HomeMy WebLinkAbout04 - Amending City Council Policies A-1, A-2, D-1 and D-5, to Help the Public Discern Whether a Communication is an Official or Personal CommunicationQ �EwPpRT
CITY OF
s NEWPORT BEACH
`q44:09 City Council Staff Report
May 14, 2024
Agenda Item No. 4
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Aaron Harp, City Attorney - 949-644-3131,
aharp@newportbeachca.gov
PREPARED BY: Joseph Meeks, Deputy City Attorney - 949-644-3131,
jmeeks@newportbeachca.gov
TITLE: Resolution No. 2024-31: Amending City Council Policies A-1, A-2,
D-1 and D-5, to Help the Public Discern Whether a Communication
is an Official or Personal Communication
/_1 16"t I:7_T91 6
The United States Supreme Court recently provided guidance regarding steps public
entities can take to help ensure that the public can discern when an elected or appointed
public official, officer, employee or consultant is communicating on behalf of the public
entity or in their personal capacity. City of Newport Beach staff is recommending that the
City Council adopt the proposed amendments to City Council Policies A-1, A-2, D-1 and
D-5 to align with the guidance provided by the Supreme Court.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because
this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly;
and
b) Adopt Resolution No. 2024-31, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Newport
Beach, California, Amending City Council Policies A-1 "City Council," A-2 "Boards,
Commissions & Committees," D-1 "Media Relations," and D-5 "Digital
Communication" to Ensure that the Public Can Discern When a Communication Made
by a City Official, Officer, Employee or Consultant is Being Made on Behalf of the City
or is a Personal Communication.
DISCUSSION:
In the case of Lindke v. Freed 601 U.S. _ (2024), Kevin Lindke filed a lawsuit against
James Freed, the city manager of the City of Port Huron, Michigan, alleging that Freed
violated his free speech rights because Freed deleted Lindke's comments, and eventually
blocked Lindke, from Freed's personal Facebook profile. Lindke alleged that because
Freed sometimes posted job -related posts on his personal Facebook account, that the
activity was therefore state action, and that deleting and blocking Lindke's responses
violated Lindke's First Amendment right to free speech.
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Resolution No. 2024-31: Amending City Council Policies A-1, A-2,
D-1 and D-5, to Help the Public Discern Whether a
Communication is an Official or Personal Communication
May 14, 2024
Page 2
On March 15, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling in this case holding
that, for a communication by a government official to constitute official action: (1) the
official must have "actual authority to speak on behalf of the [entity] on a public matter,"
(this ensures the conduct is actually attributable to the public entity), and (2) the official
must have "purported to exercise that authority" (i.e., the official is speaking in furtherance
of the official's responsibilities, rather than speaking with the official's own voice).
While the line between private and public speech can be difficult to draw, the Supreme
Court opinion offers guidance regarding steps that can be taken to help the public discern
between private and public speech. For instance, the Supreme Court noted that if Freed's
Facebook account had been labeled, "this is the personal page of James R. Freed,"
or contained a "disclaimer (i.e., `the views expressed are strictly my own')," there would
be a heavy presumption that all the posts on that account were personal.
Based on the guidance provided by the Supreme Court, City staff is recommending that
the following City Council Policies be amended as follows:
• Amend City Council Policy A-1 (City Council) and City Council Policy A-2 (Boards,
Commissions & Committees) to clarify that members are only authorized to convey
information that is: authorized by a Council Policy or applicable law; factual in
nature (e.g., about City programs, projects, and other City business); or an official
position or policy of the City that has been approved by the City Council as a body.
Additionally, the policy provides that when communicating a personal statement or
opinion, a member may not use official City email addresses or stationery and is
required to make it clear that the communication is personal (i.e., "the views
expressed are strictly my own").
• Amend City Council Policy D-1 (Media Relations) to designate who may
communicate with the media on behalf of the City; how that information may be
distributed; and requiring the use of disclaimers for personal communications.
• Amend City Council Policy D-5 (Digital Communication) to provide that private
social media accounts and emails may not be used for City communications; only
City owned and controlled social media platforms and email may be used to
officially communicate on behalf of the City; and requiring the use of disclaimers
for personal communications.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact related to this item.
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Resolution No. 2024-31: Amending City Council Policies A-1, A-2,
D-1 and D-5, to Help the Public Discern Whether a
Communication is an Official or Personal Communication
May 14, 2024
Page 3
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not
result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment)
and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA
Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, because it has
no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of
the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A — Resolution No. 2024-31
Attachment B — City Council Policy A-1 (redline)
Attachment C — City Council Policy A-2 (redline)
Attachment D — City Council Policy D-1 (redline)
Attachment E — City Council Policy D-5 (redline)
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ATTACHMENT A
RESOLUTION NO. 2024-31
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CITY
COUNCIL POLICIES A-1 "CITY COUNCIL," A-2 "BOARDS,
COMMISSIONS & COMMITTEES," D-1 "MEDIA
RELATIONS," AND D-5 "DIGITAL COMMUNICATION" TO
ENSURE THAT THE PUBLIC CAN DISCERN WHEN A
COMMUNICATION MADE BY A CITY OFFICIAL, OFFICER,
EMPLOYEE OR CONSULTANT IS BEING MADE ON
BEHALF OF THE CITY OR IS A PERSONAL
COMMUNICATION
WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach ("City") is governed by its Charter,
Municipal Code, and adopted City Council Policies;
WHEREAS, Council Policy A-1 (City Council) and Council Policy A-2 (Boards,
Commissions & Committees) sets forth City policies that apply to the City Council and
City board, commissions and committees including, but not limited to, provisions related
to the conveyance of information regarding the official positions and policies of the City;
WHEREAS, Council Policy D-1 (Media Relations) sets forth City policy that
applies to communications with the news media including, but not limited to, provisions
governing who is authorized to respond to media inquiries and disseminate official
information;
WHEREAS, Council Policy D-5 (Digital Communication) sets forth City policy that
applies to the use of digital communication tools including, but not limited to, use of
websites and social media platforms;
WHEREAS, in the recent case of Lindke v. Freed 601 U.S. __ (2024) the
United States Supreme Court clarified the applicable legal standard to distinguish
between public and personal communications made by elected and appointed officials,
officers, employees and other persons that are engaged by a public entity; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach desires to revise City
Council Policies A-1, A-2, D-1, and D-5, to ensure that the public can discern when a
communication by an appointed or elected City official, officer, employee or consultant is
being made on behalf of the City or is a personal communication.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach resolves as
follows:
Resolution No. 2024-
Page 2 of 3
Section 1: The City Council hereby adopts City Council Policy A-1 as shown in
Exhibit 1, City Council Policy A-2 as shown in Exhibit 2, City Council Policy D-1 as shown
in Exhibit 3, and City Council Policy D-5 as shown in Exhibit 4, each of which is attached
hereto and incorporated herein by this reference.
Section 2: All prior versions of City Council Policies A-1, A-2, D-1, and D-5 that
are hereby repealed.
Section 3: The recitals provided in this resolution are true and correct and are
incorporated into the operative part of this resolution.
