Agenda Item 7E - Ordinance 5-14-61CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
STAFF RE:PORT
AGENDA ITEM# 7E
AUGUST 11, 2014
AGENDA ITEM: Ordinance No. 5-14-61: Amending Chapter 2 of the
Code of Ordinances, Admfuistration, Article II, City
Commission, Sec. 2-16, Time and Place of Regular
meetings, to provide for two regular meetings.
SUBMITTED BY: Nelson VanLiere, 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. fu 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
it has not been used for this purpose. 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 Miscellaneo:us 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 Unrmish~d Business
section of the Agenda Outline.
BUDGET:
AGENDA ITEM# 7E
AUGUST 11, 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 fmal 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 6:30p.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 normal circumstances. The shmier agenda and the
expectation of doing City business two nights a month should streamline the process for
everyone.
No budget impact.
RECOMMENDATION: Approve Ordinance No. 5-14-61.
ATTACHMENTS: StaffReport dated April18, 2014
Agenda Preparation Guideline Chart
Ordinance No. 5-14-61
REVIEWED BY CITY MANAGER -n t/% ;1Cu4.
Item
App roval of M i nutes
Approval of Minutes
Courtes y o f the Floo r t o Visitor s
Courtesy of the Fl oor
Prese ntation
Proc lamation
Unf inish ed Bu siness
Miscell aneous item s ca rried
forward from the prece ding
m eetings
Conse n t Age nd a
Monthly Reports
Qu arte rly Re po rt
Annu al Report
Written Re port on a specific
project
Decl are Prope rty Surplu s
Award i nitia l contract contract for
Bid
Award RFP
Ext end Contract w hen allowed for
in the curre nt t erms.
Comm it tee Reports
Commi ttee Re port
A ction o n Res o l utions
Res olution
Acti o n on Or d i nances
Ordi nance
Misce llaneous Business
Use -by-Excep tion
W aive r
Approva l of Contract with
significant importance and va l ue
Appointm ent of membe rs t o a
st anding Board or Commit t ee
Est ablishing an Ad Hoc Committee,
the n appointing it s me mbers
City M anager
Ci t y M anage r Re port
Reports and/or Re q uest s from Cit y
Commissio ners and Cit y Attorney
Announce me nts
Agenda Preparation G uidelines
Purpose Requires Special
Advertising
Action No
Informational-No Action No
Informationa l-No Action No
Ceremonia l-No Act ion No
Action No
Acknowledge Rece ipt No
Acknowled ge Recei pt No
Ac knowledge Rece ipt No
Acknowledge Rece ipt No
Action No
Action No
Action No
Action No
I nformat ion a I No
Actio n *No
Action Yes
Di scussion I Action Yes
Di scussi on I Action Yes
Di scu ss ion I Action No
Di sc u ss ion I Action No
Di scu ssion I Action No
Infor mational No
I nformationa I No
Requires a
Public Hearing
for CC meeting?
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
*Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
A GENDA ITEM# 7E
AU GUST II , 2 0 14
Standard # of
times needed
on the agenda
1
N/A
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
**2
1
2
1
2
1
N/A
Agenda Preparation Guidelines
AGENDA ITEM# 7E
AUGUST 11, 2014
*Exceptions:
1. Ordinances and Resolutions to set the annual operating budget and millage rate require special advertising and
two public hearings.
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.
**
Notes:
Use-by-exceptions will be on the Commission Agenda twice. The first time, as a discussion only item and the
second time, as a public hearing and action item.
Variances are handled through the Community Development Board (CDB) and require a Public Hearing. No Commission
action is needed.
Use-by-exceptions are heard by the Community Development Board (CDB) for a recommendation, then to the
Commission.
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.
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMIVJISSION MEETING
STAFF REI'OI~T
AGENDA ITEM # 7E
AUGUST 11, 2014
AGENDA ITl~M: Ordinance No. 5M 14-61: Amending Chapter 2 of Lhe Code of Ordin·anccs,
Administn1tion, Articlu ll1 City Commission, Sec. 2-16, Time and Place of
Regular mcclings, to provide tbr two regulat· meetings.
SUBMITTI!:O BY Nelson Van Licm, City Manager ,:::_CJ ___ ...
DATE: April l8, 2014
UACKGROUND: QJl April 811', 2013, the City Commission approved Ordinance No. 5-13-58
amending the Code to t'cplacc one ·of the two sche~uled meetings per month with
a workshop. This was done as n trial to addrc~s complaints from the public that
111crc was not enough time tor citizcn input on the ngenda it~ms before n vote. By
workshopping the upvoming agcndu, t:Hixvns hove more time and opportunity to
be heard on all items bdbtc a vole is cnsl.
Staff has worked ve1·y hard to make the transition into the one meeting a month
schedule successful. Howeve~\ implementation or this new schedule has been
extl·cmcly difficult tor staff. Aller careful considcmlion, we believe we have
come up wilh an alternative thnt will address everyone's concerns.
Below is il list of unintended consequences that have been n chatrcnge to staff
§!nee the inception of a one meeting per month schedule.
I. The agendas are roughly twice the size. This by itself would not seem to he an
issue. Please consider thnt each item is import!lnl and is lhe result of staff's hard
work. The entire agenda must bu indexed and paginated, copied and bound,
scanned and uploaded, disbihutcd und linked to web pag,es.
