HomeMy WebLinkAbout(2023, 02/14) - A-1 - AmendedA-1
CITY COUNCIL
Open Meeting Policies
The Newport Beach City Council is required to comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act). Unless
an exception applies, the Brown Act requires public entities to deliberate and take action in open session.
The City Council has adopted these rules to ensure compliance with the Brown Act and to promote full
citizen participation in the discussions and decisions of their elected and appointed representatives.
A. Regular Meetings. The City Council shall hold Regular Meetings as allowed by the City Charter
and the Ralph M. Brown Act. The Regular Meeting shall begin at 4:00 p.m., or as otherwise
scheduled due to the demand of business, and shall follow the order of business set forth in this
policy.
The City Council may hold a regular meeting, special meeting, or adjourned regular or special
meeting at any location authorized by the City Charter and the Brown Act. When the day for any
regular meeting falls on a legal holiday, no meeting shall be held on such holiday, but a regular
meeting shall be held at the same hours on the following business day.
B. All regular, special, and adjourned meetings of the City Council shall be called, noticed, and
conducted in compliance with the Brown Act.
C. Placing an Item(s) on a Future City Council Agenda. A member of the City Council may place an
item(s) on a future City Council agenda for consideration by submitting a title or topic sufficient to
satisfy the requirements of the Brown Act on or before 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday preceding the
meeting at which the item is to be considered. Item(s) to be placed on a future City Council agenda
shall be primarily focused on issues that directly impact the finances, property, authority, policies,
or interest of the City of Newport Beach and/or finances, property, or rights of the residents of the
City of Newport Beach. When requested, the City Attorney shall assist a City Council Member with
the drafting of an agenda title or topic to ensure consistency with the Brown Act. These items will
appear under the section of the agenda titled, "Matters Which Council Members Have Asked to be
Placed on a Future Agenda" and any Council Member may ask clarifying questions regarding the
item to ensure understanding of the matter. At the Council meeting, if three (3) members of the City
Council wish to examine the issue, staff will prepare an appropriate report and return the item to the
City Council for discussion and/or action. Additionally, the City Manager may place an item(s) on
the agenda at the City Manager's discretion.
D. It is the intent of the City Council that no item will be introduced on a City Council agenda after the
hour of 11:00 p.m. Furthermore, it is the City Council's intent that if an item introduced and being
discussed by 11:00 p.m. is not concluded by 12:00 a.m., the City Council should adjourn the meeting
to another date. The intent and purpose of this policy is to encourage a reasonable hour in which the
City Council business is discussed and to protect against fatigue in discussing and deciding
important City issues.
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Order of Business
To the extent the business needs of the City require City Council consideration of the items set forth below,
the agenda for Regular Meetings of the City Council shall contain the following items in the following
order:
Study Session (if any)
Current Business (if Study Session is scheduled)
• Clarification of Items on the Consent Calendar
• Presentations (will be considered with the remainder of the Regular Meeting agenda
items if no Study Session is scheduled)
• Study Session Items
Public Comments on Agenda and Non -Agenda Items (if Study Session and/or Closed Session is
scheduled)
Closed Session (if any) - Council Chambers Conference Room
Recess (if Study Session and/or Closed Session is scheduled)
Regular Meeting Agenda Items (at 4:00 p.m. or, if there is Study Session and/or Closed Session,
when the meeting is reconvened)
Roll Call
Closed Session Report
Invocation
Pledge of Allegiance
Notice to the Public
Public Comments on Agenda Items (if Study Session and/or Closed Session is not scheduled)
City Council Announcements and Oral Reports from City Council on Committee Activities
(non -discussion item)
Matters Which Council Members Have Asked to be Placed on a Future Agenda (non -discussion
item — Council Members may ask clarifying questions)
Public Comments on Consent Calendar
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Consent Calendar:
A. Reading of Minutes and Ordinances
B. Ordinances for Introduction
C. Ordinances for Adoption
D. Resolutions for Adoption
E. Contracts and Agreements
F. Miscellaneous (for example:
and permit applications)
Items Removed from the Consent Calendar
Public Comments on Non -Agenda Items
Public Hearings
Continued Business
Current Business
Motions for Reconsideration
Planning Commission Agendas, budget amendments,
Continued Closed Session, if necessary (report if applicable)
Adjournment
The Mayor shall have the discretion to change the order of business. Council Members may change the
order of business by majority vote of the City Council.
