Amended Item 7H - Commission Meetings AMENDED AGENDA ITEM # 7H
JULY 14, 2014
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM: Ordinance No. 5-14-61 : Amending Chapter 2 of the
Code of Ordinances, Administration, Article II, City
Commission, Sec. 2-16, Time and Place of Regular
meetings, to provide for two regular meetings.
SUBMITTED BY: Nelson Van Liere, City Manager
DATE : June 17, 2014
BACKGROUND : At the June 9, 2014 meeting, the City Commission discussed proposed
Ordinance No . 5- 14-61 and decided to table the item until a full commission could be
present and to give Staff the opportunity to make some adjustments to the presentation of
the agenda items .
• As previously stated, the goal of the Staff and Commission is to work together to produce
an agenda that is both informative to the public and allows for business to be efficiently
carried on month to month. It is clear that giving ample time for the public to weigh in on
important issues is a priority in Atlantic Beach. As a result of discussions from the
previous meetings, Staff has come up with a better way to meet those needs . Upon
approval of the attached ordinance, Staff can prepare agendas that will ensure items of
significant importance are discussed thoroughly and that those of a routine nature can
move forward.
The attached outline entitled: Agenda Preparation Guidelines has been amended to
reflect recent discussions and will be used as a guideline for agenda preparation. This
chart indicates how each type of item is to be considered in the compilation of the agenda.
Upon examination of the guidelines, you can see that most items, with the exception of
Action on Ordinances and Miscellaneous Business items, would appear only once.
Ordinances represent the creation of legislation and are required to be heard more than
once. Miscellaneous Business items represent a variety of items with varying significance
from agenda to agenda. In this Miscellaneous Business section of the agenda is where we
propose to give special attention. . .
As a solution to the problem of ensuring miscellaneous items are highlighted and
discussed in a manner that gives appropriate attention to them, Staff reviewed the rules
found in our code and determined that the existing agenda has a provision for this, but that
purpose.has not been used for rp
this u ose. Item #3 on the Agenda Outline was placed there to
consider any unfinished business from the previous meetings. Carryover items would be
placed in this section of the agenda in the order that they appeared in a previous meeting.
Items that originated in a special category such as Resolutions or Ordinances would stay
in their respective agenda categories. The process would be to place the appropriate items
on the agenda under #8 Miscellaneous Business . They would be discussed and
considered as items the commission would want to move forward to the next agenda. The
subsequent meeting would then include those same items in #3 Unfinished Business
section of the Agenda Outline.
AMENDED AGENDA ITEM it 7H
JULY 14, 2014
Staff will also implement the revised deadlines discussed in the previous meeting to allow
the Commissioners and the public an extra five to seven (5-7) days to review the agenda
before the meeting to allow for input and questions to be answered. This extra time will
prove significant for those involved in the preparations for a meeting. The deadline for
submission of all agenda items from either the Commission or staff, would be the
Wednesday ( 13 days) prior to the commission meeting. The agenda would then be
published and disbursed on the Friday after the deadline. All items to be considered on
the agenda will be submitted by the deadline in final format form.
Also, as a result of the comments made at the May meeting, Staff has amended the
proposed ordinance to reflect the original meeting time as 6 : 30 p .m.
In the event that the Commission chooses to call for a workshop, the expectation would be
to have those on the same meeting nights as the regularly scheduled meeting unless
specifically requested for another time. This will limit the strain on the commissioner' s
schedule to only two nights a month in nonnal circumstances . The shorter agenda and the
expectation of doing City business two nights a month should streamline the process for
everyone.
BUDGET : No budget impact.
RECOMMENDATION : Approve Ordinance No . 5- 14-61 .
ATTACHMENTS : Staff Report dated April 18 , 2014
Agenda Preparation Guideline Chart
Ordinance No . 5- 14-61
REVIEWED BY CITY MANAGER—Hi ef.f--r v{Cu.G
AMENDED AGENDA ITEM#7H
JULY 14,2014
Agenda Preparation Guidelines
Item Purpose Requires Special Requires a
Advertising Public Hearing
for CC meeting?