Section 4: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this
resolution is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not
affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this resolution. The City
Council hereby declares that it would have passed this resolution, and each section,
subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or
more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
Section 5: Except as expressly modified in this resolution, all other City Council
Policies, sections, subsections, terms, clauses and phrases set forth in the Council Policy
Manual shall remain unchanged and shall be in full force and effect.
Section 6: The City Council finds the adoption of this resolution and the
amendment of the foregoing Council Policies is not subject to the California
Environmental Quality Act ("CEQX) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not
result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment)
and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA
Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, because it has
no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
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Resolution No. 2024-
Page 3 of 3
Section 7: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by
the City Council, and the City Clerk shall certify the vote adopting the resolution.
ADOPTED this 14th day of May, 2024.
Will O'Neill
Mayor
ATTEST:
Leilani I. Brown
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Aaron C. Harp
City Attorney
Attachments: Exhibit 1 — Revised City Council Policy A-1
Exhibit 2 -- Revised City Council Policy A-2
Exhibit 3 — Revised City Council Policy D-1
Exhibit 4 — Revised City Council Policy D-5
we
EXHIBIT 1
A-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
Consent Calendar:
HR
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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: Planning Commission Agendas, budget
amendments, and permit applications)
Items Removed from the Consent Calendar
Public Comments on Non -Agenda Items
Public Hearings
Continued Business
Current Business
Motions for Reconsideration
Continued Closed Session, ifnecessary (report ifapplicable)
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.
1. 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.
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
A-1
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.
Officers
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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C. 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.
Gettiniz 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.
C. Stating of Motion. The motion must be stated (or announced) by the Presiding
Officer prior to opening the subject to debate.
Exceptions:
i. Oral Presentations. Oral presentations may be made by staff, or
someone designated by staff, prior to a motion being made and debated
upon.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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 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 Tern by
the City Council. This section provides that a Mayor and a Mayor Pro Tern shall be selected at least
as often as Councilmanic elections are held and that the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tern shall serve at the
pleasure of the City Council.
Effective with the selection of the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tern during November of 1984, it is the
policy of the City Council that the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tern election shall occur every year
thereafter. The election shall take place pursuant to Section 404 of the City Charter.
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Seating Arrangementfor 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.
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.
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Recording of Open Meetings
A. All regular meetings of the City Council shall be recorded.
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 orinformation
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:
1. 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
Council Members are authorized to convey information to the public: as provided for by Council
Policy; by law; that is factual in nature, (e.g., about City programs, projects, and other City business);
as well as official positions and policies of the City that have been approved by the City Council as
a body. If a member of the City Council desires that a particular official City position or policy be
established or expressed on a given issue not previously approved by the City Council, the Council
Member shall submit their 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.
Except as provided in this Policy, any City Council Member who wishes to communicate a statement
or opinion regarding any 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. When communicating such opinion or statement, a City Council Member shall
not use City equipment, City email addresses, or City stationery. Additionally, such communications
shall make it clear that the Council Member is expressing their own personal opinion. 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.
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Use of City Stationery and Email
Members of the City Council are authorized to use City stationery and email when corresponding on
matters relating to official City business. Correspondence shall identify the author of the
correspondence and email. Use of City stationery or email for private personal matters or statements
of personal opinion is not permitted.
The style and content of City stationery utilized by individual City departments, shall be approved
by the City Manager to minimize the number of styles and promote use of a City-wide standard.
Private Digital Communications
Digital communication(s) by a Council Member on a Digital Communication Platform, as that term
is defined in Council Policy D-5, that is owned or controlled by a Council Member or a third -party
(i.e., someone other than the City) and which discusses matters within the subject matter jurisdiction
of the City Council, shall be deemed to be made in their personal capacity. Digital communications
by a Council Member through a Digital Communication Platform owned or controlled by the Council
Member or a third -party that discusses City matters shall make it clear that the Council Member is
not speaking on behalf of the City (i.e., "views expressed are my own"). All social media platforms
owned or controlled by the Council Member that discusses City matters shall contain a notice that
they are the personal page of the Council Member.
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History
Adopted A-1 - 02-09-1959 ("Seconds to Motions")
Adopted A-3 - 02-09-1959 ("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 - 03-09-1970
Reaffirmed A-1, A-3 & A-6 - 02-14-1972
Adopted A-3 - 05-08-1972 ("City Council Instructions to Staff')
Adopted A-10 - 08-21-1972 ("Procedural Rules for Council Meetings", incorporating
A-1 & A-3)
Amended A-10 - 11-24-1975
Amended A-6 - 06-13-1977
Amended A-6 - 10-25-1977
Amended A-10 - 11-28-1977
Amended A-10 - 07-24-1978
Amended A-10 - 09-11-1978
Amended A-10-11-27-1978
Adopted A-13 - 02-12-1979("Use of City Stationary")
Amended A-10 - 10-23-1979
Amended A-10 - 11-12-1979
Amended A-10 - 07-28-1980
Amended A-6 & A-10 - 02-09-1981
Deleted A-3 - 02-09-1981
Amended A-1 - 10-25-1982
Amended A-10 - 06-25-1984
Amended A-10 - 10-22-1984
Adopted A-1 - 11-20-1984 ("Election of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tern")
Amended A-10 - 06-24-1985
Amended A-10 - 03-24-1986
Amended A-10 - 01-12-1987
Amended A-10 - 05-26-1987
Amended A-10 - 11-28-1988
Amended A-10 - 11-27-1989
Amended A-13 - 01-08-1990
Amended A-10 - 08-13-1990
Amended A-10 - 10-22-1990
Amended A-10 - 06-28-1993
Created A -I I - 01-24-1994 (Recording of Council Meetings")
Amended A-6 - 01-24-1994 (renamed to "Open Meetings")
Amended A-1 - 01-24-1994
Amended A-13 - 01-24-1994 (changed to A-8)
Amended A-6 & A-10 - 03-28-1994
Amended A-6 - 06-27-1994
Amended A-6 - 12-12-1994
Amended A- I I - 02-27-1995
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Amended A-10 - 10-09-1995
Corrected A-1 & A-8 - 02-
26-1996 Amended A-10 -
02-26-1996 Amended A-6
-02-26-1996
Adopted A-13 - 05-28-1996 ("Decorum and Order for BCC")
Amended A-6 - 12-9-1996
Amended A-1 - 02-24-1997
Adopted A-15 - 11-10-1997("Ex-Parte
Communication") Amended A-6 - 05-26-1998
Adopted A-16 - 06-22-1998 ("Conflict of Interest Procedures")
Amended A-6 - 03-14-2000
Amended A-6 - 02-
27-2001 Amended
A-6 - 03-27-2001
Amended A-10 - 08-
28-2001
Amended A-6 - 01-27-2004
Amended A-6 - 03-09-2004
Amended A-6 - 03-28-2006
Amended A-6 - 02-26-
2008 Amended A-6 - 10-
27-2009 Amended A-6 -
12-6-2010
Amended A-6 & A-10 - 02-
22-2011 Amended A-6 - I I -
27-2012
Amended A-6 & A-10 -
01-08-2013 Amended A-6
-05-14-2013
Adopted A-3 - 05-14-2013 ("Request for Research or
Information") Amended A-11 - 05-13-2014
Amended A-6 - 06-09-2015
Adopted A-20 - 07-14-2015 ("Expression of Official City
Position") Amended A- I I - 04-12-2016
Amended A-13 - 01-24-2017
Amended A-1 - 08-08-2017 (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 - 01-22-2019
Amended A-1 - 07-14-2020
Amended A-1 - 04-27-2021
Amended A-1 - 02-14-2023
Amended A-1— 5-14-2024
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EXHIBIT 2
A-2
BOARDS, COMMISSIONS & COMMITTEES
Service on City Boards, Commissions, and Committees is one of the principal means by
which residents participate in the conduct of City government. The City is fortunate to
have highly skilled, educated and experienced residents that are willing to selflessly
donate their time and resources to positively contribute towards the betterment of our
City. This Policy prescribes the rules, guidelines, and ideals that govern our City's Boards,
Commissions, and Committees.