Rules of Order for City Council Proceedings
A. Rules of Order. Except as provided in this Policy, the City Charter, other rules, or practices followed
by the City Council, or applicable provisions of State law, the procedures of the Council shall be
guided by the latest revised edition of Robert's Rules of Order.
Failure to Observe Rules of Order. Rules adopted to expedite the transaction of the business
of the Council in an orderly fashion are deemed to be procedural only and the failure to
strictly observe such rules shall not affect the jurisdiction of the Council or invalidate any
action taken at a meeting that is otherwise held in conformity with law.
B. Public Input. Members of the general public have the right to address the City Council on any item
on the agenda, as well as any item under the subject jurisdiction of the body.
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1. Agendized Matters and Consent Calendar. Speakers on agenda items, including, but not
limited to, Consent Calendar items, shall limit their comments to three (3) minutes and shall
step down from the lectern immediately after their time has elapsed unless the presiding
officer has granted the speaker's request for additional time. The presiding officer may grant
the speaker additional time if the speaker is addressing the Council on a complicated or
complex matter or if the speaker represents a group of individuals whose individual
testimony would exceed the total time allotted to the speaker. Speakers shall limit their
comments to matters relevant to the item on the agenda.
2. Non-agendized Matters. The agenda shall contain a public comment section during which
any member of the public may address the Council on any non -agenda item generally
considered to be a municipal affair and within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Council.
To ensure that all members of the public have an opportunity to address the Council during
public comments, each speaker shall be limited to three (3) minutes and shall immediately
step down from the lectern upon expiration of the allotted time unless the presiding officer
has granted the speaker's request for additional time. Staff and/or members of the City
Council may briefly respond to each speaker who testifies during public comments.
Responses shall be limited to the specific issue(s) raised by the speaker and shall generally
be limited to information helpful to the public's understanding of the issue(s) raised by the
speaker. The City Council shall not take action relative to any public comment unless an
action would be authorized by Section 54954.2(b) of the Government Code, or any successor
statute.
3. Consent Calendar. A Consent Calendar item may be pulled by the Mayor or a member of
the City Council. If a Consent Calendar item is pulled, members of the public may speak on
each pulled item for up to three (3) minutes, unless the presiding officer has granted the
speaker's request for additional time.
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A. Presiding Officer. The Mayor shall be the Presiding Officer at all meetings of the City Council. In
the absence of the Mayor, or at the Mayor's request, the Mayor Pro Tempore shall preside. In the
absence of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore, the City Clerk shall call the City Council to order,
whereupon a temporary Presiding Officer shall be elected by the City Council Members present to
serve until the arrival of the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tempore.
1. Powers and Duties of Presiding Officer.
a. Participation. The Presiding Officer may move, debate and vote from the Chair.
b. Question to be Stated. The Presiding Officer shall state (or announce) the motion
prior to opening any subject to debate. The Presiding Officer or such member of the
City staff as he or she may designate shall verbally restate each question immediately
prior to calling for the vote.
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Signing of Documents. The Presiding Officer shall sign all ordinances, resolutions,
contracts, and other documents necessitating his or her signature which were adopted
in his or her presence, unless he or she is unavailable, in which case the signature of
an alternate Presiding Officer may be used.
d. Sworn Testimony. The Presiding Officer may require any person addressing the City
Council to be sworn as a witness and to testify under oath, and the Presiding Officer
shall so require if directed to do so by a majority vote of the Council.
B. Parliamentarian. The City Clerk shall be designated as Parliamentarian for the City Council
proceedings to advise the Presiding Officer. Within the limitations imposed by Robert's Rules of
Order, the Presiding Officer has the authority to determine proper parliamentary procedure.
Conduct of City Council Business
A. Rules of Debate.
1. Getting the Floor. Every Council Member desiring to speak shall first address the Presiding
Officer, gain recognition by the Presiding Officer, and shall confine himself or herself to the
question under debate, avoiding personalities and indecorous language.
2. Opening Debate. The following three steps are necessary prior to opening debate on any
subject except as noted.
a. Motions. Before any subject is open to debate, a motion must be made. The motion
is a proposal in that it sets forth something the person making the motion favors.
b. Motions - Second Required. A motion by any member of the Council, including the
Presiding Officer, may not be open to debate without a second. Such action does not
mean that the seconder endorses the motion, but only that he/ she wishes to have the
motion considered.
