CC 02-19-2025 Item No. 11 Amendments to City Council Procedures Manual_Written Communications_Updated 2-19-25CC 02-19-2025
Item No. 11
Councilmember
Mohan's comments for
Amendments to
Cupertino City Council
Procedures Manual
Written Communications
From:Sheila Mohan
To:Lauren Sapudar; Kirsten Squarcia; Christopher Jensen
Cc:City Clerk
Subject:Re: Mohan"s Comments - Council Policies and Procedures
Date:Wednesday, February 12, 2025 4:06:11 PM
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Mohan's Comments - Council Procedures.pdf
VIII.Reports to City Council or Commissions
Mohan's comments: This should be done as part of the Councilmember Reports.
Expense reporting not required here. Councilmember Reports now include events
attended by Councilmembers in their official capacity.
L1 Remove, : No good reason to include these
Mohan's comments: The reason this (4.4) is included is to avoid the revolving door
practice among current officials and to encourage new participants.
L2: Replace: Commission Removal by Council Approval
Mohan's Comments: There are objective standards for commissioners - attendance,
Form 700, etc. It is more efficient when City Clerk removes commission members
when these objective standards are not met. There is nothing discretionary or subjective
in the City Clerk's decision.
L5: CM Provides Options (ICMA suggestion)
Mohan's Comments: City Manager's performance criteria should not be part of Council
Procedures Manual
L6: Assume Suggestion, rather than instruction
Mohan's Comments: I disagree. There is no need for this Add. We should all be able to
tell the difference between a suggestion and an instruction.
L7: Replace: Council may file PRA Request
Mohan's Comments: I disagree that a Councilmember can file a PRA request. PR
Requests have spiraled out of control - 333 requests in 2024! PRA's have the intended
and/or unintended consequence of bringing City operations to a halt because of the time
and huge effort involved in complying with the 10-day response period that the State
requires.
L11: Add 7.7: Written Communication
Mohan's Comments: Non-agenda communications should not be part of the agenda.
Minutes reflect oral communications which include non-agenda comments from prior
council meeting.
L12: Add: When......regular council meeting
Mohan's comments: Start time of Council meeting should be at the discretion of the
mayor and city manager.
L14: Replace: Anyone can pull items.
Mohan's Comments: Disagree. Efficient management of agenda will be
adversely impacted.
L17: Replace: Encourage meaningful discussion
Mohan's Comments: This is unnecessary. Procedure exists now.
L18: Add: Access to Closed session materials
Mohan's Comments: Need clarification.
Revision to Council
Procedures Manual
2025-02-03
Expense Reporting Policy NOT FOLLOWED?
CONFIRM: “CM shall keep Council informed of the City
response”
5.4 Responses to Public.
It will be the responsibility of the City Manager to ensure a response is provided to
public correspondence for informational requests addressed to the Council. Staff
shall respond to all requests for services as appropriate, and the City Manager
shall keep Council informed of the City response.[LC1]
[LC1] It seems the responses to residents have not been forwarded to
Councilmembers in practice. I seem to have to request that the city’s response is
forwarded to me.
CONFIRM: CM shall place requests on Agenda
6.6 Councilmember Access to Information. ….it more appropriately be assigned
to staff through the collective direction of the City Council, based on the guidelines set
forth in Cupertino Municipal Code section 2.17.043. The City Manager shall place
requests that impose a significant workload on staff on the Council agenda for
review by the full Council, along with a statement from that Councilmember as to
why the information is needed.
L1. REMOVE: No Good Reason to include these
2.1 Selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor. The Mayor and Vice Mayor shall be
selected annually at a special meeting on the second Thursday of December.
The Mayor and Vice Mayor shall not serve consecutive terms;
provided, however, this provision shall not prevent the Vice Mayor
from succeeding to the office of Mayor.
