DEPARTMENT: Office of the City Clerk
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Leticia M. Vacek (OCC)
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT: Amending Boards and Commissions Guidelines
SUMMARY:
Amending Chapter 2 of the City Code entitled "Administration" Article IX "Boards and Commissions" which governs the administration of boards and commissions created by the City Council.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Governance Subcommittee on City Boards and Commissions was created to assess policy matters pertaining to Boards and Commissions.
The Subcommittee reviewed rules that were intended to apply to most of the Boards and Commissions created by City Council. These rules were codified in the City Code, in Chapter 2 entitled "Administration" by adding Article IX entitled "Boards and Commissions".
On March 13, 2019, Councilmember Ana E. Sandoval (District 7), Councilmember Rebecca J. Viagran (District 3), and former Councilmember Rey Saldaña (District 4) met to discuss the current rules for boards and commissions. On June 13, 2019, the Subcommittee forwarded the item to the Governance City Council Committee for consideration of the following amendments:
|
Code Section |
Modification |
Rationale |
|
Sec. 2-526 Application |
Office of the City Clerk will coordinate deadlines with the respective department(s) for applications to At-Large positions on Boards/Commissions |
Involvement of departments for oversight and responsibility. |
|
Sec. 2-527 District appointments |
Reorganizes existing language to reflect current order of appointment process and procedures |
Reflects current process |
|
Sec. 2-530 Terms of office |
Add that appointments made during an existing term are for the remainder of the unexpired term. |
Provides clarity regarding terms of office. |
|
Sec. 2-531 Meeting procedures |
Robert’s Rules of Order for parliamentary procedures is the default; but other rules of order may be adopted by the Board/Commission Clarifies that non-voting members do not satisfy the quorum requirement |
Any set of procedural rules established by the Board is acceptable; the key objective is order and respect. Provides clarity regarding quorum. |
|
2-533 Attendance |
Appointing Councilmember or Mayor in the case of At-Large appointments shall determine whether to remove a board member for absences (previously, 3 consecutive absences resulted in automatic removal) |
Appointing Councilmember or Mayor if At-Large appointment, should have discretion |
|
2-535 Removal from office |
A board member can be removed without cause - effected by appointment of a new appointment; ordinance no longer necessary CCR not needed for removal of district appointments; just written request by specific CC member. A written removal request may also request the City Clerk to advertise for applications or place the name for the appointee on the next CC agenda |
More efficient |
|
2 - 539 New member orientation and swearing in And 2-540 MLI |
Failure or refusal to attend the new member orientation or complete the Municipal Leadership Institute Training within the 1st year of service shall result in automatic removal. Removal for this reason means you would be ineligible to serve for a year from date of removal |
Training is necessary to serve |
|
2-542 CCComm Oversight |
B & C report on attendance activities and recommendations submitted for CCComm Oversight upon request in addition to annually |
CCComm Oversight for discretion to request more than annually |
ISSUE:
City Code amendments require City Council approval.
ALTERNATIVES:
City Council could choose not to approve recommended Code changes and the current Code would remain in place.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the proposed amendments to Chapter 2 of the City Code.