Exceptions:
Stating of Motion. The motion must be stated (or announced) by the Presiding
Officer prior to opening the subject to debate.
i. Oral Presentations. Oral presentations may be made by staff, or someone
designated by staff, prior to a motion being made and debated upon.
ii. Questions to Staff. At any time during the proceedings, every Council
Member desiring to question the City staff shall, after recognition by the
Presiding Officer, address the questions to the City Manager, the City Clerk
or the City Attorney, who shall be entitled either to answer the inquiry himself
or herself or to designate a member of his/ her staff for that purpose.
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iii. Public Hearings. For matters that are the subject of a public hearing, the
procedures for opening debate are suspended until after the public hearing is
closed.
3. Addressing the Council
a. Manner of Addressing Council. Each person desiring to address the Council shall
step up to the microphone, may state his/her name and address for the record, state
the subject he/she wishes to discuss, may state whom he/she is representing if he/she
represents an organization or other persons and, unless further time is granted by the
Mayor, and shall limit his/her remarks to three (3) minutes. All remarks shall be
addressed to the Council as a whole and not to any member thereof or to the audience.
No question shall be asked a Council Member or a member of the City staff without
the permission of the Presiding Officer.
Exception:
The City Council may preside over administrative hearings or designate a hearing officer to take
evidence and submit proposed findings and recommendations. In the event the City Council
conducts any hearing that is quasi-judicial or administrative in nature, the following procedure shall
be followed:
i. The presiding officer may ask the City Manager to summarize the nature of
the hearing and the issues to be resolved by the City Council.
ii. The presiding officer shall invite the person or entity that filed the application
for permit, license, or other entitlement (applicant) to make a presentation.
The applicant shall have a reasonable amount of time to present evidence or
testimony relevant to any issue before the City Council. The City Council,
City Manager or City Attorney may ask questions of the applicant or any
witness presented by the applicant.
iii. In the event the matter is pending before the City Council by virtue of an
appeal, the presiding officer shall invite the appellant to make a presentation.
The appellant shall have a reasonable amount of time to present evidence or
testimony relevant to any issue before the City Council. The City Council,
City Manager or City Attorney may ask questions of the appellant or any
witness presented by the appellant.
iv. Upon conclusion of the presentations by the applicant and the appellant, if
any, the presiding officer shall invite testimony from members of the
audience.
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V. Prior to closing the hearing, the presiding officer shall give the applicant the
opportunity to comment on the evidence with the right to comment limited to
no more than five (5) minutes.
vi. The presiding officer shall have the discretion to require the applicant, the
appellant, and their respective witnesses, to present testimony under oath.
vii. The presiding officer shall have the right to exclude testimony or evidence
which is not relevant to any issue before the City Council.
b. Spokesman for Group of Persons. To expedite matters and to avoid repetitious
presentations, whenever any group of persons wishes to address the City Council on
the same subject matter, it shall be proper for the Presiding Officer to request that a
spokesman be chosen by the group to address the City Council and, in case additional
matters are to be presented by any other member of said group, to limit the number
of such persons addressing the City Council, subject to the right of all members of
the public to speak on any item on the agenda pursuant to the Brown Act.
4. After Motion. After a motion has been made or a public hearing has been closed, no member
of the public shall address the City Council from the audience on the matter under
consideration without first securing permission to do so by a majority vote of the City
Council.
5. Interruptions. A Council Member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking
unless called to order by the Presiding Officer, unless a point of order or personal privilege
is raised by another Council Member, or unless the speaker chooses to yield to a question by
another Council Member. If a Council Member, while speaking, is called to order, he or she
shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined and, if determined to be in
order, he or she may proceed. Members of the City staff after recognition by the Presiding
Officer shall hold the floor until completion of their remarks or until recognition is
withdrawn by the Presiding Officer.
6. Points of Order. The Presiding Officer shall determine all points of order subject to the right
of any Council Member to appeal to the Council. If an appeal is taken, the question shall be
"Shall the decision of the Presiding Officer be sustained?" A majority vote shall conclusively
determine such question of order.
7. Point of Personal Privilege. The right of a Council Member to address the Council on a
question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which the integrity, character or
motives are questioned or where the welfare of the Council is concerned. A Council Member
raising a point of personal privilege may interrupt another Council Member who has the
floor only if the Presiding Officer recognizes the privilege.
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8. Limitation of Debate. No Council Member shall be allowed to speak more than once upon
any particular subject until every other Council Member desiring to do so shall have spoken.
