City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
CONSTITUENT REQUESTS ADDRESSED TO CITY COUNCIL
Adopted <DATE> CP 007 Page 1 of 2
Resolution No.____________
PURPOSE The purpose of this poli cy is to establish sta ndard operating procedures to handle constituent requests and concerns received by the Mayor and Council offices and by members of the City Council.
POLICY The Mayor and Council may receive requests or complaints from constituents directly by phone, in person, by email, or in writing. This policy aims to streamline communication and ensure excellent constituent service to residents, businesses, and other stakeholders.
This policy is intended to cover requests and inquiries from City labor unions and entities (for profit and nonprofit) that conduct or seek to conduct business with the City and entities that receive/seek support from the City in the form of grants or other contributions. Under this policy, requests and inquiries from these entities shall be considered constituent matters.
PROCEDURE
1. Constituent Requests for Service
a) Councilmembers should strive to refer constituents to the City’s official service request system, where they can submit their City service requests directly.
b) Councilmembers may also refer constituent inquiries and requests to the City Manager or other staff as designated by the City Manager.
2. Constituent Operational and Policy Interpretation Questions a) Councilmembers shall refer operational and policy
interpretation questions on specific matters to the City Manager or the appropriate staff member as designated by the City Manager.
b) Councilmembers shall refrain from interpreting City policy and suggesting soluti ons to operational mat ters to
constituents or City staff (with the exception of the City Manager, City Attorney, or other City elected officials). c) Councilmembers should not at tempt to ser ve as a proxy for policy or operational matters raised by a constitu ent. This includes requesting generic information from City staff and/or conducting research independent of City staff and attempting City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
CONSTITUENT REQUESTS ADDRESSED TO CITY COUNCIL
Adopted <DATE> CP 007 Page 2 of 2
Resolution No.____________
to answer or resolve o perational or p olicy matters ra ised by constituents.
3. Constituent Legal Inquiries
a) Councilmembers shall refer legal matters received fro m constituents to the City Attorney, or the appropriate staff member as designated by the City Attorney.
b) Councilmembers should refrain fro m interpreting legal matters.
Reference:
Policy and Procedure 007 (April 1992)
Council Policy 007 Updated <Insert action> (January 30, 2024)