCT POLICY
Purpose:
To establish best practices for legislative body members during virtual legislative meetings.
PURPOSE
Policy Number: A�s�0Ve
AP-CC-002
Original Adoption Date:
February 1, 2022
Revision Date(s):
City Manager Approval:
Adopted by Resolution
R-2022-006
To establish best practices for legislative body members during virtual legislative meetings.
APPLICABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY
A. Applicability
Members of the City Council, Planning Commission, and other Advisory Bodies.
B. Responsibility
The Mayor shall be generally responsible for the administration of this Policy. The City Manager shall be responsible for approving exceptions to this Policy, and for determining the method and extent of pursuing the correction of violations of this Policy.
DEFINITIONS
"Brown Act" means the Ralph M. Brown Act of 1953, California Government Code Section 54950 et seq.
"City" means the City of Pismo Beach, a municipal corporation. "City Manager" means the City Manager or designee.
"City staff" means a regular or contract employee of the City responsible for administering virtual legislative meeting sessions.
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0 Exhibit A
"Council Member" means any or all members of the City Council including the Mayor, unless the context indicates otherwise.
"Legislative body member" means any or all members of the City Council and/or Planning Commission and/or other Advisory Body.
"Presiding Officer" means the Mayor or Acting Mayor in the case of a City Council meeting, and means the Chair or Acting Chair in the case of a Planning Commission meeting or other Advisory Body meeting.
IV. PROVISIONS
A. Audio and Video
City staff will set the screen names of legislative body members to include the individual's full name and title. Legislative body members shall not thereafter alter their screen names in any way that obscures their identity or official title.
2. Legislative body members shall use an official City -branded virtual meeting background if offered one by City staff.
3. Legislative body members shall remain visible on video during active legislative meeting sessions to the greatest extent feasible. 6=01+ An exception may be made when unforeseen technological impediments or immediate personal necessity prevent the member from appearing on video. Further, a legislative body member may be permitted to participate in a virtual legislative meeting without video under other extenuating circumstances, with advance notice to the Presiding Officer.
B. Decorum
Legislative body members shall generally conduct themselves with the same level of decorum and focus of attention during virtual legislative meetings as would be expected during physical legislative meetings.
2. Legislative body members shall refrain from text -messaging or otherwise electronically communicating with others during the meeting, in order to minimize distraction and avert potential violations of the Brown Act, except as needed to communicate with City staff about the conduct of the meeting.
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Exhibit A
3. Legislative body members shall refrain from watching other media during the meeting unless the media is related to items under consideration, in order to minimize distraction and disruption. 4.9W C. Parliamentary Process and Voting
Rules of parliamentary procedure as set forth in the Pismo Beach Municipal Code, Rosenberg's Rules of Order, or other applicable policy or regulation adopted by the City Council, shall be observed during virtual legislative meetings in the same manner as during physical meetings.
2. All other applicable laws, including the Brown Act, shall be observed during virtual legislative meetings in the same manner as during physical meetings.
3. During the vote on a motion, legislative body members shall audibly state their vote for the record, except in circumstances where a technological impediment temporarily prevents the member's audible participation, in which circumstance the member shall visibly indicate assent or dissent on the item. If City staff is unable to discern the nature of the legislative body member's vote from audio or visual cues, the Presiding Officer may opt to postpone the vote on the motion until such time that the legislative body member's audio connection is reinstated. 4.010
4. If a legislative body member's vote is incorrectly recorded by City staff, the legislative body member shall rectify their vote immediately following the announcement of the vote.
V. REFERENCES
CA Gov't Code §54950 (Ralph M. Brown Act)
VI. APPENDICES
None.
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