12 Staff Report - Preparation, Style, and Format of Town Council Minutes~pW N OF
~os'~ptoy COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
DATE: MAY 16, 2007
MEETING DATE: 5/21/2007
ITEM NO. i a
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: DEBRA FIGONE, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: DISCUSSION OF PREPARATION, STYLE, AND FORMAT OF TOWN
COUNCIL MINUTES
PURPOSE:
At the March 19, 2007 Council meeting, the Town Council requested that an item be agendized to
discuss the style and format of Town Council minutes. The purpose of this staff report is to
provide background on the current Town practice for the preparation of Council minutes and to
identify alternatives the Council may want to consider.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that Council discuss and provide direction regarding the preparation, style, and
format of the Town Council minutes.
DISCUSSION:
The following section provides an overview of the Town's current Council minute policy and
practice and minute style/format alternatives.
Current Town Practice
The attached 2001 staff report and adopted resolution (Attachment 1) describes and directs the
preparation, style, and format of the Council minutes. The attached resolution confirms the
following:
■ "Action only" minutes are the preferred form for recording regularly scheduled Council
meetings;
■ The Clerk Administrator should only identify members of the public who make comments
during verbal communication or other agenda items, with the exception of public hearings;
and
PREPARED BY: JENNY HARUYAMA, ADMINSITRATIVE PROGRAMS MANAGER
N:AMGR\JHaruya \Staff Repor&council minutes.doc
Reviewed by: Assistant Town Manager Town Attorney Clerk Administrator
Finance Community Development Revised: 05/17/2007 2:15 PM
Reformatted: 5/30/02
PAGE 2
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: DISCUSSION OF PREPARATION, STYLE, AND FORMAT OF TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES
May 16, 2007
■ The recording of public hearing items should include brief summaries of speaker
comments.
The attached resolution accurately reflects the Town's current practice with one exception related
to public speakers and Council comments. The Clerk Administrator briefly summarizes the
comments of speakers made during verbal communications or other agenda items rather than
identifying them by name only, similar to the approach taken for comments during public hearings.
Town Council comments are also summarized briefly in connection to all matters on the agenda.
Thus, the style of Council minutes is actually a modified form of action only minutes.
In addition to the formal, written minutes, the Town has several alternative Council meeting
formats available to the public for purchase, copy, or review, including electronic copies of the
agenda, minutes, and staff reports and recorded copies of the Council meetings in VHS, audio
cassette, CD, and streamed video. Given the public's increased interest in obtaining information
online, staff is evaluating retention options for web-based records. This assessment would
include the length of time the Town keeps information, such as Council agendas, minutes, staff
reports, and streamed video available online and how the public accesses archived electronic
materials.
Council Minute Style/Format Alternatives
City Clerks in general law cities are required to keep a record, journal, or minutes of Council
meetings. However, this requirement does not articulate specific legal standards to guide the form
and content the meeting minutes. Consequently, the form and substance of the minutes are subject
to the discretion of the governing body. Minute style/format alternatives available for Council
exploration, other than action only include:
■ Summary only minutes, which summarizes oral remarks and actions made at the meeting.
■ "Verbatim" minutes, which captures oral remarks word for word.
While these are viable alternatives, there are related policy considerations that should be noted.
For instance, implementation of "summary only" minutes would require the accurate interpretation
of Council and public remarks. This endeavor could be challenging as it would require a clear
understanding of the reasoning employed by the Council and public. As a result, many cities use
action only minutes based on the principle that the minute entries should only record the "actions"
taken by Council and were never meant to include the "reasons" for taking such action. Printed,
verbatim minutes, which are currently used only for Planning Commission items that are forwarded
to the Council for consideration, would require funding to implement. It is estimated that the
annual cost of verbatim minutes would be a minimum of $14,000. The turnaround time for
verbatim minutes is unknown at this time. As an alternative to printed, verbatim minutes, members
of the public can watch and listen to archived Council meetings online.