Approval of Minutes
Approval of Minutes Action No No
Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors
Courtesy of the Floor Informational- No Action No No
Presentation Informational- No Action No No
Proclamation Ceremonial- No Action No No
Unfinished Business
Miscellaneous items carried Action Varies Varies
forward from the preceding
meetings
Consent Agenda
Monthly Reports Acknowledge Receipt No No
Quarterly Report Acknowledge Receipt No No
Annual Report Acknowledge Receipt No No
Written Report on a specific Acknowledge Receipt No No
project
Declare Property Surplus Action No No
Award initial contract for Bid Action No No
Award RFP Action No No
Extend Contract when allowed for Action No No
in the current terms.
Committee Reports
Committee Report Informational No No
Appointment of members to a Action No No
standing Board or Committee
Action on Resolutions
Resolution Action Varies *(1) Varies*(1)
Action on Ordinances
Ordinance Action Yes *(1&2) Yes *(1&2)
Miscellaneous Business
*Use-by-Exception Discussion Yes * (3) Yes *(3)
*Waiver Discussion Yes *(4) Yes *(4)
Approval of Contract with Discussion No No
significant importance and value
Establishing an Ad Hoc Committee, Discussion No No
then appointing its members
City Manager
City Manager Report Informational No No
Reports and/or Requests from City
Commissioners and City Attorney
Announcements Informational No No
Revised 7-2-14 Page 1 of 2
AMENDED AGENDA ITEM # 7H
JULY 14, 2014
Agenda Preparation Guidelines
* Special Notes referenced on Guidelines:
( 1 ) Ordinances establishing the operating budget require special advertising and two public hearings.
In addition, there will be a public hearing on adopting a Tentative Millage Rate at the first meeting, then a public
hearing on a Resolution adopting the Millage Rate at the second meeting.
( 2 ) Changes in Zoning District Classifications, Special Planned Areas (SPA' s), changes to Land Development
Regulations and Comprehensive Plan Amendments require one public hearing at the Community Development
Board (CDB ) meeting so the CDB can make a recommendation to the Commission . They also require two public
hearings at City Commission meetings .
(3 ) Use-by-exceptions are heard by the Community Development Board (CDB) for a recommendation, prior to the
Commission . Use-by-exceptions will initially be placed on the Commission Agenda under "Miscellaneous
Business" for discussion only. Then, once it is ready to be carried forward for action, the item will be placed on
the subsequent agenda under "Unfinished Business" and have a public hearing.
(4) Waivers will initially be placed on the Commission Agenda under "Miscellaneous Business" for discussion only.
Then, once it is ready to be carried forward for action, the item will be placed on the subsequent agenda under
"Unfinished Business" and have a public hearing.
Notes:
Variances are handled through the Community Development Board (CDB) and require a Public Hearing. No Commission
action is needed .
Any agenda Item that requires action and does not have written information in the initial packet, will most likely require
an additional meeting in order to provide advance notice of the details and to allow time for citizen input .
The Commission has the option to defer items to a future Regular meeting, Special Called Meeting or Workshop.
In the event that the Commission chooses to call for a workshop, the expectation would be to have those on the
same meeting nights as the regularly scheduled meeting unless specifically requested for another time . This will
limit the strain on the commissioner' s schedule to only two nights a month in normal circumstances .
Sec. 2- 17 of the City Code allows for the mayor-commissioner, city manager or a majority of the city commission
to call a special meeting of the city commission with a twenty-four (24) hour notice; however, the items to be
addressed will determine how much notice is needed .
Revised 7-2-14 Page 2 of 2
AGENI )i\ ti EM ll 7i\ h
Misty 12, nil
CITY OF ATLANTIC 1 IC BEACH Q
CITY COMMISSION MEETING cal
STAFF R POIt`t' Q
AGENDA i'i' EM : Ordinance No. 5- 14-61 : Amending Chapter 2 of the Code of Crdiriances,
Administration, Article Il , City Commission , Sec. 245, Time and Place of
Regular meetings, to provide ti)r two regular meetings_
SUBMITTED BY Nelson Van Lien, City Manager ft!
