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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11 RESOLUTION PRE-APPROVING CERTAIN EXCUSED COMMISSIONER ABSENCES FROM CITY COMMISSION MEETINGSAgenda Item 1 1 Reviewed: AGENDA REPORT City Manager Finance Director N/A MEETING DATE: JUNE 5, 2018 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: JEFFREY C. PARKER, CITY MANAGER DAVID E. KENDIG, CITY ATTORNEY SUBJECT: RESOLUTION PRE -APPROVING CERTAIN EXCUSED COMMISSIONER ABSENCES FROM CITY COMMISSION MEETINGS SUMMARY: Consider whether specified reasons for commissioners to miss meetings would be deemed excused by the City Council, or alternatively, provide direction to prepare an ordinance amendment removing the existing exception for Council -approved absences. RECOMMENDATION: Approve Resolution No. 18-43 pre -approving certain grounds for excused commissioner absences from commission meetings. FISCAL IMPACT: 1►C7M STRATEGIC PLAN: Tustin Strategic Plan Goal E, "Organizational Excellence and Customer Services: Be a high performance organization with effective customer service provided by a professional workforce." Clarifying the rules regarding when commissioner absences will be deemed excused will enhance retention of qualified individuals on the City's commissions. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION: On May 16, 2017, the City Council adopted Ordinance 1481 to amend the Tustin City Code rules that govern the appointment and terms of the City's Audit, Community Services and Planning Commissioners. One of the rules adopted at that time provides that a commissioner who misses four commission meetings in any twelve (12) month period would be automatically removed from his/her position on that commission, but the rule expressly excludes any absences as are "excused by action of the City Council."' Ordinance 1481 amended Tustin City Code sections 1513 (applicable to Planning Commissioners), 1539 (applicable to Audit Commissioners), and 1553 (applicable to Community Services Commissioners). Each 1320570.1 RESOLUTION PRE -APPROVING CERTAIN EXCUSED COMMISSIONER ABSENCES FROM CITY COMMISSION MEETINGS June 5, 2018 Page 2 Therefore, as it stands today, no absence is an excused absence unless the City Council considers the circumstances of the specific absence and determines it to be excused. Thus, in order to excuse an absence, a request would need to be made by the commissioner, a written staff report to the City Council would need to be generated and included on a scheduled City Council meeting agenda, and the Council would .need to consider and approve the item. Rather than require all of these steps for each request for an excused absence, the Council may prefer to take an action either determining certain grounds for absences to be deemed excused whenever they arise, or to direct that the provision allowing excuses to be approved by City Council to be removed through an ordinance amending the City Code. Resolution 18-43 pre -approving certain grounds for excused commissioner absences is attached for the Council's consideration. That Resolution would, if approved, automatically deem up to three (3) absences to be excused absences based on any combination of the following grounds: 1. Attendance of the commissioner at commissioner training conducted by the Association of California Cities, Orange County or the League of California Cities; 2. Death in the commissioner's immediate family ("immediate family" includes his or her spouse, brother, sister, parent and child); 3. Illness of, or injury to, the commissioner, his or her spouse, or his or her minor child, or other individual under his or her guardianship, provided written confirmation that an illness or injury that prevented attendance at the commission meeting is provided by a licensed medical professional. (Medical details of the illness or injury are not required to be provided as long as the medical professional confirms in writing that the commissioner's attendance at the commission meeting(s) would not be the medical best interests of the ill or injured patient.) 4. Any other absence excused by specific action of the City Council. section contains an identical subsection (c) that provides, in pertinent part, that a commissioner ""shall automatically be deemed removed from office upon certification of election of that member to the City Council as provided in Section 1305b of this Code, or upon the occurrence of four (4) absences from Commission meetings within any twelve (12) consecutive month period, excluding any such absences as may be excused by action of the City Council." [Emphasis added.] 1320570.1 RESOLUTION PRE -APPROVING CERTAIN EXCUSED COMMISSIONER ABSENCES FROM CITY COMMISSION MEETINGS June 5, 2018 Page 3 The proposed Resolution would also provide that absences based on the above grounds beyond the first three (3) in any 12 -month period would be treated as unexcused absences. As a result, approval of the Resolution would allow a Commissioner to have up to three (3) excused absences and up to three (3) more unexcused absences in any twelve month period. In accordance with Ordinance 1481, removal from the commission would still occur automatically in the event of any fourth unexcused absence in a twelve month period. ALTERNATIVES: If the Council does not wish to pre -approve certain grounds for commissioner absences, the following alternatives exist: A. Establish a strict, no -exceptions policy. Direct the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance for consideration at a future Council meeting to amend the Tustin City Code to remove Council approval as grounds for excusing commissioner absences from meetings. This would establish a strict, no -exceptions rule that any four absences in any 12 month period, and regardless of the reasons for the absences, would result in removal from a commission. (Note: after such an automatic removal, the City Council would still have the option to reappoint that commissioner back to that commission, if the Council so desired.) B. Add the Pre -Approved Excused Absences but Further Limit Unexcused Absences. In conjunction with approving certain pre -excused absences, the Council could concurrently reduce the number of unexcused absences that would be allowed. This would ensure that total absences (excused and unexcused) do not reach too high a total number. For instance, if the Council authorizes up to 3 excused absences, the Council may wish to reduce the number of allowed unexcused absences to two instead of the current three; thus ensuring that commissioners could not miss more than five meetings in all over a 12 month period (e.g., three excused plus two unexcused absences). C. Status Quo (take no action). If the Council elects not to take any action, commissioners would still be deemed removed from a commission upon the fourth unexcused absence, and City Council action would still be required in order for any specific absence to be excused. ATTACHMENT: A. Proposed Resolution 18-43 1320570.1 RESOLUTION NO. 18-43 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN PRE -APPROVING CERTAIN EXCUSED COMMISSIONER ABSENCES FROM CITY COMMISSION MEETINGS WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Ordinance 1481 governing the appointment and terms of the City's Audit Commissioners, Community Services Commissioners, and Planning Commissioners; WHEREAS, one of the rules adopted by Ordinance 1481 provides that a commissioner who misses four (4) commission meetings in any twelve (12) month period would be automatically removed from his/her position on that commission, but the rule expressly excludes from the tally of absences those that are "excused by action of the City Council"; WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes that there are valid City and personal reasons that a commissioner might miss a few meetings of the commission on which one serves, but also recognizes that a commissioner cannot perform the minimum role and responsibilities to which he or she was appointed if he or she misses an excessive number of meetings, even if the absences are for valid and understandable reasons; WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to delineate by this Resolution certain grounds that, when they are the basis for a commissioner's absence from up to three noticed meetings of the commission in any twelve month period will be deemed to be "excused by action of the City Council", provided the terms of this Resolution are satisfied. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that for purposes of Ordinance 1481 as that ordinance may be amended in the future, up to three (3) commissioner absences in any twelve month period shall be deemed to be excused absences when the absences are based on any combination of the following grounds: 1. Attendance of the commissioner at commissioner training conducted by the Association of California Cities, Orange County or the League of California Cities; or 2. Death in the commissioner's immediate family. (For purposes of this Resolution, "immediate family" refers to the commissioner's spouse, brother, sister, parent and child); 3. Illness of, or injury to, the commissioner, his or her spouse, or his or her minor child, or other individual under his or her guardianship, provided written confirmation that an illness or injury that prevented attendance at the commission meeting is provided by a licensed medical professional. (Medical details of the illness or injury are not required to be provided as long as the Resolution No. 18-43 Page 1 of 3 medical professional confirms in writing that the commissioner's attendance at the commission meeting(s) would not be the medical best interests of the ill or injured patient.) 4. Any other absence excused by specific action of the City Council. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT absences based on the above grounds in excess of the first three (3) absences in any 12 -month period are to be treated as unexcused absences. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT this Resolution shall apply retroactively to any Commissioner who is currently sitting on a City commission and prospectively to all future commission appointees. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Tustin held on the 5th day of June, 2018. ATTEST: ERICA N. RABE, City Clerk ELWYN A. MURRAY Mayor Resolution No. 18-43 Page 2 of 3 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) SS CITY OF TUSTIN ) I, Erica N. Rabe, City Clerk and ex -officio Clerk of the City Council of the City of Tustin, California, do hereby certify that the whole number of the members of the City Council is five; that the above and foregoing Resolution No. 18-43 was duly and regularly passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 5th day of June, 2018 by the following vote: COUNCILPERSONS AYES: COUNCILPERSONS NOES: COUNCILPERSONS ABSTAINED: COUNCILPERSONS ABSENT: ERICA N. RABE, City Clerk Resolution No. 18-43 Page 3 of 3