Staff Report.Commission Policy
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Town Clerk
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 12/07/2021 ITEM NO: 11
DATE: November 29, 2021
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Approve Modifications to the Town Council Policy 2-11: Commission
Appointments as Recommended by the Council Policy Committee
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve modifications to the Town Council Policy 2-11: Commission Appointments as
recommended by the Council Policy Committee.
BACKGROUND:
The Town Council Commission Appointment Policy sets forth procedures for a consistent
recruitment, interview, and selection process for all Town Boards, Commissions, and
Committees (hereafter Commissions). This Policy was most recently updated in June 2021 to
improve consistency with the interview questions asked of applicants. During its use for the
Housing Element Advisory Board appointments, a Council Member raised concerns about the
handling of interview questions after staff followed the updated process outlined in the Policy
(Attachment 1).
The specific concern was that the procedure for developing the interview questions could be
considered a violation of the Brown Act. The Policy stipulates that the Council Members would
communicate any input to the interview questions directly to the Town Clerk and not to one
another, and therefore, there would not be a Brown Act violation.
On November 23, 2021, the Council Policy Committee discussed and recommended potential
modifications to provide greater clarity regarding the interview questions. An email was sent to
every Town Commissioner to encourage participation in the Committee’s discussion. One
Commissioner attended and did not offer comments.
PAGE 2 OF 3 SUBJECT: Approve Modifications to the Town Council Policy 2-11: Commission Appointments as Recommended by the Council Policy Committee DATE: November 29, 2021
DISCUSSION:
After consideration, the Council Policy Committee recommended that the Commission
Appointment Policy be modified to include a standard list of questions to be used for all
Commissions to ensure consistency in the interview process (see Attachment 2). The Council
Policy Committee identified the following questions to be added to the Policy by order of
importance:
1. If appointed, what ideas would you like to see the Commission explore?
2. Please expand beyond the written response on your application: your experience,
interest, and/or expertise that you feel would be most useful to the Commission.
3. Please elaborate on any written response provided in the application to assist the
Council in learning more about you.
4. If you did not answer any of the questions on the application, please explain why.
During the preparation of this report, staff is recommending an additional standard question
for those applicants who apply for more than one Commission: “If you applied for more than
one Commission, which Commission your first choice and why?” If the Council agrees, this
should be noted in the motion and the Policy document will be updated prior to signature.
Given that most interviews are only three to five minutes due to the size of the applicant pool,
the standard questions are limited in number to allow an applicant sufficient time to respond.
The Council may or may not ask all of the questions, in the same order regardless of the
Committee’s recommended order of importance, or by the same Council Member. The
questions should be reviewed and updated annually by the Town Council prior to the
Commission interview process.
CONCLUSION:
The Town Council should review the recommendation of the Council Policy Committee and
approve the updated interview process for Town Boards, Committees, and Commissions.
COORDINATION:
This report was coordinated with the Town Clerk and Town Attorney.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Amendments to the Commission Appointment Town Council Policy have no fiscal impact.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
PAGE 3 OF 3 SUBJECT: Approve Modifications to the Town Council Policy 2-11: Commission Appointments as Recommended by the Council Policy Committee DATE: November 29, 2021
Attachments:
1. Town Council Policy 2-11: Commission Appointments (Existing)
2. Town Council Policy 2-11: Commission Appointments (Redline)