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AGENDA BILL Agenda Item No. 7(C) Date: October 15, 2013 To: El Cerrito City Council From: Gregory B. Lyman, Mayor Mark Friedman, Councilmember Subject: Boards, Commissions and Committees Study Session ACTION REQUESTED Discuss the current status of City of El Cerrito Boards, Commissions and Committees and provide direction to the subcommittee and/or staff regarding recommended changes and revisions. BACKGROUND In January 2010, the City Council formed a subcommittee to perform “periodic reviews of commission appointments, terms and procedures” (January 19, 2010 Minutes, Item 7B). The subcommittee was initially Councilmembers Ann Cheng and Greg Lyman. In December 2012, Councilmember Mark Friedman replaced Ann Cheng on the subcommittee. The subcommittee is continuing work started in 2003 when the City Council established a subcommittee of Councilmembers Sandi Potter and Janet Abelson to review the status of Boards, Commissions and Committees (“Advisory Bodies”). That subcommittee’s work was discussed at length at both the February 7, 2005 and March 21, 2005 City Council meetings. Most of the subcommittee recommendations were approved during the March 21, 2005 meeting. Many of these recommendations were implemented, along with additional staff recommendations made in November 19, 2007 with the following actions: Resolutions 2005-14 (dated 3/19/05) and 2007-11 (dated 11/19/07) and Ordinances 2007-02, 2007-11, 2007-12 and 2007-13. In subsequent years, the Council has modified the functions of some Advisory Bodies, including the Street Oversight Committee (Ordinance 2008-3), the Crime Prevention Committee (Resolution 2009-35) and the Financial Advisory Board (Ordinances 2010-01 and 2012-03). The current subcommittee is focused on improving the City Council Liaison role, the selection process and the distribution of the terms for the Advisory Bodies. In performing its work, the subcommittee found some recommendations from 2005 that should be reconsidered and identified a few more recommendations that would develop appropriate communications. DISCUSSION The subcommittee reviewed the history, scope of work, legal framework, and appointment process for the City’s Advisory Bodies. The subcommittee met with City staff to receive background and technical assistance to complete this review. The documents reviewed are listed in Table 1, of which a few are attached (Attachment 1 through Attachment If the Council desires, all of the reference materials can be made available for review. ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 7(C) Page 2 The subcommittee built on the extensive efforts completed by the City Council between 2003 and 2007. This subcommittee met with staff several times between 2010 and 2013. The subcommittee established the following specific goals in 2010: A. Refine and develop efficient and appropriate communication between the City Council, Staff and Advisory Bodies B. Develop future community leaders and assess opportunities for the growth of these leaders C. Standardize the roles of Boards, Commissions and Committees D. Streamline the terms and appointments of board, commission and committee members E. Resolve some outstanding miscellaneous issues The following discussion frames the documents reviewed and the issues identified to address the goals developed. The recommendations proposed are one way to achieve the goals. ANALYSIS After discussing the background information and the subcommittee goals, the subcommittee developed several ideas and recommendations for the City Council to discuss. The following discussion outlines the issues and information taken into consideration to form the recommendation changes. The subcommittee hopes the Council will review the analysis, discuss the recommendation and provide direction to the subcommittee and staff regarding appropriate next steps to complete the Council’s desired changes. Efficient and Appropriate Communications In the December 2010 issue of Western City Magazine, an article entitled “The Ethical Hazards of City Council Members Attending Other Board Meetings” (Attachment 3) outlined several potential risks for Councilmembers that attend meetings of Council-appointed advisory bodies. The article suggests that Councilmembers consider not attending such meetings in order to avoid any ethical risks or bias, particularly concerning those that serve as quasi-judicial bodies. The article is provided as an attachment. The City Attorney agrees that the City Council should consider avoiding meetings of Advisory Bodies. Implementation of this recommendation would either eliminate or significantly reduce the role of the City Council Liaison as it currently exists. Previous evaluations of Advisory Bodies evaluated adjacent and comparably sized cities. Attachment 6 includes a list of El Cerrito Advisory Bodies, advisory bodies in similar sized Cities and the role of Council Liaison in other local cities. The City of Walnut Creek evaluated this issue and elected to eliminate all of their Council Liaisons in July 2013 (Meeting Minutes provided as Attachment As identified in the Western City article, a Councilmember that serves as a regular, assigned Liaison may be regarded as a de facto member of the Advisory Body. This creates