1., Meetings fll'g twice. ns l_l)ng. A direct result of the lengthy ngenda i~ tl1at the
meetings take twice as long because thet'c are twice as numy items to discuss.
3, Jho bureaucracy added to thc.Jtruxoval process. slows the _npprovul of t:outlnc
ilemulown. For l11i:lllY important items~ we recognize it is i111portant to slow
down nnd heur comments more thnn otlcc. Routine items~ however,. arc held up in
tha same timcline and ·al'c not able to move furwar~ despite lilLie or no comments
frorn the citizens. Consent items take only a tew minutes to pass in fhc meeting,
but a ftlllthrcc to fblll' weeks to go through the entire approval process.
4. Staff prcllil'"ation sccming!.Y ncvct· ends. As St?ff prepares for Commission
mcerings, we write proposuls und research tl tremendous amount of infmmntion in
pt•epamtion tor the meeting. Hems of routine nature are discussed twice. more
important items tbur times and sometimes, if deferred or as the result of an inilial
proposal that led to the ac1ion, the agendu ilclll may IH.~ed to be tl·csh in our minds
for six weeks as new items accumulate. We need Lo be able to take ncLion and
move forward.
5. Ey_g,ry Agenda Jms. been amqmlcd. Since the ineeption or the one meeting
schedule, we have h«d numerous special coiled meetings and every wo1·kshoppcd
agenda has been amended. As staff tries lo mnke progress on projects ot·
contrncts, we sit and wait through long wtwln;hops wl1erc no action can be taken,
there was no discus:-:ion or comments und yet we niust wait anolhet• Lwo weeks fot·
an approval.
AGENDA ITEM # 7E
AUGUST 11, 2014
6. Ordinances require an additional month for approval. Ordinances set policy and
require two meetings to approve. TWs is by design a method of seeking
additional public input.
7. Workshop forinat 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 fonnat. 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 workshop. This is where the
discussion takes place and this is the meeting the Com:tllissioners need to be hest
prepared for. The agenda is received two to three business days ahead of the
worlcshop. 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.
• 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 6:00p.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 8:00a.m. the next morning, it
does make· a difference.
• 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.
• 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 citiz~
requests.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
AGENDA ITEM# 7E
AUGUST 11,2014
the Hu.man Rights Ordii1ance, may be discu:::sed in a separate workshop. This has
alway:-~ been an option.
;; Item 7-All meetings cun lake place in the fom1al se1ting with the exception of the
workshops calkd to discuss chosen items of significanc~. The qunlity of lhc
video will biJ betler for th~ viewing public and the pro~essionalism will be
cnhnnced. Workshop settings should be fo1· rnfom\ul discw;sions of a limited
number of topics.
o Hem 8 -The tca1' of missing a meeting deadline will be greatly reduced when
there will be mtother meeting within n few wcel<s.
a Jtern 9 -The change to .the agenda. process will allow Commissioners, stitff,
citizens and the press to receive the ugendn al leusl -10 days in advance of the
meeting. Thi~ will allow Commissioners two weekends to review nnd umplc time
to talk with citizens nnd get wi1h start: It will nllow staff tQ research and un::;wcr
additional concerns or citizens aflcr reading the report~. The agenda will be
published tb1~ tho public to review and sthl'fis uvailable to address concerns bcl-brc
\he meeting for over a week lt will allow the press lo publish information about
items of interest prior to the meeting. This will lead to a better infonncd public
and Commission and in turn lead to hctler dedsion m<Jidng.
Keep in n1ind that we have imtllemented other procedures to enhance
C\\ll1ll1unications with the citiz!!ns since lhu one meeting schedule wns
ill1}Jkmentcd. We m·c now vidcoti1ping meetings and providing electronic
agendas for ·commissioners to use on city provided iPads. Management now
encourages commissioners lo directly seck answers from staff if needed. This
tmhance.s th0 response time when ·gathering information for meeting preparations.
BUDGET! No budget impact.
IUCCOMMENDATION: Approve Ordinance No. 5·14-61
ATTACHMRNTS: _Ordinance No. 5-14-61
IU~VJEWI£D·BY CITY MANAGER:.f.{/t?;_,,~;.
ORDINANCE 5-14-61
AGENDA ITEM# 7E
AUGUST 11, 2014
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:
(a) The regular meetings of the sity sommission shall be held on the sesond Monday of eash month.
(b) Ssheduled workshops of the sity sommission shall be held as follo>.vs:
(1) In the months of January through No•1ember, on the fourth Monday of the month.
(2) In the month of Desember, on the third Monday of the month.
(G) 1\11 regular meetings and ssheduled workshops of the Gity sommission shall be held in Gity hall at
6:30p.m.
(d) If the sesond or fourth Monday falls on a holiday, the regular meeting or ssheduled •Norkshop shall
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 fmal passage and adoption.
PASSED by the City Commission on first reading this __ day of 2014.
PASS ED by the City Commission on this second and fmal reading this __ day of __ 2014.
ATTEST:
Donna L. Bartle, CMC
City Clerk
Approved as to form and correctness:
Rich Komando
City Attorney
Carolyn Woods
Mayor, Presiding Officer