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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 05162006 - D.2 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS e L Contra FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE o; ru i, s Costo DATE: MAY 4, 2006 °°s'- County rA coiiri`� SUBJECT: POLICY GOVERNING THE TYPES OF ITEMS TO BE SCHEDULED FOR THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING AGENDA DO SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. CONSIDER options for a policy governing the types of items to be scheduled for action by the Board of Supervisors on its meeting agenda: a. Supervisor Uilkema recommends that the Board adopt Resolution No. 2006/281, superseding Resolution No. 96/35, empowering the Chair of the Board to approve or disapprove placement of items on the Board agenda in accordance with specified principles; disapproved items may be added to a subsequent agenda upon three affirmative votes of the Board.- b. oard:b. Supervisor DeSaulnier recommends that the Board not enact a policy governing the types of items to be scheduled for action by the Board of Supervisors on its meeting agenda. 2. DETERMINE action to be taken. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDA O OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S . , GA B.UIL I A,CHAIR —V MARK DeSAULNIER ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN UNANIMOUS(ABSENT AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE AYES: NOES: SHOWN. ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTESTED: MAY 16,2006 CONTACT: JULIE ENEA(925)335-1077 JOHN CULLEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR CC: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE STAFF BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEMBERS COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR COUNTY COUNSEL A DEPUTY Policy Governing Items Scheduled for Action by the Board of Supervisors May 4,2006 Internal Operations Committee Page 2 BACKGROUND: On January 17, 2006,the Board of Supervisors deliberated adoption of a resolution calling upon the Governor to ensure that the President and the Congress take immediate steps to withdraw California National Guard troops serving outside the country. Several speakers from the public suggested that the subject matter of the resolution was outside of the purview of the County Board of Supervisors and misdirected the Board's energy from matters more directly within the Board's purview(see item summary, attached). The Board requested the Internal Operations Committee to develop and recommend to the Board guidelines on issues scheduled on the meeting agenda of the Board of Supervisors for consideration and/or action by the Board. To assist the committee, staff surveyed California counties and consulted the County Ordinance Code. Of 18 counties responding to our survey, one responded that it had a relevant policy: Shasta County: Section 5.e of the County's Administrative Manual reads: "Items Outside of the Purview of the Board: 1) No position shall be considered or taken by the Board concerning candidates for public office, propositions on the ballot, or other issues that will come before the voters; and 2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of the Board to take action in support of, or opposition to,federal or state legislation affecting the operation of county government." Three of the counties that had no formal policies responded that they had a convention of not taking positions on issues that fall outside their direct county interests. Still others indicated that the Board Chair and County Administrator decide what items are placed on the Board Agenda,with some going further to state that issues not receiving approval for placement on the Agenda by the Board Chair and County Administrator may be added to a future agenda with three affirmative votes of the Board. The rules and ordinances currently adopted by the Board do not provide clear guidance on the types of issues properly placed before the Board nor do they clearly identify who will make that determination. This Board has enacted Ordinance Code section 24-2.402, which provides that the board will hold regular meetings for transacting business"properly before it as the board of supervisors" and in all its other capacities. In 1996,the Board adopted Resolution 96/35 establishing its own administrative rules and procedures. Rule 6.13. currently permits the chairperson of the Board to give procedural directions to accommodate the conduct of business before the Board. However,the rules do not specify in any detail the role of individual Board members in placing items on the agenda. The Board has given the County Administrator administrative oversight of the agenda. Ordinance Code section 24-4.009(b), which pertains to the relationship between the County Administrator and County officials, states that the County Administrator is the conduit to the Board and that"All requests for board action shall be through the county administrator, who shall present them to the board with a recommendation. If the recommendation is adverse to the request, the county administrator shall notify the officer or department head of