4.4 Appointment. Commission and Committee applicants will be interviewed by the
Council … Immediate family members residing in the same household as a
Councilmember are not eligible for appointment to any commission or
committee. Former Councilmembers are not eligible for appointment to
any commission or committee within four years of having served on the
City Council.
L2. REPLACE: Commission Removal by Council Approval
4.5 Removal. The City Clerk shall remove notify the Council and make
recommendation for potential removal of commission members for failure to
comply with attendance policies adopted in the Commissioner's Handbook.
Council retains full discretion to review commission and committee member
performance and may take disciplinary action as needed, including removal from
the commission or committee.
[LC1]The Commissioners serve at the pleasure of the Council. The Council should be the
one who remove commissioners, in case there are special circumstances to be considered.
L3. ADD: keep alternate informed of all correspondences
5.3 Regional Bodies.
The Mayor shall appoint Councilmembers to represent the City of Cupertino on ….
If a Councilmember is unable to attend, they should notify their alternate as far in
advance of the meeting as possible so as to allow the alternate to attend. To
ensure continuity of the City’s representation, the alternate should receive all
correspondence from the regional bodies that is also sent to the primary.
[LC1] For example, making such a request to the regional bodies and some
already has such practices, such as the Valley Water. In case a regional body is
unable to fulfill the request, the primary might forward the correspondences to the
alternate, for example.
L4. ADD: Brown Act and Rosenberg’s Rule training
5.6 Council Training. Any member of the City Council and City commissions or
advisory committees formed by the City Council shall receive ethics and anti-
harassment training required by state law and the Brown Act and Rosenberg’s
Rule of Order training. New members must receive the training within their first
year of service and shall comply with ongoing training requirements imposed by
state law.
L5. ADD: CM provides options (ICMA suggestion)
6.2 Council/Manager Form of Government. Under the Council/Manager
form of government, the City Council sets policy direction as the direct
representatives of the community. To enable the City Council to make informed
decisions while weighing community input, the City Manager provides staff
recommendations and presents options, along with their associated pros and
cons. The City Manager provides the professional expertise to manage the
organization.
[LC1] In the first question of the City Manager performance survey from the facilitator Nadine Levin,
which I was told is from ICMA, one of the list of “Indicators to consider for successful performance“ for
the City Manager is “Provides staff recommendations and gives the Council options”.
Indicators to consider for successful performance: (from ICMA City Manager
Evaluation
The City Manager:
●· Acts to encourage mutual honesty, respect, and trust
●· Facilitates open two-way communications
●· Provides for direct contact with each Councilmember that is tailored to the individual preferences and needs of
each Councilmember
●· Takes direction from the Council as a whole
●· Provides staff recommendations and gives the Council options
●· Is responsive to Council requests and needs
●· Provides a high level of information to Council relating to City programs, services and issues, keeping them
well-informed
●· Effectively carries out Council policy direction and provides assistance in policy facilitation
●· Acts with integrity in working with the Council
●· Helps Councilmembers field issues and concerns
●· Provides leadership on significant issues or crises
●· Maintains order, professionalism, and confidence during difficult times
L6. ADD: Assume suggestion, rather than instruction
6.3 Council-Manager Relations. The City Council and its members shall deal with
the administrative services of the City only through the City Manager, except for the
purpose of inquiry, and neither the … and no individual Councilmember shall give any
instructions to the City Manager. In the event that any suggestion or comment from an
individual Councilmember might be perceived as an instruction by the City Manager or
any staff, the City Manager/staff should assume positive intent and treat it as a
suggestion or comment.[LC1]
[LC1]This is intended to facilitate positive Council-staff relationship so that one does not assume guilt on
any party based on someone’s perception, which might differ from the actual intent of any councilmember.
When in doubt, whether any comment is an instruction or merely a suggestion, just assume it is a
suggestion only so that the staff can feel free to decide whether to accept the suggestion or not at all.
