MEETING DATE:
June 25, 2024
SUBJECT:
Title
RESOLUTION 2024-9320 - ADOPTING AN UPDATED CITY COUNCIL MEETING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Body
Recommendation
Recommendation
ADOPT Resolution 2024-9320, approving an updated Council Meeting Policy and Procedures
Body
Board or Commission Action (If not applicable, please state not applicable below)
Not Applicable
Relevant Council Strategic Theme (If not applicable, please state not applicable below)
Good Governance
Executive Summary
The City Council has not reviewed or updated its meeting policy, currently memorialized as Policy Number 2013-06 (Council Meetings Policies and Protocols) since 2013, when it adopted a version that superseded and replaced former Policies A-6 and A-16. There is another Policy, A-11, which also appears to have been subsumed within Policy Number 2013-06, and would also be superseded in the event the City Council adopts the proposed updated version.
The proposed updated Policy suggests revisions to procedures relating to speaker time limitations, presentations for City Council meetings, as well as decorum issues as permitted by the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) and applicable case law.
Discussion
The current Policy pertaining to City Council meetings has not been updated since 2013. The proposed updated Policy addresses speaker times, meeting decorum, and associated security issues, among other issues.
The Brown Act, at Government Code § 54954.3, provides that local agencies may adopt regulations relating to the conduct of meetings, including the time allocated for public testimony and for each individual speaker. In a review of the codes and agendas of local jurisdictions, the cities of Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Coronado, Del Mar, El Cajon, Escondido, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove, National City, Oceanside, Poway, Santee, Solana Beach, and Vista all have standard speaker times of three (3) minutes rather than (5) minutes, which is the current San Marcos time limitation for speakers in the absence of extenuating circumstances such as a large number of speakers. The County of San Diego and the City of San Diego each provide speakers with a standard speaker time of two (2) minutes.
The proposed Policy follows the example of the vast majority of jurisdictions and includes a three (3) minutes standard time for speakers. The suggested time limitation for recognized group presentations has been revised from fifteen (15) minutes to ten (10) minutes; as the existing Policy provides three (3) times the individual speaker time for group presentations, the proposed Policy provision allowing ten (10) minutes for group presentations represents a similar reduction in total speaker time, rounding up from nine (9) to ten (10) minutes.
The current Policy allows for the adjustment of speaker times in the event that an item appears to be controversial or complex, allowing the reduction of speaker times to accommodate a larger number of speakers. The proposed Policy modifies the language to remove reference to the characterization of the type of item and simply provides that the Mayor may equally reduce speaking time when multiple persons have submitted requests to speak to the Council, to accommodate a larger number of speakers.
In addition to the above revisions, as required under the Ralph M. Brown Act, the Policy has been supplemented to provide that speakers who utilize a translator will be provided twice the standard allotted time, which under the proposed Policy would make it six (6) minutes, unless simultaneous translation equipment is being used during the meeting in question. Simultaneous translation is translation using equipment that is being broadcast to meeting participants at the same time that the person who is addressing the Council is speaking, which is not currently utilized in the Council Chambers, and does not mean a translation that is made in segments after the speaker has spoken. Therefore, it is anticipated that under the proposed Policy, the use of translation services will result in modified speaker times of six (6) minutes.
Government Code § 54957.95 sets forth the requirements for legislative bodies with respect to addressing participants who engage in conduct that disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of their meeting. The proposed Policy includes the required warning of individuals who are engaging in such conduct that their behavior is disrupting the meeting and that their failure to cease their behavior may result in their removal. It also provides that after such a warning, the Mayor may recess the meeting or require that the disruptive participant leave the meeting or be removed. If the disruptive participant does not timely exit following the warning and an order for removal, the Policy provides for the removal of the participant removed by Sheriff’s Department personnel, and precludes that participant from re-admission to the rest of the meeting in question.
If the meeting continues to be disrupted, as allowed by the Brown Act the Mayor may, subject to objection by a majority of Council Members in attendance, order the meeting room cleared of all participants other than the press and the City staff members necessary for the remaining items of City business, and the meeting may continue.
The proposed Policy also specifies a maximum size not to exceed 22” x28” for placards, banners, signs, and/or other objects, to allow speech but to also ensure the right of the public to participate in a meeting free of disruptions. Additionally, any placards, banners, signs, and/or other objects must be hand supported rather than by sticks, stakes, poles, braces, or like support. Weapons and objects that may be used to inflict serious bodily injury are prohibited in the Council Chambers.
Additionally, since the date that the Council’s current policy was adopted in 2013, presentations that speakers wish to share with the Council are increasingly via electronic means, which raises procedural as well as security issues relative to connection with City systems. The proposed regulations require such presentation aids for public speakers to be submitted to the City Clerk in .pdf format, and include a size limitation that may be exceeded if the material to be presented is provided in hard copy. The proposed Policy also precludes submission of material to the City Clerk on external storage and related devices, to prevent connection of external devices to the City’s systems.
Staff recommends that the updated Policy be adopted to address Brown Act requirements, provide certainty to members of the public who wish to address the Council, and to address potential security issues. In addition to the clean version of the updated Policy, a red-lined version is included within the packet so that the revisions from the current version can be tracked.
Environmental Review
This action does not constitute a “project” as defined under Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, Sections 15000 - 15387), and is therefore not subject to environmental review pursuant to Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3).
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact anticipated with updating the Council meeting policy and procedures.
Attachment(s)
Resolution 2024-9320, Adopting Updated Council Meeting Policy and Procedures
Proposed Updated Policy 2024-XXXX
Redlined Version of Existing Council Policy Number 2013-06
Existing City Council Policy Number 2013-06 and Prior City Council Policy A-11
Prepared by: Helen Holmes Peak, City Attorney
Reviewed by: Kevin Ralph, Capt., San Diego County Sheriff’s Department
Reviewed by: Michelle Bender, City Manager