the time when the same will be presented to the board of supervisors, and may either withdraw the request before its presentation to the board or he/she may appear before the board and be heard." Policy Governing Items Scheduled for Action by the Board of Supervisors May 4,2006 Internal Operations Committee Page 3 Counties are agencies of the state (Government Code sections 23000 and 23002). A county only has those powers expressly granted to it by statute and those necessarily implied from the expressed powers (Government Code section 23003). The statutes that deal generally with the government of counties are found in sections 23000 through 33205 of the Government Code. Government Code section 25003 permits a board of supervisors to make and enforce rules and regulations necessary for the government of the board, the preservation of order, and the transaction of business. Our committee was unable to reach consensus regarding the most effective solution to address concerns expressed by members of the Board and the public regarding the Board's priorities for its time and resources. Therefore,pursuant to the authority provided in Government Code section 25003, our committee offers two alternative recommendations for the Board's consideration: Supervisor Uilkema's Recommendation: Adopt attached Resolution No. 2006/***,amending and superseding Resolution No. 96/35,to further specify Board Chair's power to give procedural directions regarding agenda items. Amend Rule 6 to add a subsection C, stating that: "The Board Chair, in consultation with the County Administrator will approve or disapprove the placement of items on the agenda. The Chair will be guided by the following principles for subject matter appropriate for Board consideration: 1. The subject matter shall be within the powers of authority or control of the Board of Supervisors in its various capacities. Examples of subjects not within the jurisdiction of the Board are foreign policy, national policy, or state policy except as it directly impacts the operation of county government. 2. Legislative advocacy shall be limited to legislation that directly impacts the County's ability to effectively provide programs or services, and shall be specified in our County legislative program. Matters not approved for placement on the agenda may be added to a future agenda with a minimum of three affirmative votes of the Board. " The recommended policy both recognizes the Chair of the Board's leadership role in managing the agenda and running the meetings, and provides opportunity for exceptions to be made the policy with support of a majority of the Board. Supervisor DeSaulnier's Recommendation Maintain the status quo and do not adopt a policy governing the types of items to be scheduled for action by the Board of Supervisors on its meeting agenda. THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adopted this Resolution on May 16, 2006 by the following vote: s L AYES: — NOES: o r'Ntadi11 `t'S ae 4 r ABSENT: =_ �OS�'q_COUTj� ABSTAIN: SUBJECT: ADMINISTRATIVE AND PROCEDURAL ) Resolution No. 2006/281 RULES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ) RULE 1: RULES OF PROCEDURE A. The order of procedure for hearings before the Board is: 1. The chairperson calls the agenda item by subject or title, For appeal hearings,the chairperson announces the scope of hearing. 2. Any supervisor voluntarily or involuntarily disqualified from Makin&or participating in the making of the decision announces the disqualification. 3. The staff report, if any, is given, including any recommended environmental action and, if appropriate, recommended conditions of approval. 4. The chairperson acknowledges receipt of any documents offered as evidence and filed with the Clerk of the Board prior to the hearing. 5. Public testimony is received from persons seeking approval or a recommendation for approval of the matter before the Board. The applicant or proponent, if any, may speak first upon request. In cases of appeal, the appellant(s) shall speak first. 6. Public testimony is received from any persons opposed to the matter before the Board. 7. Summation is made by the applicant,proponent or appellant, at the discretion of the chairperson and usually limited to five minutes. 8. Rebuttal and surrebuttal are allowed at the discretion of the chairperson and are limited to matters already raised by prior evidence and testimony. 9. The chairperson closes the public testimony phase of hearing. 10. Staff clarifies or modifies its recommendation, as appropriate. Administrative Rules and Procedures May 16,2006 Board of Supervisors Page 2 of 4 11. The Board determines whether to decide the matter, decide the matter subject to preparation of appropriate findings, or continue the matter, in which case paragraphs 12 and 13,below, shall not apply. 12. Any required environmental determination is made, including findings. 0 13. A motion for disposition is made; discussion by the board on the motion is held at the discretion of the chairperson; the chairperson restates the motion; and the Board takes action, including findings. 14. The chairperson announces the action of the Board. B. The chairperson may alter the foregoing order of procedure as circumstances require. C. At the discretion of the chairperson a supervisor may ask a question of any person at any time during a hearing. D. For issues which come before the Board which are not formal hearings, the chairperson will entertain public comments and comments from supervisors generally as noted above. The chairperson may truncate the procedures as circumstances require in order to maintain the agenda. RULE 2: DOCUMENTARY AND PHYSICAL EVIDENCE PRODUCED BY THE PUBLIC Letters, petitions and written,printed or photographic materials and other physical evidence produced by the public and intended to be used as evidence before the Board shall be filed with the Clerk of the Board prior to the time of the hearing, or presented to the Board at the hearing. The clerk shall cause each piece of such evidence received by the Board to be adequately identified in the minutes of the hearing and shall include such evidence in the clerk's file of the matter under consideration by the Board. Documents or things offered as evidence, but not admitted by the Board shall be returned by the clerk to the offering person, if known, unless not feasible to do so. This rule does not apply to technical and other documents kept as public records by any county department, officer or employee in the ordinary conduct of county business. Such documents may be included in the record by reference. RULE 3: TESTIMONY Any person desiring to address the Board shall, when recognized by the chairperson, step to the rostrum, give his or her name, and make a presentation in an audible voice. Administrative Rules and Procedures May 16,2006 Board of Supervisors Page 3 of 4 RULE 4: VOTING A. Voice Vote-the board shall act by voice vote on matters before it. The roll need not be called in voting unless requested by a supervisor. B. Abstentions. An abstention from voting on the merits of any matter shall be announced audibly. The supervisor shall state the reason for the abstention. Any supervisor who so abstains shall be recorded as voting"abstain". C. Tie Vote-Regardless of how a motion is stated, a tie vote on a motion affecting the merits of any matter shall be deemed to be a denial of approval of the matter. D. Motion to Reconsider-A final vote on any matter before the Board may be reconsidered not later than adjournment of the next regular meeting. A motion to reconsider a final vote may be made only by a supervisor who voted"yes" in the final vote proposed for reconsideration. If any person who addressed the Board on the matter is no longer present and the Board approves a motion to reconsider,the matter may be continued to another meeting. Notice of the reconsideration and the time and place thereof shall be given in the same manner as any notice for the matter was originally given. RULE 5: ABSENCE FROM HEARING A supervisor who was absent from all or part of a hearing may vote on the matter heard if the supervisor states he or she has reviewed all evidence received during the absence and has also listened to the clerk's recording or read a true and complete transcript of the proceedings that occurred during the absence. RULE 6: ACTION A. All actions of the Board on the merits of any matter before it shall be taken by ordinance, resolution or minute order. B. The chairperson may give procedural directions to accommodate conduct of the business before the Board. C. The Board Chair, in consultation with the County Administrator will approve or disapprove the placement of items on the agenda. The Chair will be guided by the following principles for subject matter appropriate for Board consideration: i. The subject matter shall be within the powers of authority or control of the Board of Supervisors in its various capacities. Examples of subjects not within the Administrative Rules and Procedures May 16,2006 Board of Supervisors Page 4 of 4 jurisdiction of the Board are foreign policy, national policy, state policy except as it directly impacts the operation of county government. ii. Legislative advocacy shall be limited to legislation that directly impacts the County's ability to effectively provide programs or services, and shall be specified in our County legislative program. Matters not approved for placement on the agenda may be added to a future agenda with a minimum of three affirmative votes of the Board. RULE 7: ADMINISTRATION OF RULES A. Suspension-except as limited by law,the Board may temporarily suspend the operation of all or part of these rules to facilitate the conduct of the Board's business, B. Supplements -The Board may establish procedures and forms to supplement these rules. C. Amendment The Board may from time to time amend these rules by resolution. D. Publication-The clerk of the Board shall make these rules and any amendments to them available for public inspection at the clerk's office and shall distribute copies upon request and payment of any copying charge. reby certify that this is a tru and correct copy of an actio ken and entered on a minutes of the Board of Supervisor n the date s wn ATTESTED: May 2006 John Cullen, erk of the d of Supervisors And Cc Administrator By uty cc: Board Members County Administrator County Counsel RESOLUTION 2006/281 