Board, Commission, & Committee Formation Process
A. Boards and Commissions shall be established by City Charter or ordinance of the
City Council. Committees shall be established by a resolution of the City Council
in accordance with this policy.
B. Boards, Commissions and Committees shall be designated either 1) Permanent;
2) Standing; or 3) Ad Hoc. Boards, Commissions and Committees having a definite
termination date may be extended by City Council action.
C. With the assistance of the City Attorney, all Boards, Commissions and Committees
shall determine the applicability of, and comply with, the Ralph M. Brown Act.
D. All Boards, Commission and Committee meetings open to the public shall include
an opportunity for public comments and questions.
E. Boards and Commissions may be reviewed on or before December 31 of each year
consistent with the Maddy Act (Cal. Gov. Code § 54972). Committees may be
reviewed in October of each year for any needed additions, changes or deletions
by the City Manager and the City Council. Within this review, the City Council
shall consider whether the work done by Committees is duplicative of other
Committees' work, and shall consider merging or disbanding committees as
appropriate. This provision shall not however prevent such changes at other times
of the year.
Types of Boards, Commissions, & Committees
Boards and Commissions (Permanent)
These shall consist of citizens with a staff liaison pursuant to the enabling City Charter
section, ordinance or resolution. Appointments are made pursuant to this Policy.
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ON Council Committees (Standing or Ad Hoc)
These shall consist of City Council Members and City staff as prescribed by enabling
ordinance or resolution. The Mayor annually shall appoint the City Council Members
subject to confirmation by the full City Council.
City Council/Citizens' Committees (Standing or Ad Hoc)
These shall consist of City Council Members, citizens and City staff as prescribed by
enabling ordinance or resolution. The Mayor annually shall appoint City Council
members to these Committees subject to confirmation by the full City Council.
Appointment of citizens and staff members to these Committees shall be addressed in the
respective enabling ordinance or resolution.
Citizens' Advisory Committees (Standing or Ad Hoc)
These shall be comprised solely of citizens with perhaps City Council or staff liaison.
Appointments generally shall be made annually by the Mayor subject to confirmation by
the full City Council. However, enabling ordinances or resolutions may provide that
appointees represent each of the Council Districts in which case appointments shall be
made by individual City Council members for their respective districts subject to
confirmation by the full City Council.
joint Governmental Committees (Permanent or Standing)
These are committees comprised of representatives from several governmental agencies.
Representatives to these committees can be either City Council Members or City staff.
Appointment to joint governmental committees shall be made annually by the Mayor
subject to confirmation by the full City Council.
Ghl Staff Committees (Permanent, Standing, or Ad Hoc)
These are comprised of staff members designated by their job title as prescribed by
enabling ordinance or resolution.
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Member Appointment Process
Annual Appointment List
On or before December 31 of each year, the City Clerk shall, consistent with the Maddy
Act (Cal. Gov. § 54972), prepare a list of all appointive terms of Boards, Commissions and
Committees which will expire during the next calendar year, with the name of the
incumbent appointee, the date of appointment, the date the term expires, and the
necessary qualifications for the position. Also, the City Clerk shall list all Boards,
Commissions and Committees whose members serve at the pleasure of the City Council,
and the necessary qualifications of each position. The list shall be posted in the City's
normal posting location for agendas, as well as the Newport Beach Public Library located
at 1000 Avocado Avenue.
Qualifications
Appointees to Boards, Commissions and Committees shall be electorates and residents
of the City. However, when exceptions are warranted, the reasons shall be so stated in
that Boards, Commissions or Committee's enabling ordinance or resolution.
The City Clerk shall further maintain a file of Candidates for Board, Commission and
Committee appointments, which shall be reviewed each year by the City Clerk to ensure
that those applicants are still available and eligible for appointment. Applications shall
be retained in the active file for two (2) full years; thereafter they will be destroyed.
Vacancies
Approximately two (2) months prior to a scheduled vacancy, the City Clerk shall prepare
and submit to a newspaper of general circulation, information relating to the vacancy
including meeting dates and times, Board, Commission, or Committee functions, and the
method of obtaining and submitting applications and establishing a date prior to June 1
as the last date to submit applications. The City Clerk shall notify each applicant of the
receipt of their application.
Consistent with the Maddy Act (Cal. Gov. § 54974), within twenty (20) days after an
unscheduled vacancy occurs on a Board, Commission or Committee, a special vacancy
notice shall be posted in the City Clerk's office, and other locations as directed by City
Council. Additionally, the City Clerk shall prepare and submit information relating to
the vacancy including meeting dates and times, and Board, Commission or Committee
application procedure. Final appointment (other than emergency appointments) shall
not be made for at least ten (10) working days after the posting of the vacancy notice.
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Pursuant to Charter Section 705, if an unscheduled vacancy occurs within six (6) months
from the expiration of the term, the City Council has the discretion to appoint a
replacement to serve the balance of the unexpired term plus one (1) full term.
Board, Commission, and Committee appointees may be replaced after three (3)
consecutive unexcused absences from meetings.
Periodically, situations may arise wherein due to the occurrence of a number of
simultaneously scheduled Board, Commission or Committee vacancies, it may be
appropriate to make certain adjustments in the advertising and recruitment procedures,
which are regularly utilized to fill these vacancies. In these cases, the City Council may
make the following adjustments by majority vote at a regular public meeting:
A. The two (2) month period prior to the occurrence of a scheduled vacancy, which
is established for advertising purposes, may be extended to three (3) months.
B. The last date to submit applications for a vacancy may be changed from the third
Wednesday prior to June, to no sooner than the third Wednesday prior to May 1.
C. The period established for the ad -hoc Appointments Committee's
recommendation to the Council of candidates, may be extended from at least two
(2) weeks, to at least four (4) weeks prior to the date of appointment.
