Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout112-86BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DANVILLE In the Matter of: Adopting Procedures to Implement Recent Brown Act Amendments RESOLUTION NO. 112-86 The California Legislature has adopted substantive amendments (AB 2674) to the Ralph M. Brown Open Meeting Act (The "Act"), Government Code § 54950 and following; and The amendments take effect on January 1, 1987 and require that the City post an agenda at least 72 hours before a regular meeting in a location freely accessible to members of the public. The agenda must state the time and location of the meeting and contain a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at the meeting; and The Act requires that the Council is precluded from taking action on a matter which is not on the posted agenda (with certain exceptions); and The Act further requires that every agenda for regular meetings provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the Council; and It is advisable to adopt regulations implementing the above requirements. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Danville resolves that Exhibit "A" to this resolution entitled "Proce- dures for Compliance With The Ralph M. Brown Act" (as amended in 1986) is adopted. Passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Danville at its regular meeting held on December i5 , 1986, by the following vote: AYES: Lane, ~c,,sely, Offenhartz, Scklemdorf NOES: None ABSTAIN: ,~ ABSENT: re- *~ ATTEST: t~ity Clerk Procedures for Compliance With the Ralph M. Brown Act (as amended by Chapter 641, 1986 Statutes) ae Agenda for Regular Meetings (Government Code §§54954.2, 54954.3) 1. At least 72 hours before a regular meeting the City Clerk shall post an agenda in the following location(s) which are fully accessible to members of the public: a. Danville Town Office b. Danville Library and Post Office 2. The agenda shall include the time and place of the meeting and a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at the meeting. 3. The agenda shall also provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the Council (See section D. below regarding regulations for public testimony.) 4. The City Clerk shall, upon posting each agenda, execute a declaration of posting and shall keep the decla- rations in the office of the City Clerk and available for public inspection during regular business hours. B. Aqenda for Special Meeting (Government Code §54956) At least 24 hours before a special meeting the City Clerk shall post an agenda in the locations specified in section A.1. above. The agenda shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted. No other business shall be considered at the meeting. C. Limit on Action Taken (Government Code §54954.2) No action may be taken on any item not appearing on the posted agenda for a regular meeting unless one of the following conditions exist: 1. The Council determines by majority vote that an emergency situation exists as defined by Government code §54956.5. 2. The Council determines by a 2/3 vote (or by a unanimous vote if less than 2/3 of the members are present) that the need to take action arose subsequent to the agenda being posted. 3. The item was properly posted for a prior Council meeting occurring not more than 5 days before the date action is taken on the item and the item was continued to the meeting at which action is being taken. 7EXHii~iT "A" When the Council decides to consider and take action on a matter not on the posted agenda under one of the three ex- ceptions, it shall do so by motion and the motion shall include the facts and circumstances which support the exception. When a person raises a matter which is not on the posted agenda and the matter may not be acted upon under one of the above exceptions, the Council may refer the matter to staff or to a City board or commission for review and report. Such a referral is a procedural determination only and is not incon- sistent with the prohibition against "taking action". D. Public Comments (Government Code §54954.3) During the "For the Good of the Town" portion of the agenda, a member of the public may directly address the Council on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Council. However, the Council need not provide an opportunity for members of the public to address it on an item that has already been considered by a committee, composed exclusively of members of the Council, at a public meeting at which all interested members of the public were afforded the opportunity to address the committee on the item, unless the item has been substantially changed. The Mayor may establish and announce a reasonable time limit for each item and for each individual speaker, not to exceed 10 minutes and 3 minutes, respectively. E. Alleged Violations Government Code §54960.1 authorizes an interested person to commence an action by mandamus or injunction, requesting a court to determine that an action taken by the Council in violation of the posting requirements is null and void. The person must first make a written demand within 30 days for the Council to cure or correct the alleged violation. If the City receives such a written demand, the City Clerk shall include the item on the Council's next agenda. The item shall be added as two sub-items: first, consideration of the demand, and second, consideration of the underlying subject matter of the challenged action.