9. Protest Against Council Action. Any Council Member shall have the right to have the
reasons for his or her dissent from, or his or her protest against, any action of the Council
entered in the minutes. Such dissent or protest to be entered into the minutes may be made
in the following manner: "I would like the minutes to show that I am opposed to this action
for the following reasons...."
10. Remarks of Council Member and Synopsis of Debate. A Council Member may request
through the Presiding Officer the privilege of having an abstract of his or her statement on
any subject under consideration by the Council entered in the minutes. If the Council
consents thereto, such statement shall be entered in the minutes.
B. Rules of Decorum.
1. Council Members. While the City Council is in session, the members must preserve order
and decorum. Each Council Member shall conduct himself or herself with decorum and shall
neither, by conversation or otherwise, delay nor interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the
City Council, nor disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the
Presiding Officer.
a. Each Council Member has the duty to:
i. Respect and adhere to the American ideals of government, rule of law,
principles of public administration and high ethical conduct in the
performance of public duties.
ii. Represent and work for the common good of the City and not for any private
interest.
iii. Refuse to accept gifts of favors or promises of future benefits which might
compromise or tend to impair independent judgment or action.
iv. Provide fair and equal treatment for all persons and matters coming before
the City Council.
V. Learn and study the background and purpose of important items of business
before voting.
vi. Faithfully perform all duties of office.
vii. Refrain from disclosing any information received during any closed session
of the City Council held pursuant to state law.
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viii. Decline any employment incompatible with public duty.
ix. Refrain from abusive conduct, personal charges or verbal attacks upon the
character, motives, ethics or morals of other members of the City Council,
City commission, committee or board, City staff, or the public, or other
personal comments not germane to the issues before the City Council.
Members are to be tolerant of all views expressed at public meetings.
X. Listen courteously and attentively to all public discussions at City Council
meetings and avoid interrupting other speakers, including other members
except as permitted by established Rules of Order.
xi. Maintain the highest standards of public conduct by refusing to condone
breaches of public trust or improper attempts to influence legislation.
2. Decorum of Speakers. Speakers shall not engage in willful conduct which interrupts the
meeting or interferes with the orderly conduct of the meeting. Any speaker engaging in such
conduct shall be called to order by the presiding officer and, if the conduct continues, the
presiding officer may order the speaker barred from speaking and/ or attending the meeting.
No person shall be declared out of order, prevented from speaking or barred from attendance
at any meeting because of any disagreement with the speaker's position or view on any
matter, because of the speaker's identity or because of any disagreement with the content of
relevant testimony.
3. Members of the Audience. No member of the audience shall willfully interrupt the orderly
conduct at the meeting. The presiding officer shall direct the removal of any individual
whose willful interruption renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting. In the event
the removal of the individual or individuals willfully interrupting the meeting does not
restore order, the presiding officer may order the meeting room cleared and continue in
session. Media representatives shall be allowed to remain at the meeting except those
representatives of whose willful conduct interrupted the meeting.
4. Persons Authorized to Approach the City Council Dais. No person except members of the
City Council and the City staff shall enter the area between the public speakers' podiums and
the City Council Dais without the consent of the Presiding Officer.
5. Enforcement of Decorum. The Chief of Police, or such member or members of the Police
Department as he or she may designate, shall be Sergeant -at -Arms of the City Council and
shall carry out all orders given by the Presiding Officer for the purpose of maintaining order
and decorum at the Council meetings. Any Council Member may move to require the
Presiding Officer to enforce the rules upon affirmative vote of a majority of the City Council.
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Ex Parte Communications
Members of the City Council, and City employees, agents and representatives shall not engage in any Ex
Parte communication with any member of a Board, Commission or Committee regarding any quasi-judicial
matter pending, or reasonably expected to come, before that member's Board, Commission, or Committee.
For purposes of this policy, the term Ex Parte communication shall mean any oral or written communication
directed to a member which is intended, or is reasonably calculated, to influence the member's decision on
any quasi-judicial matter but does not include communications between members during deliberations
preliminary to decision or communications where all interested parties or their representatives are present.
The term quasi-judicial matter shall mean the appeal of any discipline imposed on any City employee, the
appeal of any grievance filed by a City employee or employee association, or a proceeding to revoke any
license, permit or approval granted by the City Council, any Board, Commission, or Committee, or any
City employee and which is pending, or is reasonably expected to come, before any City Board,
Commission, or Committee.
