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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Clerk - Administration and Management Records - Policy & Procedure Records City Council Guidelines City of Glendale, AZ Adopted: May 23, 2017 Glendale, AZ City Council Guidelines 2 Adopted: May 23, 2017 INTRODUCTION The Mayor and City Council agree to the following as fundamentally important to the effective and efficient conduct of the public’s business. The Guidelines as adopted represent an agreed upon set of behaviors that will be evident in the performance of their duties as policy makers and representatives of their constituencies. GLOSSARY OF TERMS To avoid confusion in understanding the intent of this document the following defines important terms being used:  Council - The Council shall consist of a Mayor and six (6) other members to be elected by the qualified electors of the City of Glendale.  Councilmember - Refers to each individual constituting the Council and includes the Mayor, unless specifically excluded or referred to by the title Mayor.  Mayor - The Mayor is the chairman of the Council and presides over its deliberations. When it is necessary to specifically identify the Mayor as separate from the other Councilmembers, the term “Mayor” is used. 1. STAFF ASSISTANCE FOR COUNCILMEMBERS The City Manager’s Office will respond to requests from Councilmembers for information, assistance or research calling for multi-departmental involvement. City Manager will designate staff to assign these requests to appropriate City staff and to track progress on the assignments. Councilmembers must use this process when contacting the City Manager’s Office for assistance. Requests that involve more than eight hours of staff work by non-Council staff, a multi-department approach or expenditure of city monies other than budgeted Council funds, must go through the process for placement of an item on the Workshop Agenda. The staff will be responsible for reporting such requests to the City Manager’s office where the designee will notify the Councilmember(s) who made the original request. City Council Guidelines City of Glendale, AZ Adopted: May 23, 2017 3 Adopted: May 23, 2017 2. PLACING ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST ON A WORKSHOP AGENDA 1. “City Council Workshop Items of Special Interest” is listed on every Workshop agenda. This item will be a standing item and will be placed last on the Workshop agenda. 2. Under that agenda item, Councilmembers may indicate topic(s) they would like to have discussed by the Council at a future Workshop and the reason for their interest. The Council does not discuss the new topics at the Workshop where they are introduced. 3. Each item introduced is referred to the City Manager for preparation of a brief initial assessment report including resources required, impact on other projects, relationship to work program priorities and Council strategies, and other related observations. 4. Effective 09/10/2013;in 60 days the City Manager, or designated management staff, will report back to the Council on each item during a regularly scheduled Workshop. An update will be provided within 30 days to indicate the progress and status of the item and a final recommendation will be brought forward within 60 days. If for any reason, a Workshop is not scheduled shortly after the 60 day time period, the report will be presented at the next regularly scheduled Workshop. Council will then determine if they want to pursue any item further through more detailed analysis and/or policy action. 5. Council gives direction to the City Manager regarding the disposition of items discussed. (Above section amended January 8, 2013 by Resolution, No. 4635 and September 10, 2013 by Resolution No. 4722 New Series.) 3. COUNCILMEMBER BUDGET/EXPENSES Each Councilmember elected from a district is provided $18,000 each budget year for various expenses that will benefit the City of Glendale and meet applicable budget expenditure laws. For example, the monies may be used for postage, attending conferences and seminars, equipment, and newsletters. Items purchased are for the use of the Councilmembers during their tenure, for City business only, and remain the property of the City of Glendale. All bidding requirements and conditions of the City’s Purchasing Ordinance must be met. Monies not expended may not be carried over to subsequent years. The Mayor is not included in this appropriation. 4. COUNCIL DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT FUNDS Each Councilmember elected from a district is provided $15,000 each budget year for projects related to the placement, replacement or enhancement of facilities or 4 Adopted: May 23, 2017 equipment within the City of Glendale. Monies not expended may not be carried over to subsequent years. The Mayor is not included in this appropriation. When a Councilmember determines a use for the funds, Council staff requests information from the relevant department. The department obtains cost estimates based on the project scope as outlined by the Councilmember. After cost estimates have been obtained, Council staff completes a District Improvement form and sends to the Councilmember for comment and approval. Departmental staff is responsible for making sure that all requirements of the City’s Purchasing Ordinance have been met. If necessary, the assigned staff will be responsible for preparation, approval of and monitoring of agreements or contracts. The Intergovernmental Programs Director must approve requests or other financial documents. The Council staff retains copies of the related paperwork to follow up and ensure that District Improvement funds are properly tracked. The District Improvement fund accounts are charged for all expenses associated with the project with the exception of departmental charge backs for internal labor expenses. Ongoing maintenance costs of capital projects enabled through this funding mechanism must be paid from related district funds in future years. 