CITY OF SAN MATEO
CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 28 Section Name: {{section.name}} Account Number: 10-1511 File ID: {{item.tracking_number}} TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: City Clerk's Office
MEETING DATE: July 15, 2024
SUBJECT:
City Council and Boards and Commission Rules and Procedures – Update RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the amendments to the City Council Rules and Procedures and the Boards and Commissions Rules and Procedures to reflect the direction provided by City Council on the revised “Council Member Conduct” chapter.
BACKGROUND:
On May 1, 2023, the City Council directed staff to review codes of conduct from other agencies and to return to the Council for future consideration. A study session was held on February 5, 2024, during which Council provided direction to staff to amend the Rules and Procedures in four key areas: 1) document name change; 2) meeting procedural order -i.e. taking public comment before Council questions; 3) appropriate continuity designation of the Council Liaison roles; and 4) the Boards and Commissions appointment process. To facilitate the review of the Council Member Conduct portion of the Rules and Procedures, Council directed staff to conduct a facilitator led, in-depth discussion specific to values, purpose, code of conduct, and enforcement of the rules.
On May 30, 2024, the City Council convened a Governance Workshop (Attachment 5) led by facilitator Jan Perkins, retired City Manager, International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and vice president of Raftelis, a local government management consultant and facilitator. As a result of the Governance Workshop, Council provided direction to staff on the amendments to be incorporated in the updated Council Member Conduct Chapter of the City Council Rules and Procedures. These proposed amendments are outlined in Attachments 1 and 3. These proposed amendments are mirrored to reflect identical updates to the corresponding chapter for the Boards and Commissions Rules and Procedures, which can be seen in Attachments 2 and 4.
Staff identified a required amendment to Section “N” of the Council/Commissioner Conduct chapter. This chapter, as originally drafted, encouraged council members and commissioners to practice giving fellow members a heads up, out of respect and teamwork. Due to Brown Act considerations, staff amended this section to remove this expectation between fellow council members and commissioners, while retaining the expectation between members and staff.
Next Steps:
Upon adoption of the updated Rules and Procedures:
1. The City Council commits to the updated Council Member Conduct Chapter.
2. Staff will provide informational materials to the City’s Boards and Commissions to educate members of the changes made to this chapter.
3. The updated Rules and Procedures will be incorporated into future Council orientation and training materials.
4. As directed by Council, staff will coordinate an additional facilitator led discussion in January to February 2025 to
CITY OF SAN MATEO
evaluate the effectiveness of the updated Code of Conduct.
BUDGET IMPACT:
There is no budgetary impact associated with this administrative action. The cost incurred for professional services provided by Raftelis for the May 30, 2024, workshop amounted to $11,500.00.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This item 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 Rules & Procedures – Tracked Changes Att 2 – Boards and Commissions Rules & Procedures – Tracked Changes Att 3 – City Council Rules & Procedures – Clean
Att 4 – Boards and Commissions Rules & Procedures – Clean Att 5 – City of San Mateo Governance Workshop Report
STAFF CONTACT
Martin McTaggart, City Clerk
[email protected]
(650) 522-7044