When vacancies occur, the City Council shall make every effort to appoint the best -
qualified person to serve the interest of Newport Beach. The City Council shall only
appoint persons who have filed an application for appointment with the City Clerk no
later than five (5) days prior to the date on which the City Council nominates candidates
for positions. The application shall serve as a basis for determining if the person is a
qualified elector and resident of the City, has no conflict of interest that would prevent
the applicant from serving, and otherwise satisfies the criteria for appointment specified
in the City Charter and any relevant ordinance, resolution or City Council Policy. In
determining whom to appoint to a Board or Commission, the City Council seeks diversity
of opinions and discourages the appointment of persons to Boards and Commissions
who: 1) in their professional capacity supervise or are supervised by another member of
the same Board or Commission; or 2) are a member of the same family as another member
of the same Board or Commission. Also, the City Council prefers that members of Boards,
Commissions and Committees represent different geographical areas of the City, but
residence is a consideration only when applicants are otherwise equally qualified.
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ON
Limit on Service
To afford the maximum opportunity for citizen service, no person shall be eligible for
appointment to any one (1) City Board, Commission, or Committee for more than two (2)
consecutive four (4) year terms, exclusive of a prior appointment to fill an unexpired term.
Appointees shall serve on only one (1) standing City Board, Commission or Committee
at any time.
Optional Ad Hoc Appointments Committee
Unless an alternative appointment procedure is provided in the formation ordinance or
resolution, at such time when an appointment to a Board, Commission or Committee is
necessary, the Mayor, at his/her discretion, may establish an ad -hoc Appointments
Committee composed of three (3) Council Members. If appointed by the Mayor, the ad -
hoc Appointments Committee's duties are as follows:
A. Review all applications for position to City Boards, Commissions and Committees.
The ad -hoc Appointments Committee will review applicant answers to all
questions contained in the application;
B. Conduct any necessary interviews with individual applicants; and
C. At least two (2) weeks prior to the date of appointment, recommend to the full City
Council at a regular public meeting, two (2) or more candidates, if a sufficient
number of candidates are available, for each Board, Commission or Committee
vacancy. City Council Members may wish to interview the recommended
candidates further prior to final selection by the City Council. By having a goal of
two (2) or more candidates for each vacancy, it is the intent of the City Council that
at least two (2) separate individuals should be considered for each vacancy (i.e., if
there are two (2) vacancies, the City will attempt to have four (4) separate
individuals under consideration).
The ad -hoc Appointments Committee, in conducting their review of applications and
interviews with the individual applicants, if any, shall attempt to determine if there exists
a potential conflict of interest, which might interfere with the performance of the
applicant's duties in an impartial manner free from bias. It is generally recognized that
from time -to -time it is possible for any individual to have a conflict on any one (1) given
issue.
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The ad -hoc Appointments Committee, however, shall endeavor to avoid recommending
appointments of applicants with a substantial conflict of interest, which would require
repeated disqualification from voting on issues that are likely to come before the Board,
Commission or Committee.
If no alternative appointment procedure is provided in the formation
ordinance/resolution, and if the Mayor does not form an ad -hoc Appointments
Committee, the City Clerk shall review all applications and submit all qualified
applicants to the City Council for consideration at an open and noticed meeting.
Voting Procedure
A. If possible, the City Council shall vote on all appointments and seats on each
Board, Commission and Committee simultaneously. The voting will be by paper
ballot and the City Clerk will tabulate and announce the results, including the vote
tally.
B. Each member of the City Council will cast the number of votes as indicated on the
paper ballot for each seat from the list of the nominees. In order to be appointed,
the nominees must receive at least four (4) votes.
C. For Boards, Commissions and Committees with two (2) vacancies, if two (2) of the
nominees receive four (4) or more votes, they will be automatically appointed.
D. If there is a tie vote, ballots will be distributed to the Council Members to vote for
the tying candidates only.
E. In the event that no one receives four (4) votes, nominees receiving zero (0) or one
(1) vote will be dropped and the City Council will cast two (2) votes from the list
of the remaining nominees, and the determination will be made as previously
stated.
Qy Clerk Responsibilities
The City Clerk shall also be responsible for the following functions associated with Board,
Commission and Committee appointments:
A. Preparation of letters for the Mayor's signature notifying successful candidates of
their appointment.
B. Preparation of letters for the Mayor's signature notifying unsuccessful candidates
for appointment.
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A-2
C. Preparation of letters for the Mayor's signature thanking outgoing members for
their service.
If established, once the final appointments are made by the City Council, the ad -hoc
Appointments Committee will be dissolved.
Business Improvement District Appointments
The appointment of Business Improvement District advisory boards or the designation
of an owners' association is exempt from this City Council Policy, but shall be consistent
with the California Streets and Highways Code.
Decorum and Order
Board, Commission and Committee deliberations and actions should be conducted in
an atmosphere free from personal animosity and hostility. Each member of a Board,
Commission and Committee has the duty to:
A. 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.
B. Represent and work for the common good of the City and not for any private
interest.
C. Refuse to accept gifts, favors, or promises of future benefits which might
compromise or tend to impair independent judgment or action.
D. Provide fair and equal treatment for all persons and matters coming before the
Board, Commission, or Committee.
E. Learn and study the background and purpose of important items of business
before voting.
F. Faithfully perform all duties of office.
G. Refrain from disclosing any information received confidentially concerning the
business of the City or received during any closed session of the Board,
Commission, or Committee held pursuant to state law.
H. Decline any employment incompatible with public duty.
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I. Refrain from abusive conduct, personal charges or verbal attacks upon the
character, motives, ethics or morals of other members of the Board, Commission,
or Committee, City staff, or the public, or other personal comments not germane
to the issues before the body. Members are to be tolerant of all views expressed at
public meetings.
J. Listen courteously and attentively to all public discussions at Board, Commission,
or Committee meetings and avoid interrupting other speakers, including other
members except as permitted by established Rules of Order.
K. Faithfully attend all sessions of the Board, Commission, or Committee unless
unable to do so for some compelling reason or disability.
L. Maintain the highest standards of public conduct by refusing to condone breaches
of public trust or improper attempts to influence legislation.
If a Board, Commission, or Committee member cannot abide by these provisions, he or
she should submit a letter of resignation or be removed from office by action of the Mayor
and City Council.
Ex Parte Communications
Members of Boards, Commissions, or Committees and City employees, agents and
representatives shall not engage in any Ex Parte communication with any members 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.
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Minutes
Written minutes, upon approval of the Board, Commission, or Committee, constitute the
official record of its activities. Minutes will be prepared for all public meetings by City
support staff and distributed to the entire member body for review prior to official
approval. Additions or corrections to the minutes are made at public meetings upon
official Board, Commission, or Committee approval. Member requests for inclusion on
the record of a specific action or comment shall be recorded at the next publicly -noticed
meeting.
Recording of Open Meetings
A. Open and public meetings of Boards, Commissions and Committees may be audio
recorded upon request of the chairperson or pursuant to any procedural rule or
by-law adopted by the Board, Commission, or Committee.
B. Any person attending an open and public meeting of any Board, Commission, or
Committee shall have the right to record the proceedings with an audio or video
tape recorder or a still or motion picture camera unless the Board, Commission, or
Committee determines, based upon evidence in findings made by the chairperson,
that continued recording would create noise, illumination, or view obstruction
problems that are disrupting or would disrupt the proceedings. The chairperson
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 sect. of the Government Code).
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 34090 of the Government Code, any
audio or video recording of any open or public meeting of any BCC may be erased
or destroyed one-year after the taping or recordation, excluding Planning
Commission as those are kept permanent. Any person may inspect a video or
audio recording without charge on a recorder made available by the City of
Newport Beach.
