REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Consider Direction to Staff and Updates to Council Policy 7.2.19 (Boards and Commissions) as Recommended by the Council Subcommittee on Boards and Commissions
Report
BACKGROUND
On November 14, 2023, the City Council held a joint study session with Board and Commission (B/C) Chairs and Vice Chairs. The purpose of the study session was to convene an annual discussion regarding B/C effectiveness, and to invite input from B/C members to the City Council.
The input during this annual round of discussion was substantial. The November meeting resulted in over a dozen suggested improvements or modifications for consideration (Attachments 2 and 3). Of those, 10 were administrative in nature and the majority of those have been implemented already or are in progress by staff. The remainder, 7 items, were policy-based and were referred to the Council Subcommittee on Boards and Commissions (Subcommittee) for consideration.
Approximately 37 City staff members regularly spend time staffing, supporting, or facilitating Sunnyvale’s 10 Boards and Commissions. The City Clerk’s team convenes this staff quarterly to ensure regular coordination. Since the November 2023 joint study session, staff has coordinated with Board and Commission Staff Liaisons and key staff involved in Boards and Commissions to implement operational changes.
On February 14, 2024, the Subcommittee provided comments on several operational changes (RTC No. 24-0106) made in response to the feedback received at the joint study session. Since the Subcommittee meeting, staff liaisons to Boards and Commissions have been advised of the interest in more detailed meeting minutes, including staff responses to questions and additional detail for controversial items that generate large amounts of public comment. The Guide to Parliamentary Procedure has been posted to the Board and Commission Member Resources page and staff plan to identify or develop additional parliamentary procedure guidance. Staff continue to monitor changes to the Ralph M. Brown Act that could support remote Board and Commission Member participation in meetings and will schedule a follow-up Brown Act training as time permits. The status of staff follow-up regarding each operational recommendation is outlined in Attachment 2.
The Subcommittee also discussed several policy or procedural items, some of which would require policy changes (or even a Charter Amendment), and others of which are more operational suggestions. The Subcommittee’s discussion included items raised at the November joint study session as well as additional items introduced by the Subcommittee. The Subcommittee requested staff follow up after its February meeting and met again on June 26, 2024 to further refine its recommendations to the full Council. The Subcommittee referred the following ideas originating from the November 14, 2023 joint study session or from the Subcommittee itself to the full City Council for consideration:
Subcommittee Recommendation 1 - Consider adding an item to each board/commission’s annual work plan to review and propose new supplemental questions for the board/commission application:
- Modified proposal from what was raised in November (which was to allow Board or Commission members to participate in interviews of their fellow commissioners).
- Recommend that the application’s supplemental questions asked in relation to each board/commission be reviewed every five years.
- Suggest that the board/commission application be agendized for potential feedback during the annual joint study session between City Council and B/C Chairs and Vice Chairs.
Subcommittee Recommendation 2 - Consider modifying this year’s Arts Commission work plan to add dynamic, interactive and literary art forms:
- Modified proposal from what was raised in November (which was to expand the Arts Commission to an Arts and Culture Commission).
- Allow the Arts Commission to identify items for next year’s work plan that include these various art forms.
Subcommittee Recommendation 3 - Consider a policy that would permit all boards and commissions to have member led presentations, so long as they fit in the work plan and do not require staff time to prepare:
- Modified proposal from what was raised in November (which was to provide a clear method for Board/Commission Members to add agenda items that do not require staff support).
- No recommendation to change policy, as it is already permissive of this current practice.
- Suggest staff provide training on the process for Board/Commission member led presentations.
Subcommittee Recommendation 4 - Allow the board/commission to take action to authorize the Chair to provide written communication related to a member led presentation to the City Council after member led presentations:
- Policy suggestion raised by the Subcommittee, not the Board and Commission Joint Study Session.
- After evaluation, no recommended change to the current policy. Chairs/Vice Chairs are encouraged to address Council in-person or via email as covered in existing policy.
- As an operational item, suggest that staff cover this point explicitly in Chair/Vice Chair training.
Subcommittee Recommendation 5 - Maintain current size of the Board of Library Trustees
- Policy suggestion raised by the Subcommittee, not the Board and Commission Joint Study Session.