difficulties for both the Council Liaison and the members, as the Liaison may feel a responsibility to participate in the meetings. It also creates expectations among the members of the Advisory Bodies that the Council Liaison will contribute or even provide direction, thus inadvertently allowing the Councilmember to unduly influence the decision making process, which should be ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 7(C) Page 3 independent of Council participation. Since no decision of the City Council can be made by any one Councilmember, this could create confusion to the Advisory Body as to the direction of the City Council. The evolution of the Council Liaison role over time has served to improve and enhance communication between the City Council and the Advisory Bodies. However, the subcommittee is concerned that the Liaison role could conflict with the independence of the City’s Advisory Bodies to make unbiased recommendations to the City Council. The subcommittee is also seeks to ensure that Councilmembers have the ability to focus on building relationships with agencies throughout the region, including commitments to appointments to regional advisory bodies, as discussed in the Strategic Planning process. The City Council could choose to eliminate the City Council Liaison role entirely, as Walnut Creek did. Agendas and minutes for the City Council and all Advisory Bodies are available and regularly posted on the City’s website and the minutes could be exchanged (as will be discussed in a subsequent recommendation). This would put the burden on Staff Liaisons to the Advisory Bodies to provide updates to and from the City Council to facilitate communication. Alternatively, other changes could be made that would preserve the role of Council Liaison but reduce the potential ethical hazards as discussed in the article. These alternatives could include: A. Eliminate specific assignments: The Council Liaison role would periodically rotate among all Councilmembers (excluding the Mayor) and therefore each Councilmember would not have specific assignments. This will avoid the Liaison being regarded as a regular member of any one Advisory Body, and allow Councilmembers to experience all of the Advisory Bodies. B. Attend meetings quarterly: Attending less meetings also serves to avoid the Council Liaison being regarded as a regular member of the advisory body, while preserving the ability of the Councilmember to communicate regularly between the body and the Council. C. Eliminate specific assignments and attend meeting quarterly: The Council could also consider having one Councilmember attend all of the Advisory Body meetings once per quarter. This would further reduce any one Liaison’s commitment to one meeting per Advisory Body per year, allow each Councilmembers to communicate with each advisory body, and provide a uniform message from the Council each quarter. D. Liaisons leave meetings following their report: This would serve to eliminate the perception that Councilmembers will directly or indirectly influence the decision making process of the advisory body while further preserving the two-way communication between the Council and the advisory body. E. Remove City Council Liaisons from Committees: While Boards and Commissions are chartered by the El Cerrito Municipal Code, Committees are working groups that are established by City Council resolution. As such, while they are still regarded as official Advisory Bodies, they have a different process for appointment, larger capacity for volunteers, and have missions and duties that serve as extensions of the work of City staff. The Committees are more self-directed and assisted in their work by the staff than ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 7(C) Page 4 other Advisory Bodies, so there is less of a need for a Liaison. This would reduce the number of Liaison commitments required of the City Council. Development of Future Leaders Candidates for City Council typically serve on one or more Advisory Bodies before running for City Council. Advisory Bodies are an excellent way for future leaders to learn the workings of the City and develop leadership skills. The subcommittee wanted to increase leadership development without exposing the current Councilmembers to the ethical hazards previously identified. The following suggestions could accomplish this. A. Annual work plan: The Chair of an Advisory Body would work with the Staff Liaison to develop an annual work plan of items to be accomplished by the Advisory Body during the term of the Chair. This would give the Chair ownership of the Advisory Body’s accomplishments. B. Annual reports: To enhance communication between the City Council and the Advisory Bodies, Chairs could annually report to the Council and the public at a regular City Council meeting. This report would be brief in nature, but would allow the ability for the entire Council to hear a report on activities of the Advisory Bodies and learn the goals and objectives for the coming year. The work plan and report could follow the City’s fiscal year and be presented during May and June Council deliberations on the City’s budget. C. Mayor’s quarterly breakfast: The Mayor would meet with all of the Advisory Body Chairs quarterly to discuss issues