Staff Report
PREPARED BY: ARN ANDREWS
Assistant Town Manager
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, and Town Attorney
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 08/01/2017
ITEM NO: 13
DATE: JULY 18, 2017
TO: TOWN COUNCIL POLICY COMMITTEE
FROM: LAUREL PREVETTI, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: RECOMMEND TO THE TOWN COUNCIL REVISIONS TO THE TOWN COUNCIL
AGENDA FORMAT AND RULES POLICY
RECOMMENDATION:
The Policy Committee recommends that the Town Council adopt revisions to Council Policy 2-
01, Town Council Format and Rules, regarding the Verbal Communications portion of the
meeting.
BACKGROUND:
Town Council Policy 2-01, Town Council Agenda Format and Rules, was adopted to establish
procedures which standardize the Town Council agenda process and insure orderly meetings.
That policy formalized the following order for agenda items:
Meeting Called to Order
Roll Call
Pledge of Allegiance
Appointments
Presentations
Closed Session Reports
Council Matters
Manager Matters
Consent Calendar
Verbal Communications
Public Hearings
Other Business
Adjournment (No later than midnight without a vote
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SUBJECT: REVISIONS TO THE TOWN COUNCIL AGENDA FORMAT AND RULES POLICY
DATE JULY 18, 2017
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2017\08-01-17\TC Agenda Format and Rules\Staff Report Final.docx 7/27/2017 10:48 AM
BACKGROUND (cont’d):
At the conclusion of the June 6, 2017, Town Council meeting staff was asked to review options
for the Verbal Communications portion of the agenda for the Policy Committee’s consideration.
DISCUSSION:
On June 26, 2017, the Policy Committee reviewed a staff recommendation to adopt revisions to
Council Policy 2-01, Town Council Format and Rules, regarding the Verbal Communications
portion of the meeting. Committee members provided comments and suggested edits to the
staff recommendation which have been incorporated into the attached proposed Policy
(Attachment 1).
The Verbal Communications portion of the agenda is intended to provide an open forum for
community members to discuss any topic of interest not related to the formal agenda items.
While the Council Policy does stipulate that speakers conclude their comments within three
minutes, there is currently no constraint on the number of speakers who may speak at any
given Council meeting. On occasion, this has led to significant delays to the Public Hearings and
Other Business portions of the Agenda. The Public Hearings and Other Business portions of the
Agenda usually also have members of the public wishing to speak to those items.
In order to establish an equitable process for the public to express their views during differing
portions of the agenda, staff recommends that the initial Verbal Communications portion of the
Agenda be capped at a total allocation of 30 minutes. At the conclusion of the first Verbal
Communications, the agenda will proceed onto the Public Hearings and Other Business sections
of the agenda. In the event additional speakers were not able to be heard during the initial
Verbal Communications portion of the agenda, an additional Verbal Communications section
can be opened prior to Adjournment. It should be noted, that a review of fourteen local
jurisdictions (Attachment 2) concluded that all but one have Verbal Communications
somewhere near the beginning of the meeting.
The Policy purpose states that this Policy should apply to all Town Boards, Committees, and
Commissions however, the Policy title refers only to the Council. As a result, the proposed
revision includes a title change to Town Agenda Format and Rules.
CONCLUSION:
The proposed revision would maintain the Council’s policy of conducting orderly meetings
while establishing an equitable practice for community engagement in the Town Council
Agenda process.
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SUBJECT: REVISIONS TO THE TOWN COUNCIL AGENDA FORMAT AND RULES POLICY
DATE JULY 18, 2017
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2017\08-01-17\TC Agenda Format and Rules\Staff Report Final.docx 7/27/2017 10:48 AM
COORDINATION:
This memorandum was prepared in coordination with the Town Attorney’s Office and the Town
Clerk.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None
Attachments:
1. Proposed revisions to the Town Council Agenda Format and Rules Policy
2. Summary of other verbal communications in other jurisdictions