L7. REPLACE: Council may file PRA Request
6.6 Councilmember Access to Information. ….it more appropriately be assigned
to staff through the collective direction of the City Council, based on the guidelines set forth in
Cupertino Municipal Code section 2.17.043. The City Manager shall place requests that impose a
significant workload on staff on the Council agenda for review by the full Council, along with a
statement from that Councilmember as to why the information is needed. No Councilmember shall
circumvent the City Manager' s direction regarding a request for information by seeking information
through a Public Records Act request. A Councilmember may file a request for information by
seeking information through a Public Records Act request as any member of the public.
[LC1] In response to any Public Record request, the city would only do a record search of any existing documents,
which should not take any significant city staff time.
This PR request is different from information requested by a City Councilmember. In case the information
requested already exists in any document, I am sure the City Manager would have provided it in a timely manner
as it would not require significant workload. I suppose that significant workload would only be necessary if the
information requested is not readily available.
Thus, I do not see any need to restrict any councilmember from filing PR requests.
L8. REPLACE: Two proposals: add rationale and add to
agenda
7.1 Future Agenda Items. The City Manager, the City Attorney, the Mayor, or any
two Councilmembers may request that an item be added to a future agenda for
Council action. The City Manager shall provide a quarterly report to Council
regarding the status of future agenda items, which may include a request to
remove items from the list of future agenda items. Any item may be removed for
the future agenda items list by a majority vote of the City Council.
At the requestor’s discretion, the agenda request may also include additional
information explaining the rationale for or timing of the agenda item.
Under the “Future Agenda Item” section of each regular Council meeting, a
document listing all current future agenda requests shall be provided.
L9. ADD: Meaningful description and include budget
update
7.3 Agenda Item Descriptions. Each agenda item shall include a brief general description of
the matter to be discussed ( approximately 20 words in length), including any action that may
be taken under the California Environmental Quality Act, and should generally include the
recommendation of the City Manager.
If the item includes any budget request or modification, the amount should be specified for
transparency when possible.
The brief description should be comprehensible by a common resident. For example,
•an amendment to the Municipal Code should include a description of the amendment,
rather than only the Code Section to be amended;
•an item related to a development project should include not only the street address, but
the common name of the project when applicable;
•The second reading of an ordinance should have the same agenda title as the first
reading.
L10. ADD: Staff Report to include dates of past meetings
and maps etc
7.4 Staff Reports.
Staff reports should include the following sections:
1. Subject
2. Recommended Action
3. Background
4. Reasons for Recommendation and Available Options
5. Sustainability Impact
6. Fiscal Impact
7. California Environmental Quality Act
The “Background” section should include the date, at least the month and the year, previous meetings were held
and decisions were made on the item so that the public can easily look the meetings up for reference. When
applicable, maps and charts should be provided in the staff report for easy reference.
[LC1]The staff report has always provided great background information in previous years, especially dates the
item were on the Council agenda in the past and I have been able to find out more about the background of a
project through.
But the practice has not been consistent. So, I thought it’s worthwhile to document the existing best practice.
L11. ADD 7.7: Written Communication
7.7 Written Communication.
All written communications on an agenda item sent after the meeting agenda is posted
shall be included in the “Written Communications” document of the council meeting. Any
written communications on items not on the agenda shall be included in the “Written
Communications” document if the sender indicates the desire to be included.
Written communication will be posted by 5pm before the 6:45pm Council meeting and
updated and posted the next day with any additional comments received.
[LC]: It has been the long-standing practice in Cupertino that the city clerk will include all
written communications for non-agenda items. No need to change the practice.
L12. ADD: When “regular” council meeting is moved to
Wednesday…. It shall be treated like a regular council
meeting
8.1 Meeting Schedule. The City Council conducts its regular meetings on the first
and third Tuesdays of the month, except when Council is in recess. At Prior to the
second regular meeting in January, the City Council will approve the schedule of
meetings for the calendar year, which in addition to the regular meeting schedule
may include the cancellation of regular meetings and the addition of special
meetings and study sessions….