the various Chairs are encountering. This is modeled after Walnut Creek, which just eliminated all City Council Liaisons. Standardization of Advisory Bodies In 2007, ECMC 2.04.220.A was revised to reflect that along with Boards and Commissions, Committees “are appointed by the council to advise and perform any duties determined by the council in one of more aspects of city government.” It further states that “Committees sponsored by the city are intended to be working groups, do not fill quasi-judicial roles, and are established by council resolution.” ECMC 2.04.220.C states that “Committees shall be governed by the same criteria as boards and commissions unless otherwise prescribed by council resolution.” To better reflect that committees have greater flexibility and provide much more than an advisory role, the subcommittee recommends that ECMC section 2.04.220.C should be expanded to identify how the committee application process differs from boards and commissions. The current ECMC 2.04.220 is attached (Attachment The following are additional subcommittee recommendations. A. Eliminate City Council Liaison role for committees: As previously discussed, the subcommittee feels that the committees will operate best if they are guided by the Staff Liaisons as extensions of City staff. The committees are greater than merely an advisory role and assist staff with implementation of strategies identified in the Strategic Plan. ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 7(C) Page 5 Staff receives their direction from the Strategic Plan and the annual budget process. A Council Liaison to committees is not needed. We recommend the Council Liaison role be eliminated for all committees. B. Change Economic Development Board to a Committee: With the demise of the Redevelopment Agency and the focus on Economic Development that arose through the City Council’s Strategic Plan process, the current role, duties and configuration of the Economic Development Board (EDB) could be better focused as a working group. The EDB should be more than an Advisory Body and should have the flexibility to assist staff in implementing strategies to achieve the economic goals identified in the Strategic Plan. To accomplish this, the subcommittee recommends EDB be changed to a committee, the Economic Development Committee. This would allow for more members to invigorate the committee. The subcommittee recommends elimination of ECMC section 2.04.290 to implement this change. Vacancies and Terms The following items for City Council consideration are meant to enhance the appointment process for both Councilmembers and applicants to the City’s Advisory Bodies. The goal is to ease the administrative work necessary for appointments and help provide a streamlined interview process for Councilmembers to conduct. A. Consider a City Council subcommittee to review applications and choose interview candidates: Currently, the City Council conducts interviews of every applicant that seeks a position. A subcommittee of the Council could conduct a screening process of the applications submitted and then schedule interviews with selected candidates. Alternatively, the entire City Council could review applications and select candidates to continue in the interview process. B. Change terms from January 1 to March 1: The Maddy Act requires that the City announces upcoming vacancies for all Boards, Commissions and Committees by December 31 of each year. Changing the term date would streamline the ability to advertise, collect applications, and conduct interviews that is more in line with the Maddy Act by allowing more time for the appointment process. C. Redistribute the term termination dates: ECMC 2.04.220.B.3 requires that “membership be divided into four, approximately equal groups, appointed in consecutive years.” With many of the changes to the Advisory Bodies made over time, many of them do not have terms expiring evenly over a four-year cycle. The subcommittee recommends that staff be directed to continue to adjust the termination dates so that the terms and resulting vacancies are better temporally distributed. Other Considerations A. Expand AB 1234 to certain advisory bodies: Currently, no members of any City Advisory Bodies are required to fulfill ethics training as required by AB 1234. This training would be beneficial, particularly for those bodies that are quasi-judicial in nature. It is recommended that members of advisory bodies that are required to complete a Form 700 also be required to regularly comply with AB 1234 training ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 7(C) Page 6 requirements. With the ease of training available, it would not be a great burden on these members. This would include members of the Planning Commission, Design Review Board, Arts and Culture Commission, and Financial Advisory Board. B. Chair serves for no more than two consecutive years: The City Council could consider requiring that no one member serves as chair for more than two years. This would allow for some continuity while assuring that the position is more readily available for members to serve. C. Consider removing the need for a minimum number of committee members for a quorum: Explore revising ECMC section 2.04.220.C to allow committees to continue meeting even