Agenda Setting Committee

PURPOSE:

To establish guidelines for City Council Agenda Preparation and Placement of Items on an Agenda.

POLICY:

It shall be a policy of the City of Sebastopol to follow a prescribed procedure regarding the preparation and placement of items on a City Council Agenda.

COMMITTEE MAKE UP:

The Agenda Review Committee is comprised of the Mayor, the Vice Mayor, the City Manager, the City Attorney, the Assistant City Manager and the City Clerk. It shall be the responsibility of the Agenda Review Committee to prepare City Council agendas.

PROCEDURE:

Agendas shall be formatted as shown on the attached exhibit; however, the Agenda Review Committee has the authority to change the order of an agenda dependent upon projected length of an agenda item. At the City Council meeting, the Mayor may reorder items on the agenda to accommodate the public or to address other concerns.

The Agenda Review Committee shall be considered a standing committee and shall be subject to the requirements of the Brown Act. All meetings of the Agenda Review Committee shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the Agenda Review Committee.

Upon completion of the preliminary agenda, the City Clerk shall forward DRAFT forward agenda/calendars to the City Council and Department Heads for information within 48 hours of completion of the preliminary agenda.

The order of specific public hearing and business items is determined by the Agenda Review Committee based upon anticipated public interest, participation of paid consultants, implementation urgency/time sensitivity, and other related considerations.

In preparing the agenda, the Agenda Review Committee shall review requested agenda items for possible Council meeting date. The deadline for finalizing the agenda shall be no later than Thursday (12 calendar days prior to the City Council Meeting date) unless an item determined necessary for that agenda is requested to be placed on the Agenda.

If an item is proposed to be placed on the agenda after finalization of an agenda, the request shall be submitted to the City Manager who may consult with the Mayor.

All draft staff reports with attachments are due to the City Clerk by 11:00 am on Tuesday, two weeks in advance of the scheduled meeting. Staff reports shall be in a standard format approved by the City Manager.