- Evaluated increasing the size of the Board of Library Trustees from five to seven members.
- Recommend maintaining the current size based on recruitment challenges for the five-member board and a required Charter amendment to change the size.
Subcommittee Recommendation 6 - Consider increasing the size of the Human Relation Commission from five to seven members
- Policy suggestion raised by the Subcommittee, not the Board and Commission Joint Study Session.
- Recommend Subcommittee review expanding the Commission to seven members in early 2025.
- The Subcommittee noted having a 7-member commission would allow for a more inclusive commission.
Subcommittee Recommendation 7 - Investigate permitting B/C Members to respond to emails from the public.
- Policy suggestion raised by the Subcommittee, not the Board and Commission Joint Study Session.
- Recommended staff return to Council with an agenda item to consider revising Council policy related to Board and Commission member email communication, including pros and cons of allowing email two-way communications.
Subcommittee Recommendation 8- Support for continuing with current practice using the B/C AnswerPoint for public comments.
- Directed staff to evaluate providing individual City emails and email support for Board and Commission members. Staff reported to Subcommittee an approximate annual cost of $20,000 and staff time would be required to support.
- Subcommittee expressed support for continuing the current operational practice of using each board/commission AnswerPoint for receiving and distributing public comments.
- Subcommittee noted the template responses sent to members of the public could be updated to be more friendly.
Potential Future Study Issues
In addition, Subcommittee Member Mehlinger stated they may prepare Study Issue Sponsorship Forms on the following topics separately from the Subcommittee’s immediate recommendations to the full Council:
- Potential Study Issue 1 - Create a Transportation Board or Commission
- Potential Study Issue 2 - Expand scope of Heritage Preservation Commission
This report provides the City Council an opportunity to consider these policy ideas and potentially make changes to Council Policy 7.2.19 Boards and Commissions (Attachment 1) or provide direction to staff.
EXISTING POLICY
Council Policy 7.2.19 (Boards and Commissions (Attachment 1)
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a "project" with the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15378(b)(5) in that it is a governmental organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
DISCUSSION
Staff recommendations outlined below reflect an effort to utilize existing staff resources to make Boards and Commissions as effective as possible at advising City Council on specific policy issues and providing a forum for broad community input. Implementing policy or procedural changes to Board and Commission practices requires significant effort and collaboration across several work groups and departments that support the City’s 10 Commissions. Broad expansion of the current role or scope of Boards and Commissions would require additional staff resources, as referenced below.
The eight Subcommittee Recommendations are grouped by those items that staff considers operational (four items) and those that would require Council policy direction to implement (three items). One item, the size of the Board of Library Trustees, recommended no change and is not outlined below.
Subcommittee Recommendations to City Council - Operational in Nature
Staff plans to proceed with implementation of the operational items below based on the Subcommittee recommendations. Operational plans are outlined for Council awareness, unless Council feels any of these items warrant discussion by the full Council. In addition to the items below, Attachment 2 lists several other operational changes that are already underway in response to the November joint study session and subcommittee input.
1. Subcommittee Recommendation - Add an item to each board/commission’s work plan every five years to review and propose new supplemental questions for the board/commission application.
The supplemental questions for each Board or Commission are intended to assist Councilmembers in evaluating applicants for Boards/Commissions. The current questions were developed and approved by the City Council following recommendations from the Subcommittee.
Based on the Subcommittee recommendation, staff will plan to schedule a review of supplemental questions with each board or commission before July 2025 and then no less than every five years in the future. More frequent or annual review is not likely needed, particularly given that most Board and Commission (B/C) Members serve staggered four-year terms.
As requested by the Subcommittee, staff will also include the Board/Commission application with the annual joint study session between City Council and Board and Commission Chairs and Vice Chairs to facilitate feedback at that time.
2. Subcommittee Recommendation - Provide training on the process for Board/Commission member led presentations.
Under current policy, proposals for member led presentations may be made to the staff liaison, who may schedule such presentations as long as they are in alignment with the body’s work plan and do not inhibit the body’s ability to complete Council directed work plan items (Council Policy 7.2.19 1.A.1 and 2.F.2). Staff will incorporate training regarding member led presentations into the existing New Member Orientation provided to all new Board/Commission Members.