when their membership drops below 5. D. Better define the potential for conflicts of interest between Advisory Bodies: Some of the potential conflicts, like serving on the Planning Commission and Design Review Board simultaneously, are very clear. However, other potential conflicts on appointees serving on two Advisory Bodies simultaneously are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Council can consider giving staff direction to better identify the possibility of serving on more than one Advisory Body on the application and providing an explanation of how there may be a conflict that has to be evaluated if the appointee desires to serve on more than on Advisory Body. Also direct staff to address the potential conflict of two appointed members from the same address serving on conflicting Advisory Bodies. E. More clearly identify the committee appointment process on the application: The previous application for Boards, Commissions and Committees was approved by the City Council, meaning that any further changes to the application must also be approved by the City Council. The subcommittee feels that if the City Council can provide clear direction to staff to improve the application to direct applicants to attend the committee meetings and be committee appointed, then staff can make these revisions—and any further changes to the application—administratively. Additionally, the subcommittee reviewed the previous recommendations of the original subcommittee and the detailed discussion documented in the minutes from 2005, and identified the following recommendations that should be reconsidered: A. The Council discussed and concurred that the Economic Development Board (EDB) should not have two positions required as El Cerrito business owners (March 21, 2005 Meeting Minutes for Item 6D, page 10). The discussion recommended that only one of the EDB should be an El Cerrito business owner. ECMC 2.04.290.B requires two business owners. If EDB is made into a committee, ECMC section 2.04.290 will be eliminated and the structure of the committee will be described in a Council Resolution. B. Similarly, the following statement from page 3 of the March 21, 2005 recommendations memo is illustrative and should be incorporated into ECMC section 2.04.220: “City boards, commissions and committees are intended to provide a valuable service to the community by providing in-depth advice to the City Council on a variety of topics and assume some of the workload from Council to research issues or gather public input.” The subcommittee recommends changing ECMC section 2.04.220 incorporate this language. ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 7(C) Page 7 C. One of the recommendations from March 21, 2005 was the exchange of Council and Advisory Body minutes. The subcommittee feels this would improve the exchange of information and recommends the October 21, 1991 policy regarding Advisory Bodies be changed to incorporate this policy. D. The recommendation to update the October 21, 1991 policy regarding Advisory Bodies does not appear to have been implemented. This subcommittee proposes that the City Council update the policy. E. The 2005 subcommittee, as previously discussed, proposed changes to the application form and the questions on the form. This subcommittee recommends providing direction to staff to revise the application form administratively, without requiring further Council approval. ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS The Strategic Plan adopted by the City Council in April 2013 identified “Transparency and Open Communication” as a core value. The goal of “Delivering Exemplary Government Services” included a strategy of “developing and strengthening relationships with public and private partners, residents, businesses, schools, and community groups.” LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS Any direction provided by the City Council that will require changes to the El Cerrito Municipal Code or any other legislative action will be brought back at a later meeting by staff and the City Attorney. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1 – El Cerrito City Council October 21, 1991 Policy titled “Council and Staff Relations with City Commission, Boards, Committees and Task Forces” (Attachment 4 to Agenda Bill for Item 6D, March 21, 2005) Attachment 2 – El Cerrito City Council March 21, 2005 Code of Conduct for Appointed Officials Attachment 3 – Western City December 2010 article “The Ethical Hazards of City Council Members Attending other Board Meetings” Attachment 4 – City of Walnut Creek July 26, 2013 Agenda Bill for Item 5 Attachment 5 – City of Walnut Creek July 26, 2013 Meeting Minutes for Item 5 Attachment 6 – List of Appointed Bodies in Cities of Similar Size Attachment 7 – El Cerrito Municipal Code section 2.04.220 ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 7(C) Page 8 Table 1 Documents Reviewed by Subcommittee 1. El Cerrito City Council October 21, 1991 Policy titled “Council and Staff Relations with City Commission, Boards, Committees and Task Forces” (Attachment 4 to Agenda Bill for Item 6D, March 21, 2005), (Attachment 1) 2. El Cerrito City Council July 21, 2003 Agenda Bill for Item 2B 3. El Cerrito City Council July 21, 2003 Meeting Minutes for Item 2B 4. El