CITY OF SAN MATEO
4 6
8 1
CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: {{item.number}} Section Name: {{section.name}} Account Number: 10-1111 File ID: {{item.tracking_number}} TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: City Clerk's Office
MEETING DATE: February 05, 2024
SUBJECT:
City Council Guidelines - Updates
RECOMMENDATION:
Review and provide direction on proposed changes for consideration to the City Council's Guidelines and Code of Conduct BACKGROUND:
The City Council adopted its “Guidelines” to provide rules on how it conducts its business in August 2015. These were compiled from several stand-alone resolutions that the Council had historically relied on. The Guidelines have been amended seven times since its original adoption. This is due to several factors including law changes, process changes, experience with the rules and the realization of unintended consequences, trends in local governance practices, and in response to public concern raised on local issues. At the May 1, 2023 City Council meeting, a majority of Council supported bringing forward for consideration a more robust code of conduct in the Guidelines.
Staff is seeking direction from the Council on proposed language changes in the Guidelines in response to new or changing processes; to codify practices that have evolved since the last update in October 2022; and on the overhaul and update of a few major sections of the Guidelines having to do with meeting item hearing order, liaison assignments, and the Board and Commission appointment process. In addition, separate guidance is sought on replacing the current Council Member Conduct section with a more robust Code of Conduct that could entail a longer discussion and additional research.
The City Council has also adopted “Rules and Procedures” for its Boards and Commissions in a document aligned with the Council Guidelines (where applicable). At this study session, staff is looking for direction on the City Council Guidelines and then, as is our standard practice, will return for either another study session or for action on both the City Council’s rules and with an updated Board and Commissions rules that mirrors changes directed in the Guidelines. If Council directs a Code of Conduct, one will be proposed and adapted specific to the Boards and Commissions also.
Name Change
Staff is recommending changing the name from “City Council Guidelines” to “City Council Rules and Procedures” to more closely align with the intent; which was to establish rules for conducting business. Calling them Guidelines diminishes the importance of this document and causes confusion. Keeping it a simple title and being more specific to the intent would be beneficial to everyone’s understanding.
Council Rules – Current Practice Update
Attachment 1 is the current Guidelines (“Rules”) with a tracked changes version of proposed changes to more closely match current practices which have evolved over the last year. These include:
CITY OF SAN MATEO
4 6
8 1
•Minor language neutrality updates, tense changes, and grammar changes throughout the document •Providing clarity on expectations and alignment of roles between the Mayor and the City Council •More specificity around decision making protocols on the dais •In response to experience with remote public comment, addressing limited public forum in public meetings •Standardizing the practice of speaker timing based on the number of speakers •Clarifying the appeal speaker order and rebuttal options •Adding the AB 2449 check-in as part of the script at the beginning of every Council agenda •Removing some language that we don’t practice and is not necessary, such as how many speakers under ceremonial items
•Aligning the Rules with current practices, for instance initially it was thought a majority vote was required to place an item on an agenda, but Council seems comfortable with a majority consensus without a formal vote •Updating the timing for publication for receiving public comment on an agenda item Note: Any section highlighted in yellow in the attachment will be discussed separately.
Order of Consideration on an Agenda Item – Chapter 7
Council is asked to provide direction on the proposed action to change the order of how an individual item is handled in the public consideration process. Staff is proposing exchanging the order of council questions with public comment as follows:
Currently:
1) Staff presentation
2) Council questions
3) Public comment
4) Council additional questions, discussion and deliberation 5) Vote or action
Proposed:
1) Staff presentation
2) Public Comment
3) Council questions
4) Discussion & deliberation
5) Vote or action
Council Liaison Roles – Chapter 12
Staff is seeking Council direction specifically on whether the designee of “continuity” continues to make sense for these assignments. There was very little movement on this year’s assignment list from last year’s assignments. The Rules actually state (Chapter 12, Section 5) that continuity is intended for external agencies liaison roles; but the Council had designated Planning Commission and the Sustainability & Infrastructure Commission as continuity assignments. Council elected this year to change Planning Commission from Continuity to Mayor and Deputy Mayor as the standard. An unintended consequence of these Continuity designations is that a single council member could be on a high-profile assignment for years and that may not be fair for other council members seeking a high-profile assignment. A discussion is desired on whether to continue the practice of Continuity designation or to limit or cap it in some way.
Board and Commission Appointment Process – Chapter 13
Several years ago, the City established an appointment sub-committee comprised of the Mayor and the Council liaison to the commission to be the interviewing body and to make the recommendation to the Council for any openings on the City’s Boards and Commissions. Any Council Member could join any appointment sub-committee by requesting to do so.
All appointment sub-committee meetings are designated as Brown Act bodies and are open and public. In addition, they established the practice of creating a ranked eligibility list from those interviewed. The intent was to address long term vacancies that were occurring on commissions and be more efficient and timely in filling those vacancies. The staff liaison
CITY OF SAN MATEO
4 6
8 1
was also designated to be an advisor to the appointment sub-committee. The prior practice was for the full council to do all interviews. Staff is seeking direction on if the appointment sub-committee process is effective in the current environment, whether an eligibility list should or should not be used, and any other improvement in practices that need to occur.
Council Member Conduct – Chapter 6
Staff would like to receive direction on strengthening this section to provide more clarity on expectations, clearly laid out rules, relevant definitions to increase a common understanding, a process for public concern and complaints, and a discussion around repercussions for not following an adopted code of conduct.