3. Subcommittee Recommendation - Encourage Chairs/Vice Chairs to provide in-person or written communication related to a member led presentation to the City Council after member led presentations.
Staff currently cover the Chair’s role as a liaison to Council at City Council meetings when board/commission recommendations are heard by Council during the annual Chair/Vice Chair training. Staff will include in the training that Chairs/Vice Chair may speak during Oral Communications or email the City Council about member led presentations that took place at their respective board or commission.
4. Subcommittee Recommendation - Continue current practice using the B/C AnswerPoint for public comments.
Given the current Council Policy regarding representation and the current level of funding and staff support for Boards and Commissions, staff concurs with the Subcommittee’s operational suggestion to continue the current practice of using a Board/Commission AnswerPoint to receive public comments which are then forwarded to the members. This helps ensure that all members receive the same communications and information from the public. This also helps ensure the City has ready-access to these communications to legally respond to requests for public records, which are increasing.
The Subcommittee ultimately did not recommend issuing City email accounts to Board and Commission Members; however, the following is provided as information for the City Council. Staff evaluated the idea of providing City issued and supporting email accounts for the current 60 Board and Commission Members. It is estimated to require 60-70 hours of staff support from the Information Technology Department for setup and
user support annually along with approximately $20,000 annually for email accounts and archiving and information security licensing.
Subcommittee Recommendations to City Council - Require Council Policy Consideration
These Subcommittee recommendations require action from the full Council to pursue.
1. Subcommittee Recommendation - Allow the Arts Commission to identify work plan items related to dynamic, interactive and literary art forms for 2025.
If Council moves forward with this recommendation, it would be at the Arts Commission’s discretion to prepare a work plan for Council consideration that could balance existing work plan items with potential new items. In addition to the work plan, the Arts Commission regularly reviews public art projects (artwork for utility boxes, design and artwork for Sunnyvale Suns, etc.), Civic Center artwork and AIPD (Art in Private Development) projects.
2. Subcommittee Recommendation - Subcommittee consideration of increasing the size of the Human Relations Commission from five to seven members in early 2025.
An increase in the size of the Human Relations Commission (HRC) could be accomplished through an update to Council Policy. The City has received numerous applications for the Human Relations Commission and Council would likely be able to identify two additional applicants to appoint. While the current composition of the Human Relations Commission has recently experienced some challenges achieving a quorum for meetings, that is not anticipated to continue into the future and would not necessarily be alleviated by increasing the size (as four members would need to be present instead of three to achieve quorum so both new members would need to be present at every meeting to avoid the same challenge). The more compelling reason to increase the size of the HRC would be to broaden community representation on the Committee.
Increasing the number of members for the Human Relations Commission would have an impact on staff’s capacity to communicate with and support Commissioners.
Options for the City Council to consider regarding increasing the side of the HRC, Council could:
a. Direct staff to schedule a meeting of the 2025 Council Subcommittee on Boards and Commission to consider increasing the size of the HRC;
b. Decide to increase the size of the HRC from 5 to 7 members and direct staff to return with an updated Council Policy 7.2.19 (Boards and Commissions) reflecting this change; or
c. Take no action regarding this recommendation.
Staff makes no recommendation on this item. If the Subcommittee and Council decide to increase the size of the HRC, guidance regarding any particular expanded areas of representation would be relevant.
3. Policy Consideration - Consider allowing board and commission members to respond to members of the public via email.
The prohibition on Board and Commission (B/C) Members directly responding to emails from the public stems from the Council Policy prohibiting B/C Members from representing their board or commission outside of public meetings.
The Subcommittee requested that staff provide a pros and cons list regarding allowing two-way email communications between B/C Members and the public outside of public meetings. The list is as follows:
Pros:
• Increased communication between individual B/C Members and the public.
• Increased accessibility to B/C Members if they decided to respond to individual emails, potentially broadening public engagement.
• Members of the public may feel better heard when they receive a response from a B/C Member.
• B/C Members could ask clarifying questions regarding communications from the public.
Cons:
• Facilitates public dialogue on matters of B/C jurisdiction occurring outside of public meetings rather than in the public forum.
• Increases risk of Brown Act violations if members of the public email a quorum of B/C Members and a B/C Member replies all.