Conflict of Interest
No member of any Board, Commission, or Committee shall, at the time of appointment
or during the term of office, hold a position or office in another entity or organization
which creates a conflict of interest with respect to the member's service on the Board,
Commission, or Committee.
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Expression of Official City Position or Policy
Board, Commission and Committee members are authorized to convey information to
the public: as provided for in Council Policy; by law; that is factual in nature, (e.g. about
City programs, projects, and other City business); and as authorized by the City Council.
If members of City Boards, Commissions, or Committees desire that a particular official
City position or policy be established or expressed on a given issue, they shall submit
their recommendations on said position or policy to the City Council for evaluation and
disposition as the City Council sees fit. In their interactions with the media, members of
City Boards, Commissions, and Committees shall comply with the media policies in City
Council Policy D-1.
Any member of a Board, Commission, or Committee who wishes to make a personal
statement or opinion (that is not authorized by this Policy) regarding any City matter,
especially matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of their Board, Commission, or
Committee, shall ensure that said statement or opinion cannot be construed by the public
as being an official position or policy of the City. When communicating such opinion or
statement, a member shall not use City email addresses or City stationery.
This Policy furthers an important public purpose by ensuring the public does not confuse
personal opinions expressed by members of City Boards, Commissions or Committees
with official expressions of City policy. This Policy is not intended to restrict
communications between Boards, Commissions and Committees and others on matters
exclusively within the purview or responsibility of such Boards, Commissions or
Committees, but rather is intended to avoid confusion with regard to the official City
position or policy on matters within the purview of the City Council.
Private Digital Communications
Digital communication(s) by a member of a Board, Commission, or Committee on a Digital
Communication Platform, as that term is defined in Council Policy D-5, that is owned or
controlled by a member or a third -party (i.e., someone other than the City) and which
discusses any matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council, shall be
deemed to be made in their personal capacity. Digital communications by a member of a
Board, Commission, or Committee through a Digital Communication Platform owned or
controlled by the member or a third -party that discusses City matters shall make it clear
that the member is not speaking on behalf of the City (i.e., "views expressed are my own').
All social media platforms owned or controlled by a member that discusses City matters
shall contain a notice that they are the personal page of the member.
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Fundraising & Contracting
A. No Board, Commission, or Committee shall have the authority to independently
raise and collect funds on behalf of itself, any other Board, Commission,
Committee, or the City. Any such funds shall be generated by and collected
through legally established nonprofit groups and organizations which are
independent of the City. An exception to this policy may be granted by the City
Council on a per project basis when circumstances justify the exception.
B. No Board, Commission or Committee which has been established by the City
Charter or by the City Council, shall have the authority to enter into any contract
with any agency, group, entity or individual without authorization from the City
Council.
Use of City Stationery and Email
If authorized in this Policy, Members of Boards, Commissions, and Committees may use
City stationery and City email when corresponding on matters that relate to official City
business. Said correspondence or email shall identify the author of the correspondence
or email. Use of City stationery or City email for private personal matters or statements
of personal opinion is not permitted.
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History
Adopted A-4 - 6-28-1965 ("Boards and Commission Appointments")
Amended A-4 - 8-15-1966
Amended A-4 - 9-26-1966
Adopted A-6-11-13-1967 ("Recording of Council Meetings")
Amended A-4 - 6-10-1968
Reaffirmed A-4 & A-6 - 3-9-1970
Reaffirmed A-4 - 2-14-1972
Adopted A-9 - 5-8-1972 ("City Council Committees")
Amended A-9 - 6-11-1973
Amended A-9 - 5-12-1975
Amended A-9-12-8-1975
Amended A-9 - 6-28-1976
Amended A-9 - 8-9-1976
Amended A-4 - 7-12-1976
Amended A-9-12-13-1976
Amended A-9-1-10-1977
Amended A-9-1-24-1977
Amended A-6 - 6-13-1977
Amended A-4 - 9-12-1977
Amended A-6-10-25-1977
Amended A-4-11-28-1977
Amended A-4-12-19-1977
Adopted F-18 - 3-27-1978 ("Fund Raising")
Adopted F-19 - 4-10-1978 ("Contracts")
Amended A-4 - 6-26-1978
Amended A-9 - 9-11-1978
Amended A-4-11-27-1978
Adopted A-12-1-8-1979 ("BCC Expression of City Position")
Adopted A-13 - 2-12-1979 ("Use of City Stationary")
Amended A-4 - 3-12-1979
Amended A-9-10-1-1979
Amended A-9-11-12-1979
Amended A-4 - 7-14-1980
Amended A-6 & A-9 - 2-9-1981
Amended A-4 - 7-27-1981
Amended A-4 & A-9-11-23-1981
Amended F-18-11-14-1983
Amended A-9-1-12-1987
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Amended A-13-1-8-1990
Amended A-9-10-22-1990
Amended A-9-1-24-1994
Amended A4 -1-24-1994 (changed to A-2)
Created A-11 - 1-24-1994 ("Recording of City Meeting')
Reaffirmed A-12-1-24-1994 (changed to A-7)
Amended A-13-1-24-1994 (changed to A-8)
Created A-5-1-24-1994 ("Fund Raising/Contracts", incorporating F-18 & F-19)
Amended A-9 & A-11- 2-27-1995
Amended A-2 & A-9 - 2-26-1996
Adopted A-13 - 5-28-1996 ("Decorum and Order for BCC's")
Corrected A-5, A-7 & A-8 - 2-26-1996
Amended A-2 - 8-12-1996
Amended A-2 - 2-24-1997
Adopted A-15-11-10-1997 ("Ex Parte Communication")
Amended A-9 - 5-26-1998
Adopted A-16 - 6-22-1998 ("Conflict of Interest Procedures")
Amended A-2 - 3-22-1999
Amended A-2 - 7-12-1999
Amended A-2 - 9-27-1999
Amended A-2 - 3-14-2000
Amended A-2 - 5-8-2001
Amended A-2 - 4-23-2002
Amended A-2 - 5-14-2013
Amended A-11 - 5-13-2014
Amended A-2 & A-9 - 5-12-2015
Amended A-11- 4-12-2016
Amended A-13-1-24-2017
Amended A-2 - 8-8-2017 (incorporating A-5, A-7, A-8, A-9, A-11, A-13, and A-15)
Amended A-2 - 7-26-2022
Amended A-2 - 5-14-2024
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EXHIBIT 3
D-1
MEDIA RELATIONS
Purpose
A continuing responsibility of the City of Newport Beach is to provide timely, accurate
and factual information to residents, businesses and visitors. To meet that responsibility,
the City must work in partnership with the news media. To ensure that the City
communicates effectively with media representatives, the following procedures shall be
followed and adhered to by all City employees, consultants, and members of boards,
commissions, and committees.
A. Print and Broadcast Media Spokespersons
1. Designated Spokespersons
The City Manager, City Attorney, Assistant City Manager, Assistant City Attorney,
Department Directors, Public Information Manager, Fire or Police Public
Information Officers, designated departmental representatives (such as on -duty
Watch Commander), or City Manager designee, may handle routine requests from
the media that are within their area of expertise. Except to the extent authorized by
Council Policy or law, no other persons may disseminate official information on
behalf of the City, and should refer the reporter to the Department Director, Public
Information Office or designated department representative.