The provisions of this policy do not apply to Ex Parte communications between City employees and any
member of a Board, Commission or Committee regarding a quasi -judicial -matter which has been submitted
to, or can reasonably be expected to be heard by, the Board, Commission, or Committee when the Ex Parte
communication is initiated by the member and requests only background information available to members
of the general public.
City Council Voting Procedures
A. Voting Procedure. Any vote of the City Council, including a roll call vote, may be registered by the
members by answering "Yes" for an affirmative vote, "Abstain" for an abstention, or "No" for a
negative vote upon the member's name being called by the City Clerk, or by the Presiding Officer.
Following the vote, the City Clerk shall audibly announce the results of the vote by name indicating
whether the question carried or was defeated. The same shall be recorded in the minutes as the vote.
The Presiding Officer in his or her discretion may publicly explain the effect of a vote for the
audience, or he or she may direct a member of the City Staff to do so, before proceeding to the next
item of business.
B. Disqualification for Conflict of Interest. Any Council Member who is disqualified from voting on a
particular matter by reason of a conflict of interest shall publicly state the nature of such
disqualification in an open meeting. Where no clearly disqualifying conflict of interest appears, the
matter of disqualification may, at the request of the Council Member affected, be decided by the
other Council Members. A Council Member who is disqualified by reason of a conflict of interest
in any matter shall not remain in his or her seat during the debate and vote on such matter, but shall
request and be given the permission of the Presiding Officer to step down from the Council table. If
the conflict involves a matter on the Consent Calendar the Council Member must announce the
nature of the conflict, refrain from participating on the item, but may remain present at the City
Council Dais. A Council Member stating such disqualification shall not be counted as a part of a
quorum and shall be considered absent for the purpose of determining the outcome of any vote on
such matter.
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C. Failure to Vote. Every Council Member should vote unless disqualified by reason of a conflict of
interest. The vote of Council Member who abstains absent a disqualifying conflict of interest shall
be counted with the majority vote of the quorum on the question vote upon.
D. Tie Vote. Tie votes shall be lost motions and may be reconsidered by any Council Member.
E. Changing Vote. A Council Member may change his or her vote only if the Council Member makes
a timely request to do so immediately following the announcement of the vote by the City Clerk and
prior to the time that the next item of business is taken up.
F. Reconsideration. A motion to reconsider the vote on any action taken by the City Council at either
this meeting or the previous meeting may be made only by one of the Council Members who voted
with the prevailing side.
Closed Session Agenda
The closed session agenda shall be prepared by the City Attorney. The closed session agenda shall strictly
conform to the format specified in the Brown Act. The City Attorney shall prepare a written report, or give
an oral report, of any action taken in closed session that is required to be reported in open session by the
Brown Act.
Selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem
Section 404 of the City Charter provides for the selection of the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem by the City
Council. This section provides that a Mayor and a Mayor Pro Tem shall be selected at least as often as
Councilmanic elections are held and that the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem shall serve at the pleasure of the
City Council.
Effective with the selection of the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem during November of 1984, it is the policy
of the City Council that the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem election shall occur every year thereafter. The
election shall take place pursuant to Section 404 of the City Charter.
Seating Arrangement for City Council
Following each Council election, members of the City Council shall be seated at the City Council table with
senior Council Members having first choice of seats. The Mayor, however, shall be seated in the center of
the City Council table and the Mayor Pro Tempore shall always be seated immediately next to and to the
right of the Mayor. In the event of equal seniority among members of the City Council, selection of City
Council seats shall be made by the Council Member who received the highest margin of victory percentage
in the most recent election.
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City Council Correspondence
The City Clerk is authorized to open and examine all mail or other written communications addressed to
the City Council and to immediately give a copy to the City Manager. The City Manager shall give
immediate attention to administrative business referred to in the communication that does not require City
Council action and may be promptly concluded or shall prepare a staff report for the next available City
Council meeting. Except as otherwise permitted by law, all mail or written communications from the public,
residents, or applicants shall be submitted to the City Council by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday immediately
prior to the meeting at which the City Council will consider the item that is the subject of the mail or written
communications to allow time for the City Council to adequately consider the mail or written
communications.
Ordinances, Resolutions and Contracts
A. Ordinances, Resolutions and Contracts. All ordinances, resolutions and contracts shall be prepared
by the City Attorney. No ordinance shall be prepared for presentation to the Council unless ordered
by a majority vote of the Council, or requested by the Mayor, or City Manager, or prepared by the
City Attorney on his or her own initiative. The Planning Commission may initiate zoning and
planning ordinances.