8.1.1 When a regular council meeting is moved to Wednesday, the agenda shall
be published the prior Wednesday and the meeting shall start at 6:45pm and
include all items as a regular council meeting.
L13. ADD: Council Report may include matters serving
constituents
8.3 Order of Business. The order of agenda items for regular Council meetings is as follows:
…
13. Oral Communications (continued)
14. Councilmember Reports
15. Future Agenda Items
Oral communications shall be limited to 30 minutes. …
Councilmember Reports should focus on include Council committee assignments and may
include other matters serving the constituents, in addition to, ceremonial appearances. In the
absence of an objection made by a
majority of Councilmembers present and voting, the Mayor may
modify the order of business to facilitate the fair and efficient conduct
of Council meetings.
L14. REPLACE: Anyone can pull items. Advanced notice is
appreciated.
8.4.2 Removing Item from Consent Calendar. Items may be removed from the
consent calendar only by a member of the City Council. Any member of the City
Council who would like to remove any item from the consent calendar shall notify
the City Manager and the City Clerk no later than 12:00 p.m. on the day of the City
Council meeting. Items may be removed from the consent calendar by a member
of the public or a member of the City Council. To facilitate an efficient meeting,
advance notice to the City Manager and the City Clerk by 12:00 p.m. on the day of
the City Council meeting or earlier is appreciated.
[LC1] It is a long-standing practice in Cupertino that any member of the public may pull an item off the Consent
Calendar at a Council meeting without any advance notice.
I have asked around and found that Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and Fremont have the same practice as Cupertino
used to have. Anyone can pull an item off the Consent Agenda without any advanced notice.
L15. REPLACE: Remove limit that only 5-person group
may combine time
8.5 Public Comment. An opportunity for public comment shall be provided … If a
speaker representing five or moretwo up to five members of the public in
attendance and wishing to comment on the item but electing not to speak, the
speaker may have the combined time of two minutes per member, up to 10
minutes, to address the Council. Consolidation of time among speakers is not
otherwise allowed. If a large number of speakers wish to address Council on an
item,...
L16. ADD: Councilmember yield time to each other
8.8.3 Council Questions and Deliberations. Councilmembers may obtain the floor
by seeking recognition from the Mayor. Following presentations to Council on an
agenda item. Councilmembers are encouraged to yield any unused speaking time
to colleagues who have already used their allotted time. Councilmembers shall
each be given five minutes to ask questions of any presenter. The Mayor may
allow additional time for questions where appropriate. time for questions where
appropriate. …
[LC] This was the practice under Mayor Darcy Paul and it builds positive
relationship between councilmembers to show the willingness to hear each other
out.
L17. REPLACE: Encourage meaningful discussion
8.8.3 Council Questions and Deliberations. ….
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 shall limit their time to five
minutes, but may reserve any portion of their time for further questions or
deliberations, as applicable, by advising the Mayor before yielding the floor. The
Mayor may allow additional time for deliberations where appropriate. This rule
shall displace any conflicting rule in the City's adopted rules of procedure. to
encourage meaningful discussion and exchange of ideas.
[LC] This was the practice under Mayor Darcy Paul and it builds positive
relationship between councilmembers to show the willingness to hear each other
out.
L18. ADD: Access to Closed session materials
9. Closed Sessions
9.1 A closed session may be held at any regular or special meeting for any purpose authorized
by the Brown Act….
9.2 Any documents referenced or presented during closed sessions shall be shared with
councilmembers upon request, and shared in the same manner as other closed session
materials for confidentiality.
[LC] The City Manager does not have the discretion to decide what materials to share with the
councilmembers or not. As long as proper measures are taken to ensure confidentiality as other
closed session materials.
L18. New Item: 11.1 Info Memos
11. Information Memos
11.1 Information Memos by Staff. Two Councilmembers may request an information memo to be provided
on any issue pertain to the City business. The City Manager shall place requests that impose a significant
workload on staff on the Council agenda for review by the full Council, along with a statement from that
Councilmember as to why the information is needed.
