CC 01-17-2023 Study Session Item No. 1. Supplemental Staff Report_Desk Item
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CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting: January 17, 2023
Subject
Consider adopting Cupertino City Council Procedures Manual
Supplemental Report
Following the publication of the agenda, the City Council and City staff received
comments from the public and Councilmembers suggesting revisions to the draft City
Council Procedures Manual. The comments received are summarized below for
Council’s consideration. This summary is provided for the convenience of Council only
and includes comments received before 10:00 a.m. on January 17. Other comments not
clearly suggesting revisions to the Procedures Manual are not reflected below, but will
be included in correspondence made available to Council and the public pursuant to the
Brown Act.
Suggested Revisions to Draft Procedures Manual
Revise Section 2.1 (Selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor) to allow the Mayor and
Vice Mayor to serve consecutive terms.
Revise Section 4.4 (Appointment) as follows: “ . . . Former Councilmembers are
not eligible for appointment to service on any commission or committee within
four years of having served on the City Council.”
Alternatively, revise Section 4.4 (Appointment) to clarify that former
Councilmembers currently serving on a commission or committee may continue
to serve.
Revise Section 4.6 (Undue Influence on Commissioners) to allow
Councilmembers to participate in deliberations of City commissions.
Revise Section 5.7 (Council Training) as follows: “. . . . Members shall attend
training sessions that are offered locally in the immediate vicinity of Santa Clara
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County or by completing online a state‐approved public service ethics education
program.”
Revise Section 6.6 (Councilmember Access to Information) to delete the last
sentence addressing Councilmember use of the Public Records Act.
Delete Section 8.2 (Seating of Councilmembers) in its entirety.
Revise Section 8.5.2 (Removing Items from Consent Calendar) to continue to
allow members of the public to pull items from the consent calendar.
Revise Section 8.5.2 (Removing Items from Consent Calendar) to allow
Councilmembers to remove items from the consent calendar without providing
notice before the Council meeting begins.
Revise Section 8.6 (Public Comment) to remove the 10 minute‐limit on total time
for public comment by a single member of the public.
Revise Section 8.9.3 (Council Questions and Deliberations) as follows:
“Councilmembers may obtain the floor by seeking recognition from the Mayor.
Following presentations to Council on an agenda item, Councilmembers shall
each be given 5 minutes to ask questions of any presenter. The Mayor may allow
additional time for questions where appropriate. Following public comment, the
Mayor may request that a motion be made and seconded. After the motion has
been stated to the Council and seconded, any member of the Council has a right
to discuss the motion after obtaining the floor. A member who has been
recognized should shall limit their time to 5 minutes. The Mayor may allow
additional time for questions where appropriate.”
Revise Section 8.10 (Meeting Length) to require only a majority of members
present and voting to extend Council meetings past 11:30 p.m., instead of a 2/3
vote of the Council.
Clarify Section 8.12 (City Council Recess Period) to note that a special meeting
may be called during recess.
Suggested Additions to Council Procedures Manual
1. Agenda Preparation. Release the agenda earlier to provide more time for
Council and the public to review.
2. Study Sessions. Define a “study session” and prohibit Council from taking
action on a study session item.
Sample language (City of Palo Alto): Study Sessions are meetings during which the
Council receives information about City business in an informal setting. The informal
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study session setting is intended to encourage in‐depth discussion and detailed
questioning and brainstorming by Council on issues of significant interest, including
City policy matters, zoning applications, and major public works projects. The Council
may discuss the material freely without following formal rules of parliamentary
procedure. Staff may be directed to bring matters back for future Council consideration as
no action can be taken at a study session. The Decorum rules still apply to the behavior of
the Council and public.
(City of Berkeley): The City Council may schedule a matter for general Council
discussion and direction to staff. Official/formal action on a work session item will be
scheduled on a subsequent agenda under the Action portion of the Council agenda.
In general, public comment at Council work sessions will be heard after the staff
presentation, for a limited amount of time to be determined by the Presiding Officer.
The Presiding Officer will request that persons wishing to speak, line up at the podium to
be recognized and to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time.
If ten or fewer persons are interested in speaking, each speaker may speak for two
minutes. If there are more than ten persons interested in speaking, the Presiding Officer
may limit the public comment for all speakers to one minute per speaker. Speakers are
permitted to yield their time to one other speaker, however no one speaker shall have more
than four minutes.
After Council discussion, if time permits, the Presiding Officer may allow additional
public comment. During this time, each speaker will receive one minute. Persons who
spoke during the prior public comment time may be permitted to speak again.
3. Ad Hoc Subcommittees. Include language regarding ad hoc subcommittees
requiring (1) estimated staff resources required; (2) membership and purpose of
the subcommittee; and (3) a process for termination of the subcommittee.