Cerrito City Council February 7, 2005 Agenda Bill for Item 6A 5. El Cerrito City Council February 7, 2005 Meeting Minutes for Item 6A 6. El Cerrito City Council March 21, 2005 Agenda Bill for Item 6D 7. El Cerrito City Council March 21, 2005 Meeting Minutes for Item 6D 8. El Cerrito City Council March 21, 2005 Resolution 2005-14 9. El Cerrito City Council March 21, 2005 Code of Conduct for Appointed Officials, (Attachment 2) 10. El Cerrito City Council February 20, 2007 Agenda Bill for Item 7B 11. El Cerrito City Council February 20, 2007 Meeting Minutes for Agenda Item 7B 12. El Cerrito City Council Ordinance 2007-02 13. El Cerrito City Council November 5, 2007 Agenda Bill for Item 7B regarding Ordinance 2008-3 14. El Cerrito City Council November 5, 2007 Meeting Minutes for Item 7B regarding Ordinance 2008-3 15. El Cerrito City Council November 19, 2007 Agenda Bill for Item 6B 16. El Cerrito City Council November 19, 2007 Meeting Minutes for Item 6B 17. El Cerrito City Council Ordinance 2007-11 18. El Cerrito City Council Ordinance 2007-12 19. El Cerrito City Council Ordinance 2007-13 20. El Cerrito City Council November 19, 2007 Resolution 2007-11 21. City of El Cerrito January 19, 2010 Agenda 22. City of El Cerrito January 19, 2010 Meeting Minutes for Item 7B 23. Western City December 2012 article “The Ethical Hazards of City Council Members Attending other Board Meetings”, (Attachment 3) 24. City of Walnut Creek July 26, 2013 Agenda Bill for Item 5, (Attachment 4) 25. City of Walnut Creek July 26, 2013 Meeting Minutes for Item 5, (Attachment 5) 26. El Cerrito Municipal Code section 2.04.220 through Municipal Code section 2.04.320 ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- El Cerrito Boards, Commissions and Committees B/C/C No. of Members How Appointed Meetings Primary Goals Committee On Aging Up to 15 Cmte. recommendation, Council Approval Once (3rd Wednesday) Affordable housing; Quality programs; Improved transportation; Increased support services Art & Culture Commission 7 Standard application process Once (4th Monday) Resources for arts; Promote arts; Funding and grant opportunities; Recommendation for public art Citizens Street Oversight Committee 5 Standard application process 3x per year Oversight of Pothole Repair and Local Street Improvement and Maintenance Transactions and Use Tax Civil Service Commission 5 Standard application process As needed Hear appeals; Witness testimony; Advice/counsel to personnel officer; Hearings on personnel administration Crime Prevention Committee Up to 15 Cmte. recommendation, Council approval Once (2nd Wednesday) Develop/promote crime prevention; Promote cooperation/awareness; Recommendations for program Design Review Board 5 Standard application process (at least 3 members of design profession) Once (1st Wednesday) Design review function; Public hearings for administrative design review; Board of appeals for sign ordinance Economic Development Board 7 Standard application process (residents and/or business owner, one reserved for Chamber president) Quarterly Recommendation for Economic Development Plan; Encourage community involvement; Resource of business/resident members Environmental Quality Committee Up to 15 Cmte recommendation, Council approval Once (2nd Tuesday) Act as ambassadors for citywide environmental quality efforts. Develop programs to reduce citywide environ- mental impacts. Educate and involve residents in City environmental programs and activities. Financial Advisory Board 5 Standard application process Once (2nd Tuesday) Review budget, financial plan, investment policies, audit; Recommendations for financial policies Human Relations Commission. 7 Standard application process Once (1st Wednesday) Promote tolerance, understanding; Initiate/encourage education, activities; Review EEO, discrimination, incidents Park & Recreation. Commission 7 Standard application process Once (4th Wednesday) Recommendation on budget/fees; Assist/promote programming; Recommendation on facilities Planning Commission 7 Standard application process Once (3rd Wednesday) Public hearings for planning permits; Appeals of zoning decisions; Public hearings for zoning amendments Tree Committee Up to 15 Cmte. recommendation, Council approval Once (2nd Monday) Advise on growth, maintenance, location; Recommend programs/proper care Agenda Item No. 7(C) Attachment 6 ---PAGE BREAK--- Listing of Boards, Commissions, and Committees--Contra Costa & Alameda Counties, Cities 10,000-50,000 Albany Hercules Newark Pleasant Hill Arts Committee Citizens Finance Advisory Committee Community Development Committee Architectural Review Commission Charter Review Committee Community & Library Services Commission Disaster Council Civic Action Commission Civil Service Board Measure O Citizens Oversight Committee Planning Commission Commission on Aging Community Media Access Committee Planning Commission Senior Citizen's Committee Diablo Vista Water System Advisory Committee Disaster Policy Advisory Group Education Commission Library Board Lafayette Oakley Housing Rehabilitation Loan Committee Parks & Recreation Commission Banner Advisory Committee Housing Element Ad Hoc Committee Planning Commission Planning & Zoning Commission Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee Youth Advisory Council