L19. New Item: 11.2 Info Memos by Councilmembers
11.2 Information Memos by Councilmembers. Individual Councilmembers may prepare information
memos for inclusion in their Council Activity Reports. Through these memos, Councilmembers can share
any information they have received—whether from staff or other sources —with their fellow
Councilmembers and the public, thereby enhancing transparency and accountability in City operations.
The memos shall not include information which is protected by law from disclosure.
[LC1]This is a new proposal, which is intended to facility more transparency and accountability. Often each Councilmember
pays attention in different areas of the City. One Councilmember may find valuable information that he/she wishes to share
with other Councilmembers and members of the public.
The current practice is that a Councilmember can only submit a written communication which might be buried with other
written communications. Thus, I am proposal a method to improve visibility of such info memos by Councilmembers.
I understand that the memos would likely include opinions and information which might be confidential. Thus, the memo
would require the City Attorney to review for its suitability for publication.
The City Attorney could propose a feasible implementation method, such as the memos must be submitted by a certain
date for inclusion in the Councilmember Activity Report.
CC 02-19-2025
Item No. 11
Amendments to the
Cupertino City Council
Procedures Manual
Written Communications
From:Peggy Griffin
To:City Council
Cc:City Clerk
Subject:2025-02-19 City Council Meeting ITEM 11-Council Procedures Manual Revisions
Date:Monday, February 17, 2025 11:42:22 AM
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CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the
sender and know the content is safe.
PLEASE INCLUDE THIS EMAIL AND ANY ATTACHMENTS AS PART OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE
ABOVE MEETING AGENDA ITEM.
Dear City Council,
I compared City Attorney Jensen’s red-lined version of the Council Procedures Manual with the Feb. 4, 2025
Council’s motion listed in ITEM 6 Draft Minutes page 12 of 17.
The key differences between CA Jensen’s red-lined version and the Council’s approved motion that I feel
should be changed to match the Council’s motion are:
Section 8.1 Meeting Schedule – doesn’t specify when Council calendar is set
Section 8.3 Order of Business – no Information Memos in agenda
Section 8.5 Public Comment – not clear that it is 2-5 people
TO CONSIDER…Should any other items be added (list from public comments)
No phones/texting on the dais. Personal or “city issued” cellular phones should NOT be allowedduring meetings. This includes Councilmembers and Staff and includes messaging apps onlaptops.Allow discussion of informational itemsAllow a councilmember to be mayor on consecutive yearsFix Section 2.2 last sentence – It is still an incomplete sentence.
DETAILS ON THESE 3 ITEMS
SECTION 8.1 Meeting Schedule
BIG DIFFERENCE
JENSEN (Change #3)
Doesn’t specify when the schedule of meetings for the calendar year is set.
Added clarity with the last red-lined sentences which helps
COUNCIL
Specifies prior to the 2nd regular meeting in January. This forces it to be either the 1st meeting in
January or in December.
CA JENSEN’S VERSION
COUNCIL’S VERSION
SECTION 8.3 Order of Business
BIG DIFFERENCE
JENSEN (Change #4)– Informational Memos – not added to agenda
Councilmember Reports –
JENSEN – “info…relevant to matters within the jurisdiction of the City Council”
COUNCIL – “other matters serving the constituents”
JENSEN’S VERSION
COUNCIL’S VERSION
SECTION 8.5 Public Comment
DIFFERENT
JENSEN – says “two or more” members
COUNCIL – says “2-5” members
NOTE: The issue I see is when a Mayor reduces a speaker’s time to be less than 3 minutes. If the max number
of people in a group is not specified to be 5 then groups can be as many as can fit in 10 minutes. The group
size needs to be specified so it is limited.
JENSEN’S VERSION
COUNCIL’S VERSION