First, many cities, towns, counties and states are actively looking at establishing or strengthening a Code of Conduct in response to the national trend highlighting a loss of civility and decorum in the political sphere and in public processes. In California, there is a significant increase in our professional ListServ inquiries to share codes of conduct as many organizations struggle with addressing this need. At the City Clerk’s New Law conference this past December, “When Decorum and Civility Do Not Work, Then What?” which has not previously been an educational offering at past conferences. From the national to the local level there is a need to fearlessly address this. In the City of San Mateo, we have personally experienced issues on and off the dais and this has led to a loss of public trust. There is a great deal of public interest and comment in defining a robust Code of Conduct which includes a procedure to hold public officials accountable and includes an avenue and process to empower action when an inappropriate action occurs that will meet the needs of the City of San Mateo community.
It is incumbent upon the City Council to take the lead on establishing a robust Code of Conduct as the governing body sets the example for its appointed bodies, employees, and residents to follow. By modeling adherence to rules of civility and decorum, accountability, and ethics the City Council sets the tone for public discourse and action.
Code of Conduct – Research
In proposing some material for Council consideration of a code of conduct, we considered public comment received in meetings and in writing including information from residents. The City also relied on material from the Institute for Local Government (20 sample codes), and sample codes provided by the following cities in response to an inquiry on the Clerk’s ListServ:
Values Principles
/ Purpose
Behavior
on the
Dais
Communication* Enforcement Sign an
Affirmation
1 Belmont X X X X
2 Chowchilla X X X X
3 Cypress X X X X X
4 El Cerrito X X X
5 Laguna
Beach X X X X
6 Los Gatos X X X X
7 Redwood
City X
8 Sacramento X X X
Only for
nepotism or
violating
whistleblowing
9 San Carlos X X X X
10 Santa Cruz X X X X X
11 Sunnyvale X X X X X
*Communication with colleagues, public, staff, advisory bodies
CITY OF SAN MATEO
4 6
8 1
Strategies to Strengthen Conduct
There are many ideas for strengthening Chapter 6 – Council Member Conduct to borrow from for Council consideration.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive or completely comprehensive list. Some strategies to think about include:
1. City Council Core Values – a listing of approximately six to ten values that are the underlying structure of the Code of Conduct and give guidance on how City officials conduct itself.
2. Principles – example: leadership and ethics must go hand-in-hand.
3. Development of an oath or member statement that includes the Code of Conduct requiring a signature affirming to have read, understood, and pledging adherence to the Code of Conduct for elected and appointed officials.
4. Begin the Code of Ethics with a clear purpose statement for its intended use.
5. Include a definition section defining the terms used to create clear and common understanding.
6. Better define the role and responsibility of Council Liaison to a commission
7. Establish an annual review of the Code as an ongoing practice.
8. Consider making the Code of Conduct be a separate stand-alone document to the Rules and Procedures.
9. Consider if all of the City’s commissions be mandated to take AB1234 Ethics Training every two years.
Elements in a Code of Conduct
The following are some themes, and not proposed wording or staff recommendations, that Council may want to consider.
1. Code of Conduct for City officials (elected and appointed) a. Represent the entire City for the community good – Act in the public interest b. Comply with the spirit and the letter of the law and policy c. Model operating by the code in all conduct, on and off the dais d. Respect the public process and governance systems
e. Do not state opinion, until the public process has run its course (in all communication avenues) f. Be aware of speaking in your official capacity versus as a private citizen g. Do not use inflammatory language, be aware of your own bias h. Listen to all voices, all deserve to be heard
i. Ensure statements are factual
j. Assume good intentions of all
k. Be respectful of all roles and responsibilities (colleagues and staff) l. Be responsive to colleagues and staff with timely communication m. Operate with civility and decorum
2. Conduct on the Dais
a. Treat all with fairness and equity – specifically each other, staff, and members of the public with dignity, courtesy, and respect
b. Be attentive to others, limiting interruptions and distractions c. Encourage diverse viewpoints in debate while being mindful not to prolong discourse or block consensus d. Agree to respectfully disagree
e. Be open minded
f. Keep comments clear, concise and germane
g. Focus on the issues and avoid personalizing debate
h. Present issues in a way that promotes discussion and resolution i. Don’t admonish or lecture
j. Keep campaign issues away from the dais
3. Actions to Enforce – some starter ideas
a. Private admonishment
b. Public admonishment Loss of committee assignments if repeated issues c. Automatic recusal if position stated ahead of the public process d. Other?
CITY OF SAN MATEO
4 6
8 1
4. Process to Enforce – need to define it
a. Who can report?
b. Who receives report?
c. How to report?
d. How is it acknowledged?
5. Boards & Commissions
a. Include all code and specify also advisory role not advocacy role b. Actions
i. Automatic reinterview for the seat
ii. Removal from commission per Charter
iii. Other?
Next Steps
Council to provide direction on the City Council Rules and direct for next steps:
1. Enough direction was given and staff will bring it back with a formal recommendation;
2. Or Council may choose to ask staff to schedule a second study session to continue to provide direction and feedback
3. Council could elect to appoint a Council sub-committee to work with the Clerk and key staff on crafting the additional code of conduct language for the Rules
4. Bring this back with a facilitator to assist with the conversation
5. Council could consider and direct a different process BUDGET IMPACT:
There is no budget impact from this administrative action.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This administrative action is not a project subject to CEQA, because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5).)
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
Att 1 - City Council Guidelines with Track Changes
Att 2 –Sample Codes of Conduct https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/DocumentCenter/Index/5308 Att 3 – Public Comment
STAFF CONTACT
Patrice Olds, City Clerk
[email protected]
(650) 522-7042