HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-13-2012 b2 voting procedure smail policycounci lj aQsnda aepoRt Meeting Date
03/13/1 2
Item Numbe r
B2
CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISP O
FROM :
Michael Codron, Assistant City Manager
Prepared By :Elaina Cano, City Clerk
SUBJECT: AMEND COUNCIL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES SECTION 1 .3 .6 .6
VOTING PROCEDURES, AND ADDING SECTION 5 .5 – COUNCIL MAI L
HANDLING POLICY
RECOMMENDATION
1)Amend Council Policies and Procedures Section 1 .3 .6 .6 Voting Procedures to require a
roll call (voice) vote to be taken for each Council action .
2)Add Section 5 .5 – Council Mail Handling Policy to the Council's Policies and Procedures .
DISCUSSION
Voting Procedure s
Council Policies and Procedures Section 1 .3 .6 - Voting Procedures, outlines the Council's proces s
for voting on items . The current practice, "voting by yeas and nays," does not require eac h
individual Council member to verbally announce the individual's vote .
On February 21, 2012, Council agreed to amend the Council Policies and Procedures Sectio n
1,3 .6 .6 to require a vote by roll call for each action . The amended section will include the proces s
by which the Mayor will give clear instructions : "Those in favor of the adoption of the motion will ,
as their names are called, answer yes ; those opposed,will answer no . The City Clerk will call th e
roll ."The City Clerk will call for the roll call vote in the following manner : 1) Maker of th e
motion . 2) Member who has seconded the motion . 3) Additional Council members in alphabetica l
order by last name . 4) Mayor last .
This process has been supported by the National Associations of Parliamentarians and by th e
American Institute of Parliamentarians .
Mail Handlin g
In addition to amending Section 1 .3 .6, Council also directed staff to bring forward a Council Mai l
Handling Policy . Members of the City Council receive a large volume of mail and other material s
that are delivered primarily through the use of mailboxes located in the City Council's office an d
via e-mail . The City Manager's staff opens and disseminates mail to individual Council mailboxes ,
and frequently scans and e-mails these letters to Council,as opposed to duplicating hard-copies.
It is standard practice City-wide for mail sent to staff to be opened by the person in each departmen t
assigned this responsibility . This ensures appropriate handling of payments for services ,
information requests, and service requests consistent with the City's document retention and public
Amendment to Council policies and Procedures Page2
records management requirements . This practice extends to mail sent to the City Council . When
mail is received at City Hall for the Council as a group or as individuals the City Manager's staff
reviews the correspondence to determine the appropriate response and method of dissemination ,
and maintains a record of the mail item consistent with the City's public records retentio n
requirements .
Attachment 2 outlines the proposed policy,which reflects long-standing practicein the City as wel l
as additional best practices from other cities . Additional information incorporated into the polic y
was provided to the City Clerk via a statewide List Serve .
Mail Marked Private and/or Confidentia l
Council members and the public should be aware that merely marking mail addressed to o r
delivered to a Council member at City Hall "Confidential"or "Private" does not mean that suc h
correspondence is not a public record, which would be subject to disclosure in response to a record s
request . Rather, the Council members receiving such mail will be charged with maintaining suc h
correspondence in accordance with the Public Records Act and City records retention schedules ,
and would be obligated to produce copies of such correspondence as may be responsive to a Publi c
Records Act request . Moreover, if staff follow up is legally or practically required, the Counci l
member receiving the correspondence will be responsible for ensuring copies are provided to
appropriate staff .
As a result, staff is recommending that mail sent to Council Members at City Hall and marke d
"Confidential" or "Private" be treated the same as any other mail item received, as described in
Attachment 2 .
ALTERNATIVE S
1 Treat mail marked "Confidential"or "Private" differently than other mail received a t
City Hall .This alternative is not recommended because under the law such correspondenc e
is a public record despite the labeling . This practice would place a burden on City Counci l
Members that normally falls within the scope of staff's work . Incorrect handling of suc h
mail could put individual Councilmembers at risk of violating public record laws .