PAGE 3
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: DISCUSSION OF PREPARATION, STYLE, AND FORMAT OF TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES
May 16, 2007
The style of Council minutes is the only issue discussed at this time. If the Council would like to
consider a consistent style for all Town Boards, Commissions, and Committees, further direction
would be needed, as well as the priority of this issue in relationship to the workplan.
With regard to Council minutes, the Town Council may provide direction to:
■ Continue the current practice of modified action only minutes
■ Move to simple action only minutes
■ Move to summary minutes
■ Move to verbatim minutes
Should Council direct staff to modify its current approach (unless the direction is to move to simple
action only minutes), a more detailed assessment of the impacts would need to be conducted and
forwarded to Council for further discussion.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Implementation of one of the alternate minute formats described above could have
fiscal/productivity impacts.
Attachments:
September 12, 2001 Staff Report on the Preparation, Style, and Format of Town Council Minutes
1 -3
~pI N O,c
!ps NAtpS
DATE:
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
SEPTEMBER 12, 2001
3
MEETING DATE: 9/17/01
ITEM NO.
MAYOR AND TO COUNCIL
TOWN MANAGE
CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE PREPARATION,
STYLE AND FORMAT OF THE TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES
RECOMMENDATION:
That Council consider adopting resolution directing the preparation, style and format of the Town
Council Minutes.
DISCUSSION:
From time to time it is important to evaluate Town processes and procedures. The purpose of this
report is to provide the Council with an opportunity to provide direction, as needed, regarding the
format of Council Minutes.
With one exception, as discussed below, it has been the Town Clerk's custom to prepare "action only"
minutes, which are intended to briefly summarize the highlights ofthe meeting, specifically the actions
taken by Council. The exception relates to public speakers, where the Clerk generally summarizes
the comments of speakers made during verbal communications or concerning other items during the
meeting.
In order to ensure that the body and content of the minutes meet the Council's needs, the Clerk has
researched the form of minutes taken by other city clerks. Samples from some of the better examples,
as well as a summary of two key elements of minutes are included. The Clerk's pursuit found that:
1)"action on ly" minutes are used by most cities; anal 2) the content and form of "action only" minutes
can vary in a number of significant ways. In addition, the research found that the manner of recording
the comments of the public, whether made during verbal communications or regarding other agenda
items, also varies from city to city. The minutes of some cities provide short summaries of speakers'
comments, others merely describe speakers' topics, while still others simply identify speakers.
PREPARED BY: DEBRA J. FIGONE
Town Manager
MVC:mjr
TC:D 13:TC09170I .MIN
Reviewed by: 9V Attorney Finance Revised: 9/13/01 4:38 PM
Reformatted 10/23/99
PAGE 2
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE PREPARATION,
STYLE AND FORMAT OF THE TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES
09/12/01
The variety of forms and content of minutes reflects the lack of any specific legal standard.
Consequently, the form and substance of the minutes of most cities is subject to the discretion of the
governing body.
With these points in mind, the Clerk requests that Council confirm that "action only" minutes are the
preferred form, and provide any direction or comment to the Clerk regarding desired changes or
improvements to the format or style. The Clerk further requests that Council agree that the Clerk only
identifymembers of the public who make comments made during verbal communications or regarding
any other agenda item, with the exception of public hearings. In order to clarify the record of public
hearing items, the Clerk would continue providing brief summaries of speakers' comments made
during such hearings.
ATTACHMENT:
1. Resolution directing the preparation, style and format of the Town Council Minutes.
2. Overview of key elements of minutes including samples of minutes
RESOLUTION 2001 .
RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS
DIRECTING THE PREPARATION, STYLE AND
FORMAT OF THE TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES
WHEREAS:
A. With due consideration the Town Council has confirmed that "action only" minutes
are the preferred form for recording regularly scheduled Los Gatos Town Council meetings, and;
B. Council requests that the Clerk only identify members of the public who make
comments during verbal communication or regarding any other agenda item, with the exception of
public hearings, and;
C. So as to clarify the record of public hearing items, brief summaries of speaker's
comments made during such hearings will continue to be provided.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Los
Gatos, California held on the 17`h day of September, 2001 by the following vote.
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
AYES:
NAYS:
None
ABSENT:
None
ABSTAIN:
None
SIGNED:
MAYOR OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA.
ATTEST
CLERK OF THE TOWN' OF LOS GATOS
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA
ATTACHMENT I
Overview of Key Elements of Minutes
In reviewing the subject of action only minutes the town clerk petitioned other clerks for copies
of their action only minutes. Attached are several samples of the way other jurisdictions handle
this subject, and following is a short synopsis of what should be included in council record.
Review of Requirements for Record of Council Actions:
City clerks in general law cities are specifically required to keep a record, journal or minutes of
the council meetings.
To establish that the legal requirements for holding a meeting have been met, the minutes begin
with the following items:
• The date, hour and place of the meeting
• The type of meeting (regular, adjourned or special meeting)
• Indication that the proper notice has been given, if a special meeting
• The names of the members of the governing body present (if a member arrives late, or
leaves before adjournment, the minutes should show the time of arrival and/or
departure.) If joint meeting, other local officials are also listed.
The legal requirements for minutes do not spell out specifically what else the minutes should
contain. This allows for great variation in the amount of detail that may be included, from
"verbatim" minutes (which try to record everything that is said) to "action" minutes (which
record only what actions the governing body takes.) The amount of detail to present is ultimately
at the discretion of the governing body. Following is a list of items commonly included in
minutes:
Motions: All motions made by members of the governing body, even if they are not seconded,
with the resulting vote of all motions.
Recorded votes: Listing the ayes, nays, abstained and absent or showing unanimous action.
Directives to staff: Giving recorded directions or questions to staff that require response, as
well as the verbal information offered by staff in response.
Matters requested to be on the record: Recording any statements that a member specifically
requests "that the record show."
Individuals addressing the meeting: Recording the full name and title of any person who
addresses the governing body.
A principle of corporation law applicable to municipal corporations is that such organizations
can only act through their officers and employees. Thereby allowing action only minutes to
stand on the information and directives of council and staff, and finding no specific need to quote
other speakers.
ATTACHMENT 2
Oral Debates, Arguments and Discussions:
Caution against setting forth oral remarks in council minutes also extends to oral statements of
council members. The reason for these views, (that debates, arguments and discussions of
councilmembers should be omitted from the minutes of proceedings), is based on the principle
that the minute entries should only record the "actions" taken by council and were never meant to
include the "reasons" for taking such action.
Oral testimony received at council meeting Since there is no requirement that an exact
report or record be made of testimony produced at public meeting, it is not necessary that the
clerk attempt to set forth a resume, or statement of the testimony given. Since the arguments and
debates conducted for or against a subject and submitted to council merely contain the reasoning
employed by the advocate, there is no purpose served in including any part of them in the
minutes of the proceedings.
MD17.Action Only
i
i
RESOLUTION 2001 -104
RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL
OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS
DIRECTING THE PREPARATION, STYLE, AND FORMAT
OF TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES
WHEREAS:
A. With due consideration the Town Council has confirmed that "action
only" minutes are the preferred form for recording regularly scheduled Los Gatos Town Council
meetings, and;
B. So as to clarify the record of public hearing items, brief summaries of
speaker's comments made during such hearings will continue to be provided.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of
Los Gatos, California held on the 17'h day of September,2001 by the following vote.
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
AYES: Randy Attaway, Steven Blanton, Sandy Decker, Steve Glickman,
Mayor Joe Pirzynski.
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
SIGNED
MAYOR OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA
ATTEST:
CLERK Or THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA