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Date: To: From: Subject: AGENDA BILL Agenda Item No. 7(8) November 21, 2011 El Cerrito City Council Scott Hanin, City Manager (requested by Councilmember Benassini) Cheryl Morse, City Clerk Discussion of Council Meeting Day Change ACTION REQUESTED At the request of Councilmember Benassini, discuss changing the City Council meeting day from the first and third Monday of each month to the first and third Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Provide direction to staff on whether to return to the City Council in December with an ordinance amendment. BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS In recent years, former and current City Councilmember' s have periodically voiced a desire to change the day the City Council meets from Monday to Tuesday. The City Council has been meeting on the first and third Monday since 1935 and at 7:30 p.m. since January 2000. The Municipal Code directs that meeting dates that coincide with legal holidays be automatically rescheduled to Tuesday. State law requires the City to set the day, time and place of the meeting and codify it in its municipal code or establish meeting dates by resolution. A review of the Code reveals that it is in need of updating to reflect the current time and meeting place of the City Council. Prior to bringing an ordinance before the City Council, the Council is being asked if it is interested in changing the day the City Council meets to Tuesday. Attachment 1 provides a chart which shows meeting days and times of neighboring cities and cities throughout Contra Costa County for your reference. A review of existing commission meeting days and times does not appear to conflict with changing the meeting day for the City Council to Tuesday. The majority of meetings relating to regional bodies· are scheduled on Thursday or Friday. Since the Richmond City Council meets the first and third Tuesday of each month, changing the El Cerrito City Council's meeting date from Monday to Tuesday may impact some KCRT Cable TV Channel 28 viewers who are accustomed to watching live broadcasts of the Richmond City Council on Tuesday evenings. Both cities share the same Comcast channel for live broadcast of Council meetings. However, after checking with Comcast and KCRT-28 we expect that only those residents of Richmond who live on the border of El Cerrito will be affected. · Broadcast of El Cerrito City Council meetings on the Tuesdays following legal holidays have not met with protest or complaint in the past. Rebroadcasts of both Richmond and El Cerrito City Council ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 7(8) meetings would continue without interruption. Additionally, Richmond, like El Cerrito, offers live and 24/7 archived webcasts of each City Council meeting on its respective website. Staff has also checked with Pinole-TV regarding a change in meeting day and Pinole-TV is agreeable to the change. Posting of the agenda would still be completed by Thursday afternoon and would thus promote additional transparency in government by providing an extra day for the public and the City Council to review staff reports and submit any questions or comments to the City Manager or city staff. If the City Council desires to change the meeting day from Monday to Tuesday staff will return to Council on December 19, 2011 with first reading of an ordinance amending the municipal code, provide the necessary notifications and advertise the change widely on the City's website and through the media. Second reading of the ordinance would occur on January 17, 2012. The ordinance would then go into effect February 15, 2011. The City Council would then initiate Tuesday night meetings on February 21, a date that is already rescheduled to Tuesday by default due to the National Presidents Holiday. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS There is no direct financial impact. Attachments: 1. Survey of meeting days for surrounding cities 2. Proposed changes to El Cerrito Municipal Code Sections 2.04.010 and 2.04.030. Page 2 ---PAGE BREAK--- Surrounding City Council Meeting Times City Meeting Time Typical Ending Time Albany 7:30pm 9:30-10pm Antioch 7pm 8:30-10pm Berkeley 7pm 10:30-11 :30J>m Brentwood 7pm 8-8:30pm Clayton 7pm 7:45-9pm Concord 6:30pm 9:20pm Danville 7:30pm 8:30-9pm Hercules 7pm 9:30-10pm Lafayette 7pm 10pm Martinez 7pm 9:30-10pm Moraga 7pm 9-10pm Oakley 6:30pm 9-10pm Orinda 7pm 8:30-9:20pm Pinole 6pm 10pm-12am Pittsburg 7pm 8-9pm Pleasant Hill 7:30pm 9-10pm Richmond 6:30pm 11pm-12am San Pablo 7pm 8:30-9pm San Ramon 7pm 9:30-10pm Walnut Creek 7pm 9:20-10pm Legislative Body Meetings Meeting Type Meeting Time Meeting Day (ABAG), General Assembly Thursday (Delegate) Yearly in April Afternoon Contra Costa Mayors' 1st Thursday of Conference 6:30pm each Month Meets in the evening. Also League of attends Annual California Cities League. East Bay Division Conference in (Delegate- September) West County Mayors' & Supervisors' 4th Thursday of Association 8:00am each Month West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Last Friday of Committee 8:00am each Month Meeting Day 1st & 3rd Monday 2nd & 4th Tuesday 2-3 Tuesdays/Month 2nd & 4th Tuesday 1st & 3rd Tuesday 1st, 2nd & 4th Tuesday 1st & 3rd Tuesda_y_ 2nd & 4th Tuesday 2nd & 4th Monday 1st & 3rd Wednesday 2nd & 4th Wednesday 2nd & 4th Tuesday 1st & 3rd Tuesday 1st & 3rd Tuesday 1st & 3rd Monday 1st & 3rd Monday 1st & 3rd Tuesday 1st & 3rd Monday 2nd & 4th Tuesday 1st & 3rd Tuesday Appointee: Cheng Cheng Abelson Cheng-_ - Abelson Agenda Item No. 7(8) Attachment 1 ---PAGE BREAK--- West Contra Costa Unified School District Board of 1st & 3rd Education Wednesday per Meetings 6:30pm Month. West County Integrated Waste Management One Thurs. Authority evening per (Delegate) 7:00pm Month Jones !West Gounty Unified School District Citizen's Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) Generally 4th (Alternate) 6:00pm Wed. No Appointee El Cerrito Board/Commission Liaison Assignments Meeting Type Meeting Time Meeting Day Liaison: Arts & Culture Commission 7:00PM Meets 3rd Wed Cheng Crime Prevention Committee 7:00PM Meets 2nd Wed Lyman Committee on Aging 3:00PM Meets 3rd Wed Abelson Design Review Board 7:30PM Meets 1st Wed Lyman Economic Development Board 6:30PM Meets Quarterly 1 Benassini Environmental Quality Committee 7:00PM Meets 2nd Tues Abelson Financial Advisory Board 7:00PM Meets 2nd Tues Benassini Human Relations Commission 7:00PM Meets 1st Wed Cheng Park and Recreation Commission 7:00PM Meets 4th Wed Lyman IPianmng Commission 7:30PM Meets 3rd Wed Jones ---PAGE BREAK--- ORDINANCE NO. 2011-:XX Agenda Item No. 7(B) Attachment 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF EL CERRITO AMENDING SECTIONS 2.04.010 ("MEETING - REGULAR") AND 2.04.030 ("MEETING - PLACE") OF THE EL CERRITO MUNICIPAL CODE TO CHANGE AND FIX THE DAY, TIME AND PLACE OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EL CERRITO DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: DIVISION I. SECTION 2.04.010 of the El Cerrito Municipal Code is hereby amended with the following additions and deletions to read as follows (additions in underline, deletions in strikethrough): Section 2.04.010 Meeting- Regular The council shall hold regular meetings on the first and third ~4ondays Tuesdays of each month at eight 7:30p.m. It may adjourn any regular or special meeting to a date certain, which shall be specified in the order of adjournment, and such an adjourned meeting may likewise be adjourned. Any adjourned regular meeting shall be a regular meeting for all purposes. In the event that any order adjourning a meeting fails to state the hour at which the adjourned meeting is to be held, such adjourned meeting will be held at eight 7:30p.m. Section 2.04.030 Meeting - Place All regular meetings shall be held at the El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 ~4oeser Lane City Hall, 10890 San Pablo A venue. DIVISION II. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the ordinance and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. DIVISION III. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall take effect thirty days after passage and be posted in accordance with Section 3.6933 of the Government Code of the State of California with the names of those ·city Councilmembers voting for and against it. The foregoing ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City ofEl Cerrito, held on XX, 2012. Adopted and ordered published at a meeting of the City Council for the City of El Cerrito held on the day of , 2012 by the following vote: APPROVED: 1 ---PAGE BREAK--- ATTEST: Cheryl Morse, City Clerk Mayor ORDINANCE CERTIFICATION Agenda Item No. 7(B) Attachment 2 I, Cheryl Morse, City Clerk of the City of El Cerrito, do hereby certify that this Ordinance is true and correct original Ordinance No. 2011-__ of the City ofEl Cerrito; that said Ordinance was duly enacted and adopted by the City Council of the City of El Cerrito at a meeting of the City Council held on the day of XX, 20 12; and that said Ordinance has been published and/posted in the manner required by law. WITNESS my hand and the Official Seal of the City ofEl Cerrito, California, this day of , 2012. Cheryl Morse, City Clerk 2