Allow individual Councilmembers to choose how their mail is handled .This alternativ e
is not recommended because administration of the mail handling policy by staff will be mos t
effective if it done in a consistent manner for all Council Members .
ATTACHMEN T
1.Council Policies and Procedures Section 1 .3 .6 Legislative Draft .
2.Council Mail Handling Policy .
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B2-2
ATTACHMENT 1
1 .3.6 VOTING PROCEDURE S
1 .3 .6 .1
When present, all Council Members shall vote, except in the case of a recusal du e
to a conflict of interest . Failure of a seated Council Member to vote will be
construed as an affirmative vote . (Charter § 505 )
1 .3 .6 .2 No ordinance, resolution or motion shall be passed or become effective withou t
receiving the affirmative vote of at least three members of the Council . (Charter
506)
1 .3 .6 .3 A conflict of interest shall be declared whenever appropriate and in complianc e
with State law and the Council Member will step down and not participate in th e
discussion or vote on the item .
1 .3 .6 .4 A vote may be changed by a Council Member only immediately after the vote ha s
been announced and prior to the introduction of the next agenda item .
1 .3 .6 .5
The City Clerk shall restate the motion prior to the vote or request the motio n
maker to restate the motion if required for Council or public clarification .
1 .3 .6 .6
A roll call (voice) vote may shall be take n
for each Council action and include the following practice : the Mayorwillgive
clear instructions : "Those in favor of the adoption of the motion will,asthei r
names are called, answer yes ; those opposed, will answer no . The City Clerk wil l
call the roll ." The City Clerkwillcall for the roll call vote in the followin g
manner : 1) Maker of the motion . 2) Member who has seconded the motion . 3 )
AdditionalCouncilmembers in alphabetical order by last name. 4) Mayor last.
1 .3 .6 .7
A general consent vote may be taken at the discretion of the Presiding Officer, i f
there are no negative votes or objections by Council Members .
1 .3 .6 .8 Upon the request of any member, the ayes and noes shall be taken and recorded on
any vote . (Charter § 505 )
1 .3 .6 .9
The ayes and noes shall be taken upon the passage of all ordinances and resolution s
and entered upon the journal of the proceedings of the Council .(Charter § 505 )
1 .3 .6 .10 Following the vote, the Mayor shall announce whether the questions have bee n
carried or defeated .
1 .3 .6.11 Should a tie vote occur, the Council is required to continue the item by majorit y
vote or make motions until an action receives three affirmative votes .
1 .3.6 .12 The Presiding Officer may publicly explain the effect of the vote for the audienc e
or may direct a member of the staff to do so .
ATTACHMENT 2
5.5 COUNCIL MAIL HANDLIN G
All incoming mail addressed to the Mayor and Council Members,will be opened by th e
City Manager's staff in the following manner :
5 .5 .1 . All mail sent to Council (either as a group or to each Council Member)will b e
opened, date stamped and the envelope will be stapled to the back of the letter .
Copies of each letter will be scanned and distributed to Council via an email a s
soon as possible . The original will be filed in the City Clerk's office consisten t
with the City's document retention policy .
5 .5 .1 .1 Any public correspondence received on behalf of Council that require s
staff to follow up with a response on an issue unrelated to a current
agenda item will be distributed to Council per Section 5 .5 .1 . Once th e
written response is prepared by the appropriate department (normall y
within two weeks) it will be sent to the person who initiate d
correspondence with the City Council, and all Council Members wil l
receive a copy of the response . Items that require staff follow-up includ e
but may not be limited to complaints, information requests, servic e
requests or other similar correspondence . Responses should be provide d
in the manner they were received (e .g. an e-mail response is appropriat e
for e-mail received, and a written response is appropriate for letter s
received in the mail).
5 .5 .1 .2 Any public correspondence received on behalf of Council that is relate d
to a current agenda item will be handled via the Agenda Correspondenc e
procedure as stated in Section 1 .3 .7.
B2-4