DA'Z'E : April 18 , 201 .J
BACKGROUND : On April Sn' , 2013 , the City Commission approved Ordinance No . 5- 13 - 58
amending the Code to replace one of the two scheduled meetings per month with
a workshop. This was clone as a trial to address complaints from the public that
there was not enough time for citizen input on the agenda items before a vote. By
workShopping the upcoming agenda , citizens have more tinge and opportunity to
be heard on all items before a vole is cast .
Staff has worked very hard to make the transition into the one meeting a month
schedule successful , However, implementation of this new schedule has been
extremely difficult for staff After careful consideration , we believe we have
come up with an alternative that will address everyone' s concerns .
Below is a list_ of' nintended copse ucmc.esthat have been a chaltenie to staff
since the ince don :>t one menu ) er month, schedule.
I . palm agendas -,a 'C_roughly twice the size, This by itself would not seem to he an
issue , Please consider that each item is important and is the result of staffs hard
wort: . The entire agenda must be indexed and paginated , copied and bound ,
scanned and uploaded, distributed and linked to web pages.
2, Meetings are twice as liking, A direct result of the lengthy agenda is that the
meetings take twice as long because there are twice as many items to discuss .
3 , 'Tic_ bureaucracy added to the approval process slows the approval of routine
items down . For many important items, we recognize it is important to slow
down and hear comments more than once , Routine items, however.. are held up in
the same timeline and are not able to move forward despite little or no comments
from the citizens . Consent items take only a few minutes to pass in the meeting,
but a full three to ti ur weeks to go through the entire approval process .
4_ Staff preparation seemingly never ends . As staff prepares for Commission
meetings, we write proposals and research a tremendous amount of information in
preparation for the sleeting. Items of routine nature are discussed twice, more
important items f)Ur tunes and sometimes , ifdeferred or as the result of an initial
proposal that led to the action, the agenda item may need to be fresh in our minds
for six weeks as new items accumulate, We need to be able to take action and
move forward ,
5 . > 'L' ry_Aoenda leis _ been amended , Since the inception of the one meeting
schedule, we have had numerous special called meetings and every workshopped
agenda has been amended , As staff tries to make progress on projects or
contracts, we sit and wait through long workshops where no action can be taken ,
there was no discussion or comments and yet we must wait another two weeks for
an approval ,
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MAY 12, 2014
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6. Ordinances require an additional month for approval. Ordinances set policy and z
require two meetings to approve. This is by design a method of seeking ¢ ?;
additional public input. Q
7. Workshop format places the Commissioners on the floor for round table
discussions. This helps, but almost every meeting there is a special called
meeting. This requires the cameras to be arranged differently and the sound
system is not as good due to the failure of Commissioners to speak into the mic.
We have had numerous complaints about the citizens not being able to hear the
Commissioners when they are seated in the workshop format. The public gets
confused about whether they are going to get action on an item or not. Staff is
unsure in some cases whether the invited speakers should come to a workshop,
Commission meeting or both.
8. Fear of missing an agenda deadline is real. Staff strives very hard to meet
deadlines. With only one meeting, the consequences of missing an agenda
deadline means either waiting another month for approval or requires that a
special called meeting be scheduled.
9. The meeting of most importance to the citizen is the workshops This is where the
discussion takes place and this is the meeting the Commissioners need to be best
prepared for. The agenda is received two to three business days ahead of the
workshop. Of course they can prepare over the weekend and have four or five
days max. This gives commissioners only a few days to meet with staff to get
questions answered and we are busy getting ready for the meeting too.
Solution:
The solution being proposed is to return to two regular meetings a month, move
the agenda deadline up to allow for publicizing the agenda a minimum of 10 days
prior to the meetings, and start the meetings 30 minutes earlier. Below are the
reasons this approach would work in reference to each of the above items .
6 Items 1 and 2 are addressed because the meetings will occur more often, each
agenda is smaller and therefore the meetings will be shorter. Also, returning to a
starting time for the meetings of 6:00 p.m. would allow staff and citizens to at
least get out 30 minutes earlier. Thirty minutes may not seem like a big
difference but for those who have to be at work at 8 :00 a.m. the next morning, it
does make a difference.
O Item 3 - Consultant presentations or interviews of selected persons for contracts
can be approved in the same night, if desired. The option to defer has always
been available.