Traffic Safety Committee Social & Economic Justice Committee Capital Projects Assessments Committee Sustainability Committee Circulation Commission Traffic & Safety Commission Creeks Committee Orinda San Pablo Waterfront Committee Crime Prevention Commission Art in Public Places Committee Community Foundation Code Enforcement Appeal Board Citizens Infrastructure Oversight Cmte Planning Commission Brentwood Design Review Commission Finance Advisory Committee Safety Commission Arts Commission Dwtn. St. Imp. Mstr. Plan Comm. Historic Landmarks Committee Sign Ordinance Advisory Committee Advisory Neighborhood Committee Emergency Preparedness Commission Library Facility Steering Committee Youth Commisison Parks & Recreation Commission Parks, Trails, & Recreation Commission Parks & Recreation Commission Planning Commission Planning Commission Planning Commission Youth Commission Public Art Committee Public Works Aesthetic Review Committee San Ramon Senior Services Commission Traffic Safety Advisory Committee Architectural Review Board Clayton Youth Services Commission Arts Advisory Committee Community Services Commission Piedmont Building Inspection Board of Appeals Keller Ranch Committee Moraga Budget Advisory & Financial Planning Cmte Economic Development Advisory Committee Planning Commission ADA Advisory Committee CIP Review Committee Finance Committee Park Design Committee Audit & Finance Committee Civil Service Commission Housing Advisory Committee Trails & Landscape Committee Design Review Board KCOM (TV) Advisory Committee Library Advisory Committee Local Sales Tax Oversight Committee Park Commission Parks & Community Services Commission Danville Parks & Recreation Commission Planning Commission Planning Commission Arts Commission Planning Commission Police & Fire Pension Board Senior Citizen Advisory Committee Parks & Leisure Services Commission Traffic Safety Advisory Committee Public Safety Committee Teen Council Heritage Resource Commission Youth Involvement Committee Recreation Commission Transportation Advisory Committee Historic Design Review Committee Transportation Demand Mgmt. Adv. Cmte. Planning Commission Martinez Pinole Design Review Board Cemetery Commission Community Services Commission Civil Service Commission Economic Dev & Housing Advisory Committee Dublin Design Review Committee Planning Commission Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission Parks, Recreation, Marina & Cultural Cmsn Traffic & Pedestrian Safety Committee Human Services Commission Planning Commission Youth Commission Parks & Community Services Commission Veterans Commission Planning Commission Youth Commission Senior Center Advisory Committee Youth Advisory Committee ---PAGE BREAK--- COUNCIL LIAISON APPOINTMENTS: OTHER CITIES CITY COUNCIL LIAISON COMMENTS ALBANY No A member of each board, committee and commission reports to the Council with an annual work plan. ANTIOCH No BERKELEY No BRENTWOOD Yes However, Councilmembers may not attend commission meetings regularly. CONCORD No CLAYTON Yes Liaison to every commission except the Planning Commission. One of the commissioners reports at every meeting. DANVILLE Yes Councilmembers provide a report on Commission activities at Town Council meetings. Liaisons are appointed for one year. Additionally, the Chair of each commission reports to the Town Council at a Council meeting. Clerk prepares a rotating schedule for the year in which each liaison and Chair will report twice during that time frame. DUBLIN No EL CERRITO Yes Council Liaisons attend each commission and committee meeting and report commission and committee work projects and activities at each regular Council meeting. HERCULES No LAFAYETTE Yes Appoints primary and secondary Council Liaisons for each commission, committee and task force each December. Mayor also schedules a joint meeting with each body so the volunteers have an opportunity to speak to the entire Council at a regularly scheduled meeting and receive feedback. MARTINEZ No MORAGA No Except for two boards on which Councilmembers also sit with volunteers – Audit Finance Committee and a Traffic Safety Committee. NEWARK Yes Not on the Planning Commission. Some committees have a unique structure made up Councilmembers and Volunteers. OAKLEY No ORINDA Yes Council Liaisons for each commission that might only attend one meeting per year and serve as the Council point person if needed. PIEDMONT Yes Council Liaisons are appointed to each of the four Commission. A Liaison and an alternate are appointed to each of the five committees. Acts very similar to El Cerrito’s practice. PINOLE No Eliminated Council Liaisons to Commissions several years ago upon the advice of their attorney. However, one Councilmember currently attends the Youth Commission and this appointment is part of an annual review of the overall Council assignment list. ---PAGE BREAK--- PITTSBURG No PLEASANT HILL Yes Councilmembers attend but generally do not report out. SAN PABLO No SAN RAMON Yes However, Councilmembers may not attend commission meetings regularly. WALNUT CREEK No Role eliminated July 2013 and replaced with a Council coaching/mentoring process. Conducts a quarterly Mayor/Chair breakfast meeting. In the future notes from the meeting may be shared with each Commission and the full Council. ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 7(C) Attachment 7 EL CERRITO MUNICIPAL CODE 2.04.220 Boards, Commissions and Committees. A. Boards, commissions and committees are appointed by the council to advise and to perform any duties determined by the council in one or more aspects of city government. Except as otherwise provided in state law, boards and commissions are directly responsible to the council and fill quasi-judicial roles. Commissions are made up of lay citizens, while boards are residents with special expertise. Committees sponsored by the city are intended to be working groups, do not fill quasi-judicial roles, and are established by council resolution. Appointment to boards and commissions shall be made only after: 1. Advertisement of the open position in a local paper; 2. Public interviews of applicants for the positions; 3. Appointment by a majority of the council. B. Unless determined elsewhere in law, the boards and commissions shall be governed by or meet the following criteria: 1. Membership. The boards and commissions shall consist of seven members each, who shall be residents of the city, unless otherwise provided in this chapter. A "member" shall be defined as a voting member of any board, commission or committee established by the city council, notwithstanding the manner in which such voting member is appointed. 2. Appointments. The members shall be appointed by majority vote of the council. Members shall not be reappointed to the same board or commission for more than two consecutive full terms. 3. Term. Terms are four years, commencing on January 1st unless a member is removed from office pursuant to the provisions of subsection B4 of this section. The membership shall be divided into four, approximately equal groups, appointed in consecutive years. If a board member or commissioner fails to complete the term, the council appointment shall be for the remainder of the uncompleted term. Members are not eligible to serve on the same board or commission if they have served two consecutive full four-year terms. ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 7(C) Attachment 7 4. Removal of Members. a. Members of boards and commissions serve at the pleasure of the council and may be removed by a majority vote of the entire council. It shall be presumed that any member who is absent for three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings without cause, or half the regular meetings in a calendar year, or who resides outside the city, has resigned. The staff liaison shall notify the city clerk of a vacancy within five days after the staff liaison has determined that the vacancy exists. Within one week after receiving such notice from the commission liaison, the city clerk shall notify any member whose appointment has automatically terminated and report to the council that a vacancy exists and that an appointment should be made to fill the vacancy. b. An absence shall be considered excused if either: the member informs the staff liaison of his or her intended absence at least twenty-four hours prior to the scheduled time of the meeting, or such absence is due to unforeseeable and unavoidable circumstances and reported and explained in writing to the staff liaison prior to the next meeting of the board or commission. Excused absences for reasons shall not exceed a period of one hundred twenty calendar days. c. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to limit the power of the city council to remove any member of any city board, commission or committee at any time, with or without cause. 5. Quorum. A quorum of the board or commission shall consist of a simple majority of the appointed members. 6. Officers. At the first meeting of each calendar year, the board or commission shall select its officers. These shall consist of a chairperson (chair) and a vice chairperson. 7. Conduct of Business. The conduct of board or commission business shall be by Sturgis Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, or by rules of procedure adopted by the board or commission. 8. Minutes. The staff liaison of the board or commission shall cause minutes to be prepared for the membership and presented at the following meeting ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 7(C) Attachment 7 for approval by the board or commission. Minutes shall be posted on the city's website within ten days of the board or commission's approval. 9. Staff Assistance. The city staff shall provide appropriate notice to the members of the agenda for each meeting, and shall provide to the members the draft minutes of the previous meeting for their approval. Each board or commission shall have access to all information possessed by the city concerning its agenda items. The city manager will provide for staff assistance at the meetings of the various boards and commissions. 10. Meetings. Unless otherwise provided, the boards and commissions shall meet at least on a regularly scheduled basis, in a public meeting room, and shall be subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act, Government Code Section 54950 et seq. C. Committees shall be governed by the same criteria as boards and commissions unless otherwise prescribed by council resolution. (Ord. 2007-11 § 1, 2007: Ord. 92-2 Div. 2 (part), 1992.)