5. CITY TRAVEL POLICY The Council agrees to conform to the regulations that govern all City employees on this matter. Accordingly, the current City Travel Policy is attached and will be replaced as changes are made in the future. See attachment A: Travel Policy, 8th Revision, 06/27/2014. 6. OFFICIAL INVITATION EXPENSES The City will cover expenses for any Councilmember and a guest at local events when the Councilmember and guest are jointly invited and the Councilmember is serving in an official capacity. The City does not otherwise reimburse Councilmembers for expenses incurred by their guests. 5 Adopted: May 23, 2017 7. COUNCIL RETREAT At a mutually agreed upon date, the Council will hold an annual retreat to discuss Council goals and other important issues. 8. SELECTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE VICE MAYOR The Vice Mayor is selected by a majority vote of the Council. Effective August 13, 2013, at the first workshop of January in each year, the Council will consider the appointment of a Vice Mayor for the year, with the Vice Mayor serving a calendar year term (January to January). At that workshop, nominations for Vice-Mayor will be discussed by the Council. If nominations are indicated by Councilmembers at the workshop, a formal nomination and selection process will be placed on the agenda for the next regular voting meeting following the workshop. If the Vice Mayor is unavailable for any reason, the remaining Councilmember with the most years of service will serve as the interim Vice Mayor during the Vice Mayor’s absence or for the remainder of the one-year term. City Charter: Sec. 7. Vice Mayor. The Council shall designate one (1) of its members as Vice Mayor, who shall serve in such capacity at the pleasure of the council. The Vice Mayor shall perform the duties of the Mayor during the Mayor's absence or disability. (3- 15-88) 9. COUNCIL COMMITTEES At the first Workshop in June of each year, the Council will appoint membership to standing Council committees for the following fiscal year. The Mayor will ask the Councilmembers to indicate which committee they wish to serve on. Each committee will be comprised of three members. The members of each committee will select their own chairperson at the first committee meeting. Councilmembers may not serve as Chairperson of more than one committee at a time unless the number of committees is greater than the number of Councilmembers. In that case, the limit is two chairmanships. The Council may form a temporary (one-year) Council Committee and allow a defined number of members of the public to serve on the committee. The three members of the committee will select a Chair from amongst the Councilmembers serving on the committee. The committee will sunset one-year after the date of the first meeting. Any sunset extensions must be approved by the City Council. 6 Adopted: May 23, 2017 Effective August 13, 2013, a two-year consecutive term limit with appointment annually for membership of councilmembers on Council subcommittees begins. If new Councilmembers are seated prior to the annual selection of committee membership, the new Councilmembers will fill vacant committee positions for the remainder of the one-year term. If any Councilmember wishes to add, delete or adjust any committee, the process indicated in City Council Guidelines, Section 2, “Placing Items of Special Interest on Workshop Agenda” is followed. 10. BOARD AND COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS Board and Commission members will be appointed to serve b y the Council in accordance with the Ordinance related to each Board and Commission. When vacancies occur, Councilmembers making recommendations to the Council are required to forward the application and his/her written recommendation to the Government Services Committee. The Government Services Committee will be responsible for reviewing the applications and making recommendations. The Committee will forward recommendations for Board and Commission membership and Chair designation to the full Council for discussion at Executive Session. The Council will approve Board and Commission members and the respective Chairs unless otherwise prescribed by ordinance. The appointment will be made when the majority of the Council agrees with a recommendation and a vote taken at a regular voting council meeting. An appointment is made when the majority of the Councilmembers agree with a recommendation and a vote is taken at a regular voting council meeting. When consensus cannot be reached, the Councilmember will be responsible for bringing