05 Transition to Action Item MinutestioW � of
os COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
S CA5
DATE: AUGUST 26, 2013
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: GREG LARSON, TOWN MANAGER
MEETING DATE: 09 -03 -13
ITEM NO: C
SUBJECT: APPROVE THE TRANSITION TO ACTION ONLY MINUTES FOR TOWN
COUNCIL MEETINGS
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the transition to "Action Only" minutes for Town Council meetings as recommended by the
Council Policy Committee.
BACKGROUND:
In 2001, the Town Council adopted a resolution confirming the use of "action only" minutes as the
preferred format for recorded Council meetings. As practiced at that time, the minutes included brief
summaries of speakers' comments during public hearings, and only speakers' names on any other
agenda item, including Verbal Communications. No Council or staff comments were included.
Over the years, the style of the minutes evolved into to include brief summaries of comments by the
public, staff and Council on any agenda item Hence, the style of minutes is no longer "action only ";
rather it is a modified version which is closer to "summary minutes." In 2007, the Town Council
confirmed the continued use of this modified version of minutes.
At the January 18, 2013 Council /Commission Forum, the Council provided direction to Town
Commissions to transition to "action only" minutes. The Council Policy Committee discussed this
matter at its June 11, 2013 and July 30, 2013 meetings, and concurred with staff s recommendation to
transition to "action only" minutes for Town Council meetings.
DISCUSSION
Styles of Minutes
City clerks in general law cities, such as Los Gatos, are specifically required to keep a record of council
meetings; however, the legal requirements do not specify the level of detail that must be provided in the
PREPARED BY: PAMELA JACOBS oz7uc-o�-YO
ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER
Reviewed by: Assistant Town
Attorney Finance
PAGE 2
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: APPROVE THE TRANSITION TO ACTION ONLY MINUTES FOR TOWN
COUNCIL MEETINGS
AUGUST 26, 2013
minutes. Thus, the style and format of the minutes are at the discretion of the governing body and may
take the form of "action only," "summary," or "verbatim" minutes. Attachment 1 is an overview of
these different forms of minutes.
Staff reviewed the minutes of neighboring cities to identify the format of their minutes. Attachment 2 is
a matrix indicating that most of the cities use action minutes, while Monte Sereno and Saratoga use
summary minutes. There are small differences in the action minutes; however, for the most part they
include Council reports /announcements, public comments, and no comments by Council members
unless a request is made that a particular comment be included for the record.
Reasons for Transition to Action Only Minutes
Staff recommends that the Council consider a transition back to "action only" minutes. The three
primary reasons for this recommendation are: 1) complete video records of Council meetings are
available on DVDs and on the Town's website; 2) the actions taken and directions given by Council are
required for minutes, and Council's and staff's oral remarks are not; and 3) staff time to produce the
current form of minutes is considerable (8 to 12 hours per typical meeting, plus additional time for
management review) primarily due to the time required to summarize Council and staff comments.
Producing the current style of minutes requires the minute taker to make judgments about which
comments to include; to paraphrase comments so that they are clear in writing; and to combine related
comments. This not only requires a significant amount of time, it also places staff in the position of
determining the relative importance of individual comments and accurately interpreting Council and
staff remarks.
Official minutes must include Council actions and direction, but do not need to include Council and staff
questions, responses, and discussions. The official record stands on the decisions and directions and not
on the conversation preceding the decision or direction. Video recordings of the proceedings provide a
complete record of the meetings for those who are interested in the discussion. Summarizing the
discussion is not only challenging and time - consuming, it does not provide a comprehensive record of
the discussion nor the names of speakers associated with comments.
Recommendation and Alternatives
Staff recommends that the Town transition back to action only minutes for Town Council meetings.
Specifically, "action only" minutes would include the following:
• Date, hour and place of the meeting
• Type of meeting (regular, adjourned or special meeting)
• Names of the members of the governing body present
• Pledge leader name; Closed Session report; Ceremonials
• Brief remarks under Council Matters and Manager Matters
• Motions made
PAGE 3
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: APPROVE THE TRANSITION TO ACTION ONLY MINUTES FOR TOWN
COUNCIL MEETINGS
AUGUST 26, 2013
• Recorded votes
• Direction to staff
• Statements requested to be on the record
• Names of staff presenting staff reports
• Names of individuals addressing the meeting under any matter or Verbal Communications, along
with the topic of continent
The "action only" minutes would not summarize Council or staff comments; but would note that
Council discussed an item. Regarding public comments, staff recommends that the minutes include the
topic(s) of the comments rather than brief summaries for the same reasons that including Council and
staff comments is difficult and not needed due to the availability of the meeting video.
Alternatives to the staff and Council Policy Committee recommendation are:
• Continue the current practice of summary minutes
• Move to verbatim minutes (estimated at a minimum annual cost of $10,000 to $15,000)
• Revise one or more of the above recommendations for action only minutes
CONCLUSION:
Staff and the Council Policy Committee recommend that the Town Council approve the transition to
action only minutes for Town Council meetings.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
Is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Transitioning to action only minutes will reduce the amount of staff time for preparation of the minutes,
and expand staff capacity to attend to other duties.
Attachments:
1. Overview of Style of Minutes
2. Survey of Neighboring Cities
THIS PAGE
INTENTIONALLY
LEFT BLANK
OVERVIEW OF STYLE/FORMAT OF MINUTES
Action Only Minutes
Motions: All motions made by members of the governing body, even if they are not
seconded, with the resulting vote of all motions. Includes any changes or additions to
conditions, etc.
Recorded votes: Listing the ayes, nays, abstained and absent or showing unanimous
action.
Direction to staff: Direction associated with a study session or other agenda item for
staff follow up.
Matters requested to be on the record: Any statements that a member specifically
requests "that the minutes show."
Individuals addressing the meeting: Name of any person who addresses the governing
body.
Optional: Brief summaries of speaker comments during public hearings (e.g., spoke
against or for the project, etc.) or brief summaries of speaker comments on any matter
including verbal communication (e.g., topic of comment, summary of comment).
Summary Minutes
.All of above, plus summaries of Council oral remarks, questions and reasoning and
staff comments and responses.
Verbatim Minutes
Word for word oral remarks.
Note regarding Los Gatos practice: Although the Town has referred in the past to its
minutes as `modified action only," the style of minutes in practice is closer to "summary
minutes."
ATTACHMENT 1
SURVEY OF STYLE OF COUNCIL MINUTES
City Style of Minutes Comments
Monte Sereno Summary Council report outs, public comment,
summary of Council comments with names
Council report outs, public comment,
Saratoga Summary summary of Council comments with names
(more brief than MS)
Council report outs, public comment, and
Cupertino Action staff comments more than LG; limited
Council comments for the record with
names.
Campbell Action Council report outs, public comment, no
Council commentss
Los Altos Action Council report outs, public comment,
no /limited Council comments with names
Council report outs, public comment, no
Palo Alto Action
Council comments.
Council report outs, public comment, no
Morgan Hill Action
Council comments.
Council report outs, public comment, no
Gilroy Action
Council comments.
ATTACHMENT 2