2. Potential Controversial Issues
The City Manager, City Attorney, Assistant City Manager, Assistant City Attorney,
and Department Directors may address questions from the media on sensitive issues
relating to their area of expertise, including topics that may affect City policy
and/ or matters that may ultimately result in Council action.
B. Release of Information
1. Approval
News releases shall be prepared and routed to the Public Information Office
for review before they are released to the media. The City Manager or
Assistant City Manager will have final approval on all news releases except
announcements regarding special events and routine activities.
Exception. Fire and Police responses to emergencies in the community may
be reported directly to the media by a designated department spokesperson
with the approval of the Fire or Police Chief or their designee.
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Investigations and routine community relations activities may also be
reported directly to the media by the designated Fire or Police Department
spokespersons. All news releases should also be copied to the City Manager
and the City's Public Information Office.
2. Format
All City representatives shall use standard City of Newport Beach news
release stationery and follow City news release format and writing style to
distribute information to the media. Electronic distribution of news releases
shall utilize City email addresses, and where applicable, City Digital
Communication Platforms as defined in City Council Policy D-5. News
releases shall include the name of and contact information for the
designated spokesperson to contact for additional information. Personal
stationery, personal email addresses, and personal Digital Communication
Platforms shall not be utilized for the dissemination of official news
releases.
3. City Council Notification
All news releases shall be distributed to the Mayor and members of the City
Council prior to release to the media if practical, or immediately thereafter.
4. Staff Notification
All information - written or spoken - released to the media by a member of
the City staff will be immediately communicated via e-mail to the City
Manager, appropriate Department Head and Public Information Office.
The e-mail should contain a brief synopsis of the information
communicated, the name and phone number of the person interviewed, the
reporter's name, the name of the media outlet, and when the story is
expected to appear.
5. Release of Reports
Reports prepared by City staff for submission to the City Council shall be
made available to the media or the general public at the same time as the
agenda packets are delivered to the City Council.
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6. Confidential Information
News Releases shall not contain information, which is confidential
pursuant to provisions of state or federal statutory or decisional law, or
which has been received by the City pursuant to a representation of
confidentiality. Documents or information exempt from disclosure
pursuant to provisions of the California Public Records Act shall not be
contained in any news release without City Attorney approval. No City
representative will release public information contrary to the provisions of
the California Public Records Act, the Brown Act, the California Penal
Code, cases interpreting those statutes, or City of Newport Beach policy.
Any questions related to Public Records Act requests should be directed to
the City Clerk's Office and the City Attorney's Office.
C. Guidelines
1. Litigation, Personnel, Election Issues
Due to legal and privacy concerns, any request for information related to
litigation, personnel or election issues must be handled by the appropriate
department. This information includes: private employee information,
employee disciplinary actions, matters considered in closed sessions of City
Council, certain law enforcement records, certain Fire and EMS records,
matters related to internal and external security, privileged communication
records and work products of the City Attorney or special legal counsel,
draft correspondence or documents, and records pertaining to litigation
where the City is a party.
• Media inquiries regarding pending or ongoing litigation should be
referred to the City Attorney's Office.
• Questions regarding personnel issues or matters should be referred to
the Human Resources Department.
• Any inquiries regarding election or campaign issues should be referred
to the City Clerk's Office.
In all cases, especially if there is any question as to which department
should respond to the inquiry, the department should notify the City
Manager and the Public Information Office about the inquiry.
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2. Personal Points of View
City employees and consultants and members of boards, committees and
commissions (BCC) have a right to their personal points of view and the
freedom to express their opinions. Any City employee, consultant or BCC
member that identifies themselves as an employee, consultant or BCC
member of the City of Newport Beach must indicate that said opinions do
not represent those of the City, but are the City employee's, consultant's, or
BCC member's personal opinions (i.e., views expressed are my own). In
addition, media contact made as a private citizen may not be communicated
or prepared on City time, stationery, equipment or in any way at City
expense.
3. General or Routine Media Requests (events, meetings, etc.)
Routine media requests may be handled by any employee if the information
provided is of a factual, incidental or inconsequential nature such as
confirming a meeting time or providing scheduling, location or other
routine information about a City event or activity.
4. City -initiated Media Contacts/ Information Distribution
Proactive media contacts should be made by the Public Information
Manager (or the City Manager's designee) or the Police and Fire Public
Information Officers. This includes issuing news releases and media
advisories and making proactive, personal contact with news reporters or
editors requesting coverage. All staff, including the designated
spokespersons identified in Section A-1 of this policy, must work through
the Public Information Office or the Police and Fire Public Information
Officers in initiating media contact.
5. Errors in Reporting
Reporting errors should be brought to the attention of the Public
Information Office. The Public Information Manager, in conjunction with
the City Manager or the appropriate Department Head, will determine if
the reporter should be contacted about the error.
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6. Crisis or Emergency Issues
During a crisis or an emergency as defined in Newport Beach Municipal
Code Section 2.20.020, or any successor section, all media relations will
follow the guidelines specified in the City's emergency operations plan.
[Attachment - Exhibit A]
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History
Adopted G-3-11-23-1992
Amended G-3-1-24-1994 (changed to D-1)
Amended D-1- 2-26-1996
Amended D-1- 4-23-2002
Amended D-1 - 10-14-2008
Amended D-1- 8-8-2017
Amended D-1 5-14-2024
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EXHIBIT 4 D-5
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
Purpose
Digital communication tools and channels enable the City of Newport Beach to efficiently
inform and engage residents, businesses and visitors. They also enable greater public
access to City information and services. For purposes of this policy, "Digital
Communication Platforms" include any social media platforms used to digitally
communicate including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok
City employees and others who share and receive information on behalf of the City shall
use Digital Communication Platforms and email in ways that are professional, consistent
and coordinated, maximize transparency and clear communication, maintain the security
of the City network, and adhere to all other applicable laws and Council and
administrative policies.
The City Council recognizes that City employees and consultants use Digital
Communication Platforms in their personal lives and that it is important for the public to
know when individuals are speaking on behalf of the City. This policy is intended to set
forth the City's official policy regarding how City employees and consultants may use
Digital Communication Platforms and email to officially communicate on behalf of the
City.
City Websites
The City of Newport Beach websites have been created and maintained for exclusive use
by the City in communicating information relevant to the City's mission to the public.
The City websites are not public forums for debate or discussion of controversial issues
or topics.
A. Content
The City's websites shall be used to convey timely information about City services,
officials, programs, projects and events to the local community and the public.
Content on City websites must be approved, prior to posting, by an authorized
member of the City staff. The City exclusively controls the content of all City
websites.
1. Political Speech Prohibited.
No City website shall be used to support or oppose a local or statewide ballot
measure. No City website shall be used to support or oppose any campaign
for public office.
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2. Commercial Speech Prohibited.
No City website shall contain commercial advertising. A City website may;
however, contain a list of sponsors that have supported a City event or
program.