B. Prior Review by Administration Staff. All ordinances, resolutions and contract documents shall,
before presentation to the City Council be reviewed by the City Manager or his/ her designee.
C. Reading of Ordinances. If a motion to waive reading of all ordinances has been adopted at the
beginning of the Council meeting, the City Clerk will read the ordinances by title only. If any
Council Member so requests, the ordinance shall be read in full.
Preparation and Reading of Minutes
The City Clerk shall have the exclusive responsibility for preparation of the minutes, and any directions for
changes in the minutes shall be made only by majority action of the City Council.
Unless the reading of the minutes of a City Council meeting is ordered by a majority vote of the City
Council, such minutes may be approved without reading if the City Clerk previously furnished each City
Council Member and the public binder and website with a copy.
Recording of Open Meetings
A. All regular meetings of the City Council shall be recorded.
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B. Any person attending an open and public meeting of the City Council shall have the right to record
the proceedings with an audio or video tape recorder or a still or motion picture camera unless the
City Council determines, based upon evidence in findings made by the Mayor, that continued
recording would create noise, illumination, or view obstruction problems that are disrupting or
would disrupt the proceedings. The Mayor may impose conditions on any recordation, which in the
absence of the conditions, would disrupt the proceedings.
C. Any audio tape or video record of any open and public meeting made by or at the direction of the
City of Newport Beach shall be subject to inspection pursuant to the California Public Records Act
(Sections 6250 et seq. of the Government Code). If a City Council meeting has simultaneously
recorded audio and video, the audio recording may be destroyed after the City Council meeting
minutes for that meeting have been approved by the City Council and the video recording has been
uploaded to the document imaging system. Any person may inspect a video or audio recording
without charge on a recorder made available by the City of Newport Beach.
City Council Member Requests for Research or Information
The City of Newport Beach is a City Council -City Manager form of government. The City Council appoints
a City Manager to implement policy, to ensure laws are enforced, to direct the daily operations of City
government, and to prepare and monitor the municipal budget. Because Council Policy is implemented on
a daily basis through City staff, it is critical that the relationship between the City Council and City staff be
well understood by all parties so that policies and programs may be implemented successfully.
The purpose of this policy is to further guide the implementation of Charter Section 406 (Interference in
Administrative Service) so that the long tradition of positive relationships between members of the City
Council and City staff is maintained.
A. General Interactions with City Staff:
1. The City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk are appointed directly by the City Council
to provide executive, administrative, and legal services. In many cases, the City Manager
encourages direct contact with department directors within this Policy's guidelines, thus
enabling the Council Member to get appropriate information quickly and easily.
2. If a Council Member's request is expected to take more than thirty (30) minutes (or in the
case of a request from the Mayor, two (2) hours) to research, gather information, report on
or otherwise respond to any inquiry, the City Manager, City Attorney, or City Clerk shall
ask that the Council Member or Mayor place the request on the agenda for formal Council
action before staff spends time or resources on the request.
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B. Requests for Information or Research:
For new issues, actions, or research proposed by a Council Member that require approval by
the City Council, Council Members will follow the procedure provided in this policy to place
an item on the City Council agenda.
2. For issues or actions that have been previously approved by the City Council, or which do
not require City Council approval, Council Members will, depending on the nature of the
request, route the request for information or research through the City Manager, City
Attorney, or City Clerk. It shall be the responsibility of the City Manager, City Attorney, or
City Clerk to promptly respond as to their recommended disposition of the request. Upon
authorization by the City Manager, City Attorney, or City Clerk, the Council Member may
communicate directly with other city staff members (such as department directors) or City
consultants.
3. Council Members' contact with City staff or City consultants, other than City Council
appointees, is limited to asking questions and obtaining information and not giving direction
or assignments.
Expressions of Official City Position or Policy
If a member of the City Council desires that a particular official City position or policy be established or
expressed on a given issue, the Council Member shall submit his/her recommendations on said position or
policy to the entire City Council as provided in this policy, for evaluation and disposition as the City Council
sees fit.
Any City Council Member who wishes to make a statement or opinion regarding a matter which the City
Council has not taken an official position on shall ensure that said statement or opinion cannot be construed
by the public as being an official position or policy of the City of Newport Beach. The City Council finds
this policy furthers an important public purpose by ensuring the public does not confuse personal opinions
expressed by City Council Members with official expressions of City policy.