Addendum to D.2 May 16, 2006 On this day, the Board of Supervisors considered options for a policy governing the types of items to be scheduled for action by the Board of Supervisors and determining action to be taken, as recommended by the Internal Operations Committee (ioc). Chair Gioia clarified that the administrative and procedural rules of the Board as outlined in the attachment, Resolution No. 2006/281, are broader than the issue before the Board today about what items can be listed on the agenda. Supervisor Uilkema further clarified that the Board already has all the rules in that Resolution in place except for the component before the Board for discussion, specifically Rule 6, i and ii, beginning on page 3 of Resolution 2006/281. She noted that the language on this matter in the Resolution refers to guidance rather than rule to preserve the rights of the Supervisors while providing an option for recourse. Julie Enea, ioc staffperson, noted the existing rules do not provide clear guidance on the types of items that can appear before the Board. She further noted that the proposed language in the Resolution is just intended to provide principles that the Board could use for guidance. Chair Gioia elaborated on the possible recourse to list a non-qualifying item on the agenda,which as proposed would be by a 3/5 vote of the Board. He said if it only takes one Supervisor to put an item on the agenda for such consideration, only to potentially bring it back by listing it on another agenda, it would seem like it could double the time allocated by the Board to such items. Ms. Enea noted that it would be possible for such items to be listed on the Consent Calendar to be acted on by the Board without discussion. Supervisor Uilkema said it was likely that such items would still be pulled from Consent for discussion, and then the Board would end up discussing them twice. Supervisor DeSaulnier;citing the two different recommendations from the ioc, said that there is a respectful difference of opinion. He proposed that"all politics is local," and suggested the Board stay with the current procedures for listing items on the agenda. He suggested the topic could be brought to the Board's annual retreat to increase awareness and sensitivity. Chair Gioia said it is very difficult to decide what is in the purview of the Board's discussions, and that to give the Chair the power to interpret the current standards leaves room for broad interpretations of what affects the way the County provides services. As such, he said he would have trouble envisioning that there would be a consistent application of the policy. He noted that Board Chairs have previously been flexible in this Addendum to D.2 May 16, 2006 Page 2 of 2 area. He reiterated Supervisor Uilkema's concern that to adopt the proposed Resolution would result in the Board's discussing certain items twice. Supervisor Uilkema commented that upholding the limitations outlined in 6.C.ii ("Legislative advocacy shall be limited to legislation that directly impacts the County's ability to effectively provide programs or services, and shall be specified in our County legislative program") would help to corral the issues brought before the Board to those issues specified in the County's legislative program, noting that if a Supervisor wanted to discuss an issue not in the program,the Board could choose to amend the legislative program so that the issue could be included for potential legislative advocacy. Supervisor Glover noted that this issue was referred to the roc out of frustration, as the Board was dealing with a lot of sensitive issues. He said that unfortunately, resolve has not been found as a result of the referral. He said he appreciates the attempt that was made, but would suggest the Board stay with the procedures already in place. Supervisor Piepho said there is a very important perception in the public that the Board is taking on issues over which it has no control. She also suggested that as items come forward, the Board receive input from the appropriate County staff as part of the Board's discussion. Chair Gioia said he does not feel like the prevailing opinion of the community is that the Board is meddling where it shouldn't be. He said individuals are entitled to their point of view even as the Board members are entitled to theirs. Supervisor Uilkema said she is hearing from the Board that the matter should be tabled until such time as the Board decides to resurrect it. Chair Gioia said he thinks the discussion has been healthy, and suggested that if the Board keeps the current practice in place, the larger issue is still for the Board to continue to think about the subject. Supervisor Glover said that Supervisor Piepho brought up a very good point, and suggested that experts in the County be brought in to discuss the impacts of Board actions. He said it will be important to remember to bring those people forward as part of the Board's discussions. By a unanimous vote with none absent, the Board of Supervisors took the following action: DETERMINED there shall be no change to the current policy governing the types of items scheduled for action by the Board of Supervisors on its meeting agenda.