forward another nomination. Councilmembers should recommend appointment of individuals from their geographical district. If the district councilmember believes that an exception should be made, the issue shall be brought to the full Council for consideration. If a Board or Commission member is not carrying out their assigned duties it is the responsibility of the Councilmember who recommended the appointment of the individual to counsel the member. If a Board or Commission member has been properly counseled and is still not carrying out their assigned duties, the Code of Ethics addresses the removal of Board or Commission members for cause as follows, “Inappropriate behavior can lead to removal. Inappropriate behavior by a Board or Commission member should be communicated to the Chair of the Government Services Committee who will 7 Adopted: May 23, 2017 communicate to the Councilmember who presented the member for appointment. If inappropriate behavior continues, the situation will be brought to the attention of the Council and the individual is subject to removal from the Board or Commission in accordance with any applicable ordinance.” 11. CONSTITUENT CONTACTS IN ANOTHER COUNCILMEMBER’S DISTRICT As a courtesy, Councilmembers agree to keep each other informed of requests, telephone or personal contacts with constituents, businesspersons, etc., which may be of interest to another Councilmember with potential impacts to them. 12. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS FROM COUNCILMEMBERS “City letterhead may be used only when the Councilmember is representing and speaking on behalf of the City and within the Councilmember’s official capacity. A copy of official correspondence should be given to the council office and Mayor’s office staff to be maintained as a public record.” Sec. 4.c, Code of Conduct If the council member is representing the City, that Councilmember must consistently support and advocate the City’s official position on an issue and cannot foster or further a personal viewpoint that is inconsistent with the official City position. 13. STATE/FEDERAL LOBBYING “If a Councilmember appears before another governmental agency or organization to give a statement on an issue, the Councilmember must clearly state 1) whether his or her statement reflects personal opinion or is the official stance of the City; 2) whether this is the majority or minority opinion of the Council.” Sec. 4.a, Code of Conduct 14. VIOLATIONS AND SANCTIONS A. Process (1) The first and most important step in this section is the requirement that the offended Councilmember address the concern with the offending Councilmember including a description of the specific action observed, the relationship of that event to the Council Guidelines and, if applicable, the impact it had on the offended Councilmember. The purpose of this first step is to assure that an attempt has been made to discuss the issue and resolve the conflict without proceeding further. This step requires no formal action and no involvement of other Councilmembers. (2) Either party may request and both must agree, to seek a third party who will assist in facilitating the discussion toward a mutually satisfactory conclusion. If any 8 Adopted: May 23, 2017 expenses are incurred they will be paid for equally from the district funds of each member engaged in the mediation. (3) If the situation cannot be settled through the process in steps (1) and (2), either Councilmember may choose to refer the concern to the entire Council for their review. The Council will serve as a committee of the whole for purposes of Council Guidelines violation and sanction consideration. (4) To present the concern to the Council, the offended member must advise the offending Councilmember that the issue will be taken to the Council and subsequently ask the City Manager to post the issue for the earliest upcoming executive session. All laws pertaining to executive session will apply. Included in those rules is the option for the offending Councilmember to exercise their right to request that the discussion be held in an open hearing. The City Attorney’s Office will prepare a notice to the Councilmember or Councilmembers that are to be discussed in executive session as required by law. (5) The Council will discuss the issue in order to: a. become fully informed; b. determine if there appears to be a violation of the Council Guidelines; c. seek resolution without further action or, if necessary schedule the issue for an upcoming public hearing for final determination regarding whether a violation occurred and if necessary; d. determine what sanction is most appropriate; customarily, sanctions are limited to a letter of reprimand or censure. (6) A 2/3 vote of the Council at a regular voting council meeting will be required for a determination that a violation has occurred and likewise, a 2/3 vote for the sanction to be imposed. (7) If a sanction is imposed, the language will follow a specific format to be established by the Council and used consistently as such situations occur. B. Effects of Violations The Council Guidelines document alone does not provide a basis for challenging the validity of any final enactment, resolution, decision, determination, or recommendation of the council, a board or a commission.