Use of City Stationary
Members of the City Council, and staff are authorized to use City stationary when corresponding on matters
relating to official City business. Said correspondence shall identify the author of the letter as such. Use of
City stationary for private personal matters is not permitted.
The style and content of City stationary utilized by individual City departments shall be approved by the
City Manager so as to minimize the number of styles and promote use of a City-wide standard.
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History
Adopted A-1—
2-09-1959 ("Seconds to Motions")
Adopted A-3 —
2-09-1959 ("Seating of Councilmen")
Adopted A-6—11-13-1967
("Recording of Meetings")
Amended A-1 & A-3 — 11-12-1968
Reaffirmed A-1,
A-3 & A-6 — 3-09-1970
Reaffirmed A-1,
A-3 & A-6 — 2-14-1972
Adopted A-3 —
5-08-1972 ("City Council Instructions to Staff')
Adopted A-10
— 8-21-1972 ("Procedural Rules for Council Meetings", incorporating A-1 & A-3)
Amended A-10
— 11-24-1975
Amended A-6 —
6-13-1977
Amended A-6—10-25-197
Amended A-10
— 11-28-1977
Amended A-10
— 7-24-1978
Amended A-10
— 9-11-1978
Amended A-10
— 11-27-1978
Adopted A-13
— 2-12-1979 ("Use of City Stationary")
Amended A-10
— 10-23-1979
Amended A-10
— 11-12-1979
Amended A-10
— 7-28-1980
Amended A-6 & A-10 — 2-09-1981
Deleted A-3 — 2-09-1981
Amended A-1-10-25-1982
Amended A-10
— 6-25-1984
Amended A-10
—10-22-1984
Adopted A-1 —
11-20-1984 ("Election of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem")
Amended A-10
— 6-24-1985
Amended A-10
— 3-24-1986
Amended A-10
— 1-12-1987
Amended A-10
— 5-26-1987
Amended A-10
— 11-28-1988
Amended A-10
— 11-27-1989
Amended A-13
—1-08-1990
Amended A-10
— 8-13-1990
Amended A-10
— 10-22-1990
Amended A-10
— 6-28-1993
Created A-11 —
1-24-1994 ("Recording of Council Meetings")
Amended A-6 —
1-24-1994 (renamed to "Open Meetings")
Amended A-1 —
1-24-1994
Amended A-13
— 1-24-1994 (changed to A-8)
Amended A-6 & A-10 — 3-28-1994
Amended A-6 —
6-27-1994
Amended A-6 —
12-12-1994
Amended A-11—
2-27-1995
15
A-1
Amended A-10
—10-09-1995
Corrected A-1 & A-8 — 2-26-1996
Amended A-10
— 2-26-1996
Amended A-6 —
2-26-1996
Adopted A-13
— 5-28-1996 ("Decorum and Order for BCC")
Amended A-6 —
12-9-1996
Amended A-1 —
2-24-1997
Adopted A-15
— 11-10-1997 ("Ex-Parte Communication")
Amended A-6 —
5-26-1998
Adopted A-16
— 6-22-1998 ("Conflict of Interest Procedures")
Amended A-6 —
3-14-2000
Amended A-6 —
2-27-2001
Amended A-6 —
3-27-2001
Amended A-10
— 8-28-2001
Amended A-6 —
1-27-2004
Amended A-6 —
3-09-2004
Amended A-6 —
3-28-2006
Amended A-6 —
2-26-2008
Amended A-6 —
10-27-2009
Amended A-6 —
12-6-2010
Amended A-6 & A-10 — 2-22-2011
Amended A-6 —
11-27-2012
Amended A-6 & A-10 — 1-08-2013
Amended A-6 —
5-14-2013
Adopted A-3 —
5-14-2013 ("Request for Research or Information")
Amended A-11
— 5-13-2014
Amended A-6 —
6-09-2015
Adopted A-20
— 7-14-2015 ("Expression of Official City Position")
Amended A -I I
— 4-12-2016
Amended A-13
— 1-24-2017
Amended A-1
— 8-08-2017 (incorporating A-3, A-6, A-8, A-10, A-11, A-13, A-15, A-16 and A-20,
renaming to "City Council")
Amended A-1 —
1-22-2019
Amended A-1 —
7-14-2020
Amended A-1 —
4-27-2021
Amended A-1 —
2-14-2023
16