2009-002-Amending Town Council Agenda Format And RulesRESOLUTION 2009 -002.
RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS
AMENDING TOWN COUNCIL AGENDA FORMAT AND RULES
WHEREAS, the Town Council has adopted Town Council Agenda Format Rules, which, among other
things, sets forth the orderof items for Council meeting agendas; and
WHEREAS, that the Town Council Agenda Format and Rules were last amended by the Town Council
on April 5, 2004; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council Agenda Format and Rules . sets a standard agenda order with
consideration of Council Matters and Manager Matters at the end of the agenda prior to Adjournment; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council Agenda Format and Rules sets deadlines for citizens and Council
members to place items on the agenda; and
WHEREAS, Town Council desires to change the order of consideration of Council Matters and
Manager Matters to after Presentations and before the Consent Calendar in order to provide an opportunity for
the Council and Manager to share information and make announcements earlier in the meehig when more
members of the public are typically presentand to delete the language setting deadlines for citizens and
Council members on the agenda which is inconsistent with current practice
RESOLVED, by the Town Council of the Town of Los Gatos, County of Santa Clara, State of California,
that the Town of Los Gatos
That the Town Council Agenda Format and Rules are amended to read as shown in Exhibit A
attached to this resolution, which is by this reference incorporated herein.
2. That Resolution 2004 -33 is hereby rescinded.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Los Gatos,
California, held on the20"' day of January, 2009 by the following vote:
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
AYES: Diane McNutt, Joe Pirzynski, Steve Rice, Barbara Spector, and Mayor Mike Wasserman
NAYS:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
SIGNED:
;LO TE ST:
ERI< O 7`HE TOWN OF LOS GATOS
'O S, CALIFORNIA
MAYOR OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA
COUNCIL POLICY
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
Subject: Town Council Agenda
Format and Rules
Approved:
Enabling Actions:
1986 -183; 1987 -24; 1988-
124; 1993 -181; 1994 -57;
1996 -108; 2001 -77; 2004 -33
Effective: Revised Date:
12/15/86 12/15/86; 3/2/87; 6/6/88;
6/15/92; 12/6/93; 4/4/94;
8/5/96; 7/2/01; 4/5/04
PURPOSE
To establish procedures which standardize the Town Council agenda and insure an orderly
meeting.
POLICY
The following policies have been established:
A. Order of the Agenda
Subject to the Mayor's discretion to change the order of consideration of any agenda item
during any individual meeting:
Closed Session
Interviews
Meeting Called to Order
Roll Call
Pledge of Allegiance
Closed Session Report
Appointments
Presentations
Council Matters
Manager Matters
Consent Calendar
Verbal Communications
Public Hearings
Other Business
Adjournment (No later than midnight without vote)
EXHIBIT A
B. Closed Session Report
At the first Council meeting following any Closed Session, the Town Attorney will report
on the Closed Session describing what occurred, but without reporting any infonnation
which could damage the Town's position on a) potential or existing litigation, b) the
acquisition or disposition of property, or c) any employee's privacy interests. In addition,
the Closed Session agenda shall clearly identify the subject of each agenda item consistent
with the requirements of the Brown Act.
C. Communications by Members of the Public
(1) Verbal Communications Comments by members of the public during the Verbal
Communications portion of the agenda shall be limited to no more than three (3)
minutes per speaker.
(2) Public HeariUs Presentations during the Public Hearings portion of the agenda by
appellants and applicants, including any expert or consultant assisting with the
presentation, shall be limited to a total of no more than ten (10) minutes for all
speakers. Appellants and applicants shall be provided no more than five (5) minutes to
rebut the end of the public hearing. Other members of the public testifying at public
hearings shall be limited to no more than three (3) minutes.
(3) Other Agenda Items Comments by members of the public concerning any other item
on an agenda shall be limited to no more than three (3) minutes per item.
(4) Mayor's Discretion All time limits shall be subject to change at the Mayor's
discretion in order to control the length of a meeting.
B. Consent Calendar
The Mayor will ask if any member of the Council, Town staff or public wishes to
comment on any item on the consent calendar. At the Mayor's discretion, items
removed from the consent calendar may be considered either before or after the Public
Hearings portion of the agenda.
E. Presentations
The Presentations portion of the agenda is intended to allow organized groups to make
formal presentations to the Council and to recognize and honor deserving individuals
and organizations. All matters included on the Presentations portion of the agenda
require the prior approval of the Mayor and shall be limited to no more than ten (10)
minutes, unless the Mayor grants additional time.
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F. Council Matters
Members of Council may report on the activities of the committees to which they belong or
the meetings they attend, question staff briefly on matters upon which the Council has taken
action or given direction, make brief announcements, or discuss whether to place particular
items on fixture agendas for action by the Council. Future agenda items to be briefly
discussed here shall be identified consistent with Section G of this policy, or may be raised
for the first time under this item.
G. Adjournment
Council meetings will be adjourned at midnight unless a majority of the Council Members
present vote to extend the adjournment time.
H. Preparation of the Agenda
The agenda is prepared by staff for the Mayor's approval. In this manner the Mayor
determines the agenda. Any member of the Council may request that the Mayor snake a
change or addition to the agenda. Such requests may be made through the Town Manager
or directly to the Mayor. In no event may the subject of whether to amend the agenda be
discussed outside of a public meeting by more than two (2) members of the Council.
Items thus proposed to be added to the agenda require the Mayor's agreement to be added
for action. If the Mayor does not agree, the item shall be listed on the agenda for discussion
purposes only under the Council Matters portion of the agenda. Council may then discuss
whether to place the item on a future agenda for action. Two (2) or more members of the
Council must vote in favor of placing an item on a future agenda for action.
If the wish of the Council is to add an item on the agenda of the current meeting, then the
Brown Act generally requires a two - thirds (2/3) vote or a unanimous vote of those present if
less than five (5) Council Members are present, with a finding that there is a need to take
immediate action and the need for action came to the attention of the Town after the agenda
was posted.
I. Agenda Schedule and Preparation of Schedule
Thursday, 11 days prior to meeting All agenda reports are due to the Town
Manager's Administrative Assistant. Reports
should be submitted as soon as possible to
allow time for review and revision.
The deadline for all reports is the Wednesday
prior to the Council meeting.
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Thursday, prior to meeting Written agenda -is finalized and printed.
Agenda packets distributed to Town Council
members.
Conduct of Town Council MegtiM
The Council shall adopt:
1. Robert's Rules of Order or
2. Some other rules of order, or
3. Allow the Mayor to conduct the meeting as deemed appropriate so long as all members
of the Town Council concur.
K. Reconsideration of Items
No item acted upon by the Town Council will be reconsidered by the Council within ninety
(90) days of the Council action unless the item is requested for reconsideration by a member
of the Town Council. A motion for reconsideration may only be made at the meeting of the
original Council action or at the meeting immediately following the original action provided
the matter appears on the agenda, unless a request for reconsideration is made by at least two
(2) members of the Council at the meeting immediately following the original action, in
which event the item will be placed on the next available agenda for Council action. See
schedule in Section II concerning placement of items on the regular agenda by members of
the Town Council.
L. Motions by the Chair
The Chairperson of the meeting may make or second motions.
The Mayor may restate, or ask that the maker.restate, all motions immediately prior to any
vote.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Orry P, Korb, Town Attorney
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