B. External Links
The City of Newport Beach website may provide hyperlinks (hereinafter "links")
to external websites that provide additional information on selected topics. Links
shall be posted at the City's sole discretion and shall not be posted at the request
of third parties. City websites shall only contain external links that: (1) are
determined to fall within the categories described below, and/ or (2) are
determined to be consistent with the purposes of this Policy as stated above.
No external links shall be construed as an endorsement of, and the City of Newport
is not responsible for, the content of any such external websites. An external link
is not intended to create a designated or limited public forum on any portion of the
City website. If the City decides to post an external link on one of its websites, the
City alone shall determine how, when and where links are located on its website.
1. The City Manager or his/her designee may approve links within the
following categories:
a. Other goverrunent agencies;
b. Firms with franchise agreements with the City, such as for utilities,
cable TV and/or internet service, waste removal and other similar
companies that provide service to residents of the City under
agreement with the City;
C. Links to corporate or company sites that provide web -based
automated solutions specifically designed for use by the City and/or
the public through the City website. These applications may be
hosted internally or externally;
d. Organizations in a direct contractual relationship with the City, that
receive funding in the form of either monetary or in -kind
contribution from the City to promote the economic and cultural
development of the City, in areas such as commerce, dining, tourism,
and arts and entertainment within the City;
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e. For the Newport Beach Public Library ("Library") website, and/or
any section of the City website used for Library purposes, links that
support the Library's mission to meet the cultural, educational and
informational needs of Library customers.
2. The City website shall not include links to websites that:
a. Promote or exhibit hate, bias, discrimination, "adult -oriented"
material or material not suitable for viewing by persons of all ages,
or material with libelous or otherwise defamatory content;
b. Advocate the agenda or position of a political party, candidate for
elected office, ballot initiative, or campaign or fundraising websites
of holders of or candidates for political office (whether elected or
appointed), unless (1) the link is to a website that contains only
speech the City wishes to adopt as its own, as indicated by an action
adopted by Council, and (2) no violation of Government Code
Section 54964 (prohibiting expenditures of public funds on any
communication that expressly advocates approval or rejection of a
clearly identified ballot measure, initiative or candidate certified to
appear on a local ballot) is reasonably likely to result. No linked
website shall post communications on its homepage that expressly
advocate the approval or rejection of a clearly identified ballot
measure or candidate certified to appear on the local ballot; if it does
so the City shall remove the link from the City websites immediately.
The City websites shall remain consistent with federal policies on
Gov. Internet domains that prohibit references and links to specific
websites operated by campaigns and any campaign entity or
committee, and websites containing political acronyms or party
names;
C. Violate any of the City's equal opportunity policies; and/or
d. Are personal in nature and are operated by individuals. (This
category shall include all blogs and chat groups.)
C. Accessibility
City websites will comply with accepted disability access design standards.
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D. Service Marks, Trademarks and Cop,, right
All intellectual and proprietary property rights, including copyrights and rights to
service marks and trademarks, as to all text, material, images and/or content
appearing on or accessible through the City website, belong to the respective
owners of these rights. The City owns all other intellectual and proprietary
property rights, including copyrights and rights to service marks and trademarks,
as to the City Seal, all City logos, symbols, emblems, and all other images, designs,
content and materials created by or on behalf of the City that appear on or are
accessible through the City website. No person or entity shall: modify and or use
the text, images or other City website content from a web server; distribute the
City's web content; or "mirror" the City's information on a non -City server
without written permission from the City Manager or his/her designee.
Digital Communication
The City of Newport Beach utilizes Digital Communication Platforms to provide
information to and interact with its citizens and the general public.
A. Digital Communication Platforms
The City of Newport Beach official website at www.newportbeachca.gov (or any
domain owned by the City) is the City's predominant internet presence and the
primary location of its electronic information.
Other Digital Communication Platforms, new social media accounts, and/or
websites created on behalf of the City must first be approved by the City
Manager's Office and the appropriate Department Head. Where appropriate,
other Digital Communication Platforms created on behalf of the City shall link to
the City's official website to facilitate public access to forms, records, documents
and online services.
B. Official Digital Communications
All digital communications by a City employee, or consultant shall comply with
the following:
1. Private or Personal Digital Communication Platforms and Email: No private or
personal Digital Communication Platform or email shall be used by any City
employee or consultant to officially communicate on behalf of the City. Any
personal Digital Communication Platform that is private or personal that
discusses any matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City
shall make it clear that the individual is not speaking on behalf of the City and
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shall contain a notice that the views expressed therein are strictly their own
(i.e., "views expressed are my own').
2. City Owned or Controlled Digital Communication Platforms: Except as
provided in subsection (B)(3) below, City employees and consultants shall
officially communicate on behalf of the City through City owned or controlled
Digital Communication Platforms and email. Only those authorized by
Council Policy, law, the City Council, the City Manager, the City Attorney, the
City Clerk, Public Information Officer or a Department Director to speak on
behalf of the City and convey information regarding City programs, projects,
policies or any other such City business may communicate on the City's behalf.
The use of all City owned or controlled Digital Communication Platforms and
email shall comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws and City
Council and City administrative policies.
3. Third -Party Owned or Controlled Digital Communication Platforms: Only
those authorized by Council Policy, law, the City Council, City Manager, the
City Attorney, the City Clerk, the Public Information Officer, or a Department
Director to speak on behalf of the City may officially communicate on behalf of
the City on third -party owned or controlled Digital Communication Platforms
open to the public. This includes initiating statements on, or responding to
comments received from, various social media outlets in any manner that
members of the public might perceive as a statement on behalf of the City.
4. Those utilizing Digital Communications in their official capacity shall, always,
conduct themselves in an appropriate and professional manner and comply
with all applicable federal, state and local laws and City Council and City
administrative policies.
5. If any City employee or consultant has any question regarding this Policy, they
shall request an opinion from the City Attorney as to the applicability of the
policy to the situation.
Communication through Digital Communication Channels
Communication made through the City website shall in no way be deemed to constitute
legal notice to the City or any of its departments, officers, employees, agents, or
representatives, with respect to any existing or potential claim or cause of action against
the City or any of its departments, officers, employees, agents, or representatives, where
notice to the City is required by any federal, state or local laws, rules, or regulations. The
City does not accept service of notice or process through its website.
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Disclosure and Disclaimer
While the City endeavors to keep content on its website and social media sites accurate
and timely, the City neither warrants nor makes representations or endorsements as to
the quality, content, accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of the information, text,
graphics, links, and/or other items or material contained on or within the City digital
communication tools and channels, its server or any other server accessible through the
City website. All such information, text, graphics, hyperlinks, and/or other items or
material are distributed, made available and transmitted "as is", without warranty of any
kind, whether express or implied, including without limitation, warranties of title or
implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, and all such
warranties are expressly disclaimed.
