City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYO R AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: APRIL 11, 2023
FROM: CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION AMENDING CITY COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE AND
ORDER OF BUSINESS SECTION IX, ITEM F - AGENDA SEQUENCE AND
ORDER OF BUSINESS RELATED TO ORAL COMMUNICATIONS AND TO REPEAL RESOLUTION 23618
ISSUE:
Adopt a resolution amending City Council Rules of Procedure and Order of Business Section IX, Item F – Agenda Sequence and Or der of Business related to Oral Communications as documented in Resolution 23618.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council adopt t he attached resolution amending the City Council Rules of Procedure and Order of Business to revise Section IX, Item F – Agenda Sequence and Order of Business related to Oral Communications and to repeal Resolution No. 23618.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
On May 4, 2022, the Inclusiveness, Comm unity Engagement, and Governmental Processes Committee (Committee) reviewed and discussed Section IX, Item F - Agenda Sequence and Order of Business as documented in Resolution 23618.
The recommended update to City Council Rules of Procedure and Order of Business will adjust language and sequencing timing to align Publ ic Comment with afternoon and evening City Council meeting sessions and to provide consistency with agenda item sequence.
BACKGROUND:
Resolution 23618, City Council Rules of Procedure and Order of Business provides structure to City Council meetings and operations. The resolu tion is reviewed and revised as needed or every two years. The last revision to the resolution was made in September 2022.
On February 15, 2022, City Council received and discussed a schedule of items to review.
Through discussion, the additional items were added resulting in nineteen review topics.
Public Comment Review • Page 2
On April 2, 2022, the Inclusiveness, Comm unity Engagement, and Governmental Processes Committee began a comprehensive review of Resolution 23618 and requested staff bring forth any specific language recommendat ions along with a corresponding resolution to the full City Council for discussion.
On March 7, 2023, Mayor Lock-Dawson requested the Committee review the Agenda Sequence and Order of Business, as it relates to Public Comment, as documented in Resolution 23618 as part of the Committee’s review process.
On March 14, 2023, Councilmember Perry requested the Committee’s recommendations associated with Agenda Sequen ce and Order of Business be brought before City Council for discussion.
DISCUSSION
Section IX, Item F – Agenda Sequence and Order of Business outlines the framework of the City Council agenda. Of the thirt een agenda items, two are assigned s pecific benchmarks: Brief reports, Ward updates, and Council comments, “s hall commence at 6:15 p.m.” and Oral Communication, “shall commence at approximately 7:00 p.m. Predefined times established for Council comments and Oral Communications impact the pace of the meeting and can cause the meeting to be paused to allow for the established deadline of 6:15 p.m. (Council comments) and 7 p.m. (Oral Communications).
Specific benchmarks identified in the Resoluti on create challenges as the time specific benchmarks do not take into consideration equipment malfunctions or telecommuting.
Additionally, the term Oral Communications, refers only to in person public comment and does not include alternative public co mment options that are now av ailable including e-comments, emails, and telephonic public comment.
Recommended language updates include:
1. Removal of time specific benchmarks as sociated with brief repor ts/updates and oral communications.
2. Replace “Oral Communications” with the term “Public Comment”
3. Clarify the timing of ev ening session Public Comment.
4. Define Public Comment as feedback provi ded by the public at a meeting in-person/ telephonically or prior to the meeting by email/e-comment.
Committee recommendations to the resolution include:
Section IX, F – Agenda Sequence and Order of Business
f. Brief reports on conference, seminars an d regional events; Ward updates; Council comments; and announcements of upcoming events shall commence at 6:15 p.m.
a. Oral communications Public Comments from the audience regarding consent calendar items or matters within the jurisdiction of the City. Public Comment during the evening Public Comment Review • Page 3
session Oral Communicationsmay shall commence at approximately 7:00 p.m. and may be taken earlier during afternoon session, be moved up or continued to later in the Council meeting at the discretion of the presiding officer, with the concurrence of the City Council.
Public Comment may be provided in-person/telephonically or prior to the meeting by email/e-comment.
Further recommendations by t he City Attorney’s Office incl ude defining approx imate Public Comment times for afternoon and evening sessions as follows:
1. For afternoon sessions starting at 1 p.m., P ublic Comment may occur at any time after 1 p.m.
2. For afternoon sessions starting at 3 p.m., P ublic Comment may occur at any time after 3 p.m.
3. For evening sessions, Public Comment may occu r any time after 6:15 p.m. To the extent the agenda states a specific time for public comment, the times are approximate, and may be adjusted by the presiding officer to ensure an effective and efficient business meeting of the City Council.
City Attorney Office recommendations to the resolution include:
f. Brief reports on conferences, seminars and regional events; Ward updates; Council comments; and announcements of upcoming events. shall commence at 6:15 p.m.
h. Oral communications Public Comments from the audience regarding consent calendar items or matters within the jurisdiction of the City. Public comment for afternoon sessions starting at 1:00 p.m. may occur at any time after 1:00 p.m. Oral Communications Public Comment during the evening sessi on Public comment for aftern oon sessions starting at 3:00 p.m. may occur at any time after 3:00 p.m.on Public Comment during an evening session may shall commence at anytime after approximately 6:157:00 p.m. To the extent the agenda states a specific time for public comment, the times are approximate, and may be taken earlier during afternoon session, adjusted by the presiding officer to ensure an effective and efficient business meeting of the City Council. moved up or continued to later in the Council meeting at the discretion of the presiding officer, with the concurrence of the City Council. Public Comment may be provided in-per son/telephonically or prior to the meeting by email/e-comment.
A redlined version of the resolution ident ifying both Committee and City Attorney’s Office recommendations is attached to this report.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This item contributes to Strategic Priority No. 5 High Performing Government and Goal 5.2 – Utilize technology, data, and proce ss improvement strategies to increase efficiencies, guide decision making, and ensure services are acce ssible and distributed equitably throughout all geographic areas of the City.
The item aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Public Comment Review • Page 4
1. Community Trust – This item builds community trust by identifying City Council process and procedure and providing transparency in municipal operations.
2. Equity – Regular review and revision to City C ouncil Rules of Proc edure and Order of Business, ensures the City Council, Boards, and Commissions operate in a manner that is equitable to all City of Riverside residents.
3. Fiscal Responsibility – This item ensures fiscal res ponsibility of City resources by outlining and reviewing processes to be used when conducting City Council business.
4. Innovation – Riverside is committed to meet ing community needs in a changing environment including the additi onal of virtual community resources, alignment with Legislative emergency orders, and Brown Act modifications.
5. Sustainability & Resiliency – This item ensures sustainability through ongoing evaluation of City Co uncil Rules of Procedur e and Order of Business to allow for adaptation to meet the changi ng needs of the community during a public health emergency and future needs ensuring the City’s capacity to persevere, adapt and grow.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal action associated with this report.
Prepared by: Megan Stoye, Prin cipal Management Analyst Approved by: Edward Enriquez, Interim Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Concurs with:
_____________________________
Clarissa Cervantes, Chair
Inclusiveness, Engagement and Governmental Processes Committee
Attachments:
1. Redline Resolution
2. Final Resolution
3. Presentation