AGENDA TITLE:
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Provide Direction to Staff on Continuance of Informal Informational Meetings (aka Shirtsleeve Meetings) (CLK)
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MEETING DATE:
March 20, 2024
PREPARED BY:
Olivia Nashed, City Clerk
recommendation
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Provide Direction to Staff on Continuance of Informal Informational Meetings (aka Shirtsleeve Meetings).
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Lodi City Council currently meets, and has historically met, for two types of meetings: regular meetings scheduled on the first and third Wednesday of each month (Lodi Municipal Code §2.04.010), and informal informational meetings, commonly known as Shirtsleeve Meetings, on Tuesday mornings at 7:00 a.m. (Lodi Municipal Code §2.04.020).
Purpose:
Shirtsleeve meetings are held to allow an in-depth discussion of a topic to educate Council and the public on City efforts and project progress or a topic that may come before Council for consideration at a later date. The in-depth discussion without the pressure of a lengthy regular meeting agenda has been a significant benefit to Council and staff. As these meetings are informal and are for informational purposes only, the City Council is not able to take formal action or give formal direction. However, the reserved time slot on Council’s and staff’s schedules has been used to hold special meetings when more immediate action of the Council is necessary.
Day, Time and Frequency:
Shirtsleeve meetings are held every Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. The date, time and frequency of the Shirtsleeve meetings was adopted by Ordinance No. 1594 and incorporated into Lodi’s Municipal Code. Therefore, Staff is mandated to either hold the weekly meeting and publish an agenda, at least seventy-two hours before the meeting, or cancel that week’s meeting and publish a cancellation notice, at least twenty-four hours before the meeting. On occasion, staff have presented on non-complex issues that do not require the hour time reserved for the meeting or topics already previously discussed, to provide material for the Shirtsleeve discussions.
Considerations:
Informational or discussion items discussed during Shirtsleeve meetings can be discussed at regular meetings. Adding Informational presentations or reports to Regular meeting calendars rather than Shirtsleeves will lengthen the duration of the regular meeting. Staff estimates regular meetings would run between 30 and 90 minutes longer on average depending on the need for additional discussion items.
Public attendance at shirtsleeves has been low unless a specific topic of high interest to a specific constituency is presented. An example of this is the recent discussion of the Transient Occupancy Tax audits where numerous hotel operators were present. At a large majority of shirtsleeves there is no public in attendance. Some citizens have made specific objection to the early hour, while others have raised concerns about accessibility, as Shirtsleeve meetings are not televised. They are streamed on the City’s Facebook page.
Informational Meetings are not a common practice in other municipalities, nor are they required under any government code. There are no restrictions placed on Council regarding the day, time or frequency of these informational meetings other than by City of Lodi Municipal Code.
Any change to the schedule of Shirtsleeve Meetings would necessitate the adoption of an Ordinance to amend Lodi Municipal Code section 2.04.020 (Informal Informational Meetings). Therefore, Council direction regarding any changes resulting in an update to the Lodi Municipal Code will be brought back to Council in form of an ordinance. The adoption of an ordinance requires a first reading and introduction of the ordinance at a City Council regular meeting, followed by a second reading and adoption at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting. The ordinance would go into effect 30 days after its adoption.
Direction Requested from Council:
Staff is seeking direction on City Council interest in making and of the following changes:
1. Continue to hold Informal Informational (Shirtsleeve) Meetings at the same time (7 AM Tuesday mornings) and frequency (every week). No ordinance or change to the Lodi Municipal Code required and no further action is needed.
2. Continue to hold Informal Informational (Shirtsleeve) Meetings but make changes to day, time, and frequency of the meetings or any combination of those factors. If this option is selected, staff seeks specific direction as to the date, time and frequency of future meetings to draft amendments to LMC section 2.04.020.
3. Discontinue Shirtsleeve meetings and schedule all presentations and reports on Regular meeting agendas. This change would also need further Council action to remove section 2.04.020 from the Lodi Municipal Code.
STRATEGIC VISION:
3A. Fiscal Health: Promote City's transparency & fiscal fluency.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Not Applicable.
FUNDING AVAILABLE:
Not Applicable.
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Olivia Nashed
City Clerk
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Andrew C. Keys
Interim City Manager