• Members of the public may provide substantive information to an individual B/C Member regarding agenda items that could influence the Member’s understanding of a topic and vote without the rest of the Board/Commission being made aware of the information.
• Community members may misinterpret a response from an individual B/C Member as the official stance of the B/C or the City, which is counter to current Council policy.
• Some B/C Members may feel an obligation to respond to all public comments which is a greater volunteer time commitment for them outside of public meetings and could potentially be a barrier to participation.
• Significant additional staff time needed to gather responsive records from B/C Members when the City receives requests for public records, which are increasing.
Should the Council decide to grant B/C members authority to directly respond to emails from the public, staff would recommend clarifying the Council Policy on representation (e.g., changing the policy and/or requiring clarifying language in outgoing emails).
Conclusion
This report is the culmination of the follow-up from the November 2023 joint study session with City Council and Board and Commission Chairs and Vice Chairs and the subsequent Council Subcommittee on Boards and Commission discussion and recommendations to Council. Council’s direction on the identified policy questions referred by the Subcommittee will allow staff follow-up to proceed on these remaining items.
FISCAL IMPACT
Consideration of these policy issues by the City Council is not anticipated to have a fiscal impact. Should the City Council implement these policies, some may result in fiscal impacts. Adding more members to existing Boards and Commissions, creating one or more new Boards or Commissions, or providing City email accounts to Board/Commission Members would have an impact on existing staffing. Depending on the scale and scope of policy changes made, additional staffing resources and associated budget modifications may be required.
In addition to staffing resources, providing City email accounts to Board/Commission Members would have a direct cost of approximately $20,000 annually for licensing, which would require a budget modification.
Changing the size of the Board of Library Trustees would require a charter amendment, which is estimated to have a cost of $136,926 for the November 2026 election, plus costs associated with public information and staff support for a charter amendment.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council meeting agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board at City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Public Library and in the Department of Public Safety Lobby. In addition, the agenda and this report are available at the NOVA Workforce Services reception desk located on the first floor of City Hall at 456 W. Olive Avenue (during normal business hours), and on the City's website.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Direct the Arts Commission to identify work plan items related to dynamic, interactive and literary art forms for 2025.
2. Direct staff to return with required modified Council Policy documentation to increase the size of the Human Relations Commission from five to seven members.
3. Direct staff to work with the 2025 Council Subcommittee on Boards and Commissions to schedule an agenda item in early 2025 for the Subcommittee to consider a recommendation to the City Council increasing the size of the Human Relations Commission from five to seven members.
4. Make changes to Council Policy 7.2.19 Boards and Commissions regarding Board and Commission representation of the City or other changes, outline any changes, and direct staff to return with modified Policy language.
5. Provide alternative direction to staff.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff makes no overarching recommendation. Staff’s recommendations regarding individual policy considerations are outlined in the report, which is developed to facilitate a conversation for the public hearing and for consideration and possible action by the City Council.
Levine Act
LEVINE ACT
The Levine Act (Gov. Code Section 84308) prohibits city officials from participating in certain decisions regarding licenses, permits, and other entitlements for use if the official has received a campaign contribution of more than $250 from a party, participant, or agent of a party or participant in the previous 12 months. The Levine Act is intended to prevent financial influence on decisions that affect specific, identifiable persons or participants. For more information see the Fair Political Practices Commission website: www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/pay-to-play-limits-and-prohibitions.html
An “X” in the checklist below indicates that the action being considered falls under a Levine Act category or exemption:
SUBJECT TO THE LEVINE ACT
___ Land development entitlements
___ Other permit, license, or entitlement for use
___ Contract or franchise
EXEMPT FROM THE LEVINE ACT
___ Competitively bid contract*
___ Labor or personal employment contract
_X_ General policy and legislative actions
* "Competitively bid" means a contract that must be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
Staff
Prepared by: David Carnahan, City Clerk
Reviewed by: Sarah Johnson-Rios, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Tim Kirby, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Council Policy 7.2.19 Boards and Commissions
2. Operational Changes Initiated by Staff Following the November 14, 2023 Joint Meeting
3. Policy Ideas Identified at the November 14, 2023 Joint Meeting
4. DRAFT Council Subcommittee on Boards and Commissions Meeting Minutes of 6/26/2024