O Items 3 and 4 - Items of a routine nature can be approved twice a month, allowing
staff to get projects started and allowing us to react and respond quicker to citizen
requests.
O Item 5 - Staff can prepare the reports for approval, attend a meeting and move
forward to the next project. The constant preparation and attendance at long
meetings for items on the agenda that pass with no discussion is a waste of
everyone' s time.
O Item 5 - The number of amended agendas will be greatly reduced. The number of
versions of agendas floating around is becoming ridiculous. The Clerk has to wait
until the last minute to publish the agenda to make sure all the amended portions
are included.
O Item 6 - Items of significance deserve either a deferral for more discussion, a
public hearing and or a second reading. Ordinances are policy setting legislation
and as such require two meetings to pass. Significant/complicated items, such as
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A0NN1 )A ri'H(\ i Ii 7A
MAY 12 , 21111
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the 1=lu nan Rights Ordinance, may be discussed in a separate workshop. This has
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always been all option ,
a Item 7 - All meetings can take place in the finial setting with the exception of the
workshops called to discuss chosen items of significance. The quality of the Q ti
video twill be better tier the viewing public and the professionalism will be
enhanced , Workshop settings should be tar intoi-nmal discussions of a limited
number of topics .
0 Item 8 The Pear of missing a meeting deadline will be greatly reduced when
there will be another meeting within a few weeks.
0 Item 9 — The change to the agenda process will allow Commissioners, staff,
citizens and the press to receive the agenda at least • 10 days in advance of the
meeting. This will allow Commissioners two weekends to review and ample lime
to talk With citizens and get witih staff'. It Will allow staff to research and answer
additional concerns of citizens after reading the reports. The agenda will be
published for the public to review and stall is available to address concerns before
the meeting for over a week . It will allow the press to publish information about
iteimms of interest prior to the meeting. This Will lead to a better informed public
and Commission and in turn lead to better decision making.
Keep in ►nnincl that we have implemented other procedures to enhance
communications with the citizens since the one meeting schedule was
implemented . We are now videotaping meetings,s and providing electronic
agendas for commissioners to use on city provided iPads . Management now
encourages commissioners to directly seek answers from staff if needed . 'This
enhances the response time when gathering information for meeting preparations .
BUDGET: No budget impact.
RECOMMENDATION : Approve Ordinance No . 5 - I4- 61
ATTACHMENTS : ordinance No . 5 - 14-61
i 4, ;7 '
REVIEWED - BY CITY MANAGl R : G'r/'. t C=
AMENDED AGENDA ITEM # 7H
JULY 14, 2014
ORDINANCE 5-14-61
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA,
AMENDING CHAPTER 2 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES,
ADMINISTRATION, ARTICLE II, CITY COMMISSION, SEC. 2- 16, TIME
AND PLACE OF REGULAR MEETINGS, TO PROVIDE FOR TWO (2)
REGULAR MEETINGS PER MONTH EXCEPT FOR DECEMBER AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE OF
THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1 : Sec.2- 16 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Atlantic Beach, Florida, is
• hereby amended to read as follows :
•- • _ _ •
_ •• • _ _ • - • _ • •• -• •• • • - _ • _ _ • • _ _ • _ 1I _ • _ _ _ _ _ • _
1
1
(c) All regular meetings and scheduled workshops of the city commission shall be held in city hall at
6 :30 p.m .
•
1 . . - - . - e _ -- - - - •• - - 0 • - -• - - • - - • - - - -
be held on Tuesday immediately following the holiday.
Sec. 2- 16 Time and place of Regular meetings .
The regular meetings of the city commission shall be held on the second and fourth
Mondays of each month, except December, in city hall, at 6 : 30 p .m. If the second or fourth
Monday falls on a holiday, the regular meeting shall be held on Tuesday immediately following
the holiday. In the month of December, the regular meeting shall be held on the second Monday
of the month.
SECTION 2. This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its final passage and adoption.
PASSED by the City Commission on first reading this day of
PASSED by the City Commission on this second and final reading this day of
ATTEST:
Donna L. Bartle, CMC Carolyn Woods
City Clerk Mayor, Presiding Officer
Approved as to form and correctness :
Rich Komando
City Attorney