Sample language (City of Palo Alto): Council Ad Hoc Committees and the Committee as
a Whole shall be subject to the following procedural rules:
1. Definition of Ad Hoc Committee
An Ad Hoc Committee is an advisory committee composed solely of less than a
quorum of members of the Council. The work of an Ad Hoc Committee is limited to a
single finite purpose. By contrast, a Standing Committee has continuing subject
matter jurisdiction extending for a lengthy time period and/or a meeting schedule
fixed by charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of the Council.
2. Definition of Committee as a Whole
A Committee as a Whole is a committee composed of the entire City Council. The
work of the Committee as a Whole is limited to a single finite purpose.
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3. Brown Act
Ad Hoc Committees do not constitute legislative bodies and are not subject to the
requirements of the Brown Act. The Committee as a Whole is subject to the Brown
Act.
4. Appointment
The Mayor or the City Council may appoint three or fewer members of the Council to
serve on an Ad Hoc Committee. In contrast, only the Council and not the Mayor
alone can create a Standing Committee. The Mayor will publicly announce any Ad
Hoc Committee created by him or her, its membership and stated purpose and post
this information on the City Council website. The City Manager shall prepare a
report to Council about the anticipated time commitment required for staff to assist
the Ad Hoc Committee.
5. Duration
Ad Hoc Committees are created for a finite period of time. If an Ad Hoc Committee
does not complete its task by the end of the calendar year, it shall not continue unless
reappointed by the new Mayor in the following year.
6. Members
Ad Hoc Committees shall consist of less than a quorum of Council members only and
shall not include any other persons such as members of other legislative bodies.
7. Reporting
Ad Hoc Committees shall report their recommendations to the Council no less than
once per quarter in writing or orally. Any Council Member may during the
COUNCIL MEMBER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
request that an updated Ad Hoc Committee report be placed on the next meeting’s
agenda.
8. Termination of Ad Hoc Committee by Majority of Council
A majority of the Council may vote to terminate any Ad Hoc Committee following
placement of the issue on an agenda.
9. Conclusion
A public announcement shall be made any time the Ad Hoc Committee has
concluded its work and/or upon dissolution.
4. Council‐Staff Relations. Include language emphasizing Council’s policymaking
authority, staff’s independence, and the need to present alternatives to Council
as appropriate.
Sample language (City of Palo Alto): Staff is expected to provide its best professional
recommendations on issues. Staff should not try to determine Council support for
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particular positions or recommendations in order to craft recommendations. The Council
must be able to depend upon the staff to make independent recommendations. Staff
should provide information about alternatives to staff.
5. Sharing of Information. Include requirements to ensure that staff responses to
Council questions regarding agenda items are shared with other
Councilmembers and members of the public.
Sample language (City of Palo Alto):
A. Council Members should direct any questions on staff reports to the City Manager or
designee. Questions on reports from the City Auditor, City Attorney, or City Clerk
should be directed to the appropriate Council Appointed Officer. Council Members
should not direct any questions on agenda items to other members of the City
Manager’s Staff or the Staff of the other Council Appointed Officers.
B. Council Members should submit questions on agenda items no later than 5:00 p.m.
on the Wednesday prior to the Council meeting at which the item will be discussed.
Staff will make best reasonable efforts to post written responses to timely‐submitted
questions by Thursday 5:00 p.m. Any questions received after 5:00 p.m. on the
Wednesday before the meeting may be responded to via e‐mail, or alternatively, will
be responded to at the Council meeting.
C. Staff will not engage in “dialogues” with individual Council Members regarding
questions, i.e. follow‐up questions to initial questions will be responded to at the
Council Meeting.
D. Staff will give highest priority to responding prior to the Council meeting via e‐mail
only on items on the Consent Calendar. Questions which address the policy aspects
of the item on the Council agenda will not be responded to prior to the meeting,
although Staff welcomes such questions in advance of the meeting in order to prepare
for the Council and public discussion. Technical and clarifying questions on non‐
Consent Calendar items will be responded to as time permits.
E. If the Staff will be responding to a Council Members Consent Calendar question at
the meeting rather responding to the question via e‐mail, Staff will inform the
Council Member as early as possible after receipt of the question(s).
F. Questions and all Staff‐prepared responses will be forwarded to all Council Members
as well as put up on the special web page created for public review of Council agenda
questions and Staff responses. Staff will include the name of the Council Member
posing the questions in the “subject” field of the e‐mail response. G. Written copies of
all Council Member agenda questions and Staff responses will be at Council places at
the meeting; additionally copies will be made available in the Council Chambers for
members of the public.
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6. Public Comment. Adopt a system of pre‐registration for public comment and
“virtual speaker cards” similar to the system used by the CUSD Board.
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Prepared by: Christopher D. Jensen, City Attorney
Approved for Submission by: Pamela Wu, City Manager