Staff Report.Commission Appointment Policy
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Clerk, 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: 08/02/2022 ITEM NO: 17
DATE: June 29, 2022
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Approve Revisions as Recommended by the Policy Committee to Town
Council Policy 2-11: Commission Appointments, Residency and Attendance
Requirements, and Establishing a Quorum
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve revisions as recommended by the Policy Committee to Town Council Policy 2-11:
Commission Appointments, Residency and Attendance Requirements, and Establishing a
Quorum.
BACKGROUND:
On June 7, 2022, the Town Council conducted interviews for several Commission vacancies and
at its regular session that same day, Council appointed new Commissioners. From this
experience, the Chair of the Policy Committee suggested that the Commission Appointment
Policy return to the Policy Committee for discussion and consideration of potential
recommendations to the Town Council for revisions.
Specifically, Chair Badame requested that the Commission Appointment Policy be modified to
ensure each Council member can ask a question of each applicant (see Attachment 1). In this
way, each Council Member has an opportunity to engage with each applicant. It is likely that
the length of each interview will be longer, requiring more of the Council’s time to complete all
interviews.
DISCUSSION:
At its June 28, 2022 meeting, the Policy Committee considered the proposed revision. There
was no public testimony.
PAGE 2 OF 3 SUBJECT: Proposed Revisions to the Commission Appointment Policy DATE: June 29, 2022
DISCUSSION (continued):
After discussion, the Committee voted to forward a recommendation to allow enough time for
each Council Member to ask at least one question of each applicant (Attachment 1, original
redline). The intent of this change was important to the Committee.
Recognizing that “enough time” might vary by Mayor, the Committee requested that the
following potential options be forwarded for Council consideration:
• Specify in the Policy that each interview will be approximately five minutes (Attachment
2, Option 2 redline);
• Remain silent on the length of each interview (Attachment 3, Option 3 redline);
• Specify a set time of 4 p.m. for the start of interviews (Attachment 4, Option 4 redline);
• Specify that each interview will be a minimum of five minutes and ask the Council if it
would like to specify a maximum in the Policy (Attachment 5, Option 5 redline).
In its discussion, the Policy Committee acknowledged that some Council Members may be
conscientious of time and choose to pass on their opportunity to ask a question; therefore,
there may not be a need to include time limits. The discussion also recognized that general
guidance could be provided by the Clerk to Council Members and applicants to be succinct in
their questions and responses respectively, due to overall time constraints for the interviews.
CONCLUSION:
Given staff’s experience with scheduling and managing the interviews, upon further reflection,
staff prefers Option 4 contained in Attachment 4 that specifies a set time of 4 p.m. for the start
of interviews. If this Option is selected for the Policy revision, staff would work with applicants
on scheduling their interviews to accommodate those who may not be able to attend during
business hours, and if the Council completes the interviews early, then it would have a longer
break prior to its regular session.
COORDINATION:
The preparation of this report was coordinated with the Town Clerk and Town Attorney.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The agenda item has no fiscal impact.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
PAGE 3 OF 3 SUBJECT: Proposed Revisions to the Commission Appointment Policy DATE: June 29, 2022
Attachments:
1. Town Council Policy 2-11: Commission Appointments, Residency and Attendance
Requirements, and Establishing a Quorum (original redline)
2. Town Council Policy 2-11: Commission Appointments, Residency and Attendance
Requirements, and Establishing a Quorum (Option 2 redline)
3. Town Council Policy 2-11: Commission Appointments, Residency and Attendance
Requirements, and Establishing a Quorum (Option 3 redline)
4. Town Council Policy 2-11: Commission Appointments, Residency and Attendance
Requirements, and Establishing a Quorum (Option 4 redline)
5. Town Council Policy 2-11: Commission Appointments, Residency and Attendance
Requirements, and Establishing a Quorum (Option 5 redline)