History
Adopted D-5 - 7-28-2009 (as D-5 "City Websites")
Adopted D-6 - 3-23-2010 (as D-6 "Social Media")
Amended D-5 - 8-8-2017 (incorporating D-6, renaming "Digital Communication")
Amended D-5 - 5-14-2024
C.1
ATTACHMENT B
EIN
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 ofBusiness
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
Consent Calendar:
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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: Planning Commission Agendas, budget
amendments, and permit applications)
Items Removed from the Consent Calendar
Public Comments on Non -Agenda Items
Public Hearings
Continued Business
Current Business
Motions for Reconsideration
Continued Closed Session, ifnecessary (report ifapplicable)
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.
I. 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.
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
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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-aaendized 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.
Officers
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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C. 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.
C. Stating of Motion. The motion must be stated (or announced) by the Presiding
Officer prior to opening the subject to debate.
Exceptions:
i. Oral Presentations. Oral presentations may be made by staff, or
someone designated by staff, prior to a motion being made and debated
upon.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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 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 Tern by
the City Council. This section provides that a Mayor and a Mayor Pro Tern shall be selected at least
as often as Councilmanic elections are held and that the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tern shall serve at the
pleasure of the City Council.
Effective with the selection of the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tern during November of 1984, it is the
policy of the City Council that the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tern election shall occur every year
thereafter. The election shall take place pursuant to Section 404 of the City Charter.
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SeatingArrangementfor 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.
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.
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Recording of Open Meetings
A. All regular meetings of the City Council shall be recorded.
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 orinformation
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:
I. 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 orPolicy
Council Members are authorized to convey information to the public: as provided for by Council
Policy; by law; that is factual in nature, (e.g., about City _programs, projects, and other City business
as well as official positions and policies of the City that have been approved by the City Council as
a body.If a member of the City Council desires that a particular official City position or policy be
established or expressed on a given issue not previously pproved by the City Council, the Council
Member shall submit his4hertheir 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.
Except as provided in this PolicYAany City Council Member who wishes to makecommunicatea
statement or opinion regarding aU 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 When communicatingsuch uch opinion or statement, a
City Council Member shall not use City equipment, City email addresses, or City stationery.
Additionally, such communications shalle4d make it clear that the Council Member is expressing
their own personal opinion. 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.-
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Use of City Stationery and Email
Members of the City Council, a— are authorized to use City stationery and email when
corresponding on matters relating to official City business. Said eCorrespondence shall identify the
author of the lowcorrespondence and emailas-stieh. Use of City stationery or email for private
personal matters or statements of personal opinion is not permitted.
The style and content of City stationery utilized by individual City departments., shall be approved
by the City Manager Soto minimize the number of styles and promote use of a City-wide
standard.
Private Digital Communications
Digital communication(s)by a Council Member on a Digital Communication Platform, as that term
is defined in Council Policy D-5, that is owned or controlled by a Council Member or a third -party
(i.e., someone other than the City) and which discusses matters within the subject matter jurisdiction
of the City Council, shall be deemed to be made in their personal capacity. Digital communications
by a Council Member through a Digital Communication Platform owned or controlled by the Council
Member or a third -party that discusses City matters shall make it clear that the Council Member is
not speaking on behalf of the City (i.e., "views expressed are my own"). All social media platforms
owned or controlled by the Council Member that discusses City matters shall contain a notice that
they are the personal page of the Council Member.
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History
Adopted A-1 - 02-09-1959 ("Seconds to Motions")
Adopted A-3 - 02-09-1959 ("Seating of Councilmen")
AdoptedA-6 - 11-13-1967 ("Recording of Meetings")
Amended A-1 & A-3 - 11-12-1968
Reaffirmed A-1, A-3 & A-6 - 03-09-1970
Reaffirmed A-1, A-3 & A-6 - 02-14-1972
Adopted A-3 - 05-08-1972 ("City Council Instructions to Staff')
Adopted A-10 - 08-21-1972 ("Procedural Rules for Council Meetings", incorporating
A-I&A-3)
Amended A-10 - 11-24-1975
Amended A-6 - 06-13-1977
Amended A-6 - 10-25-1977
Amended A-10 - 11-28-1977
Amended A-10-07-24-1978
Amended A-10 - 09-11-1978
Amended A-10-11-27-1978
Adopted A-13 - 02-12-1979("Use of City Stationary")
Amended A-10 - 10-23-1979
Amended A-10 - 11-12-1979
Amended A-10 - 07-28-1980
Amended A-6 & A-10 - 02-09-1981
Deleted A-3 - 02-09-1981
Amended A -I - 10-25-1982
Amended A-10 - 06-25-1984
Amended A-10 - 10-22-1984
Adopted A-1 - 11-20-1984 ("Election of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tern")
Amended A-10 - 06-24-1985
Amended A-10 - 03-24-1986
Amended A-10 - 01-12-1987
Amended A-10 - 05-26-1987
Amended A-10 - 11-28-1988
Amended A-10 - 11-27-1989
Amended A-13 - 01-08-1990
Amended A-10 - 08-13 -1990
Amended A-10 - 10-22-1990
Amended A-10 - 06-28-1993
Created A-11 - 01-24-1994 (Recording of Council Meetings")
Amended A-6 - 01-24-1994 (renamed to "Open Meetings")
Amended A-1 - 01-24-1994
Amended A-13 - 01-24-1994 (changed to A-8)
Amended A-6 & A-10 - 03-28-1994
Amended A-6 - 06-27-1994
Amended A-6 - 12-12-1994
Amended A-11 - 02-27-1995
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Amended A-10 - 10-09-1995
Corrected A-1 & A-8 - 02-
26-1996 Amended A-10 -
02-26-1996 Amended A-6
-02-26-1996
Adopted A-13 - 05-28-1996 ("Decorum and -Order for BCC")
Amended A-6 - 12-9-1996
Amended A-1 - 02-24-1997
Adopted A-15 - 11-10-1997("Ex-Parte
Communication") Amended A-6 - 05-26-1998
Adopted A-16 - 06-22-1998 ("Conflict of Interest Procedures")
Amended A-6 - 03-14-2000
Amended A-6 - 02-
27-2001 Amended
A-6 - 03-27-2001
Amended A-10 - 08-
28-2001
Amended A-6 - 01-27-2004
Amended A-6 - 03-09-2004
Amended A-6 - 03-28-2006
Amended A-6 - 02-26-
2008 Amended A-6 - 10-
27-2009 Amended A-6 -
12-6-2010
Amended A-6 & A-10 - 02-
22-2011 Amended A-6 - 11-
27-2012
Amended A-6 & A-10 -
01-08-2013 Amended A-6
- 05-14-2013
Adopted A-3 - 05-14-2013 ("Request for Research or
Information") Amended A -I I - 05-13-2014
Amended A-6 - 06-09-2015
Adopted A-20 - 07-14-2015 ("Expression of Official City
Position") Amended A- I I - 04-12-2016
Amended A-13 - 01-24-2017
Amended A-1 - 08-08-2017 (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
- 01-22-2019
Amended A-1 -
07-14-2020
Amended A-1 -
04-27-2021
Amended A-1 -
02-14-2023
Amended A-1—
5-14-2024
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ATTACHMENT C
A-2
BOARDS, COMMISSIONS & COMMITTEES
Service on City Boards, Commissions, and Committees is one of the principal means by
which residents participate in the conduct of City government. The City is fortunate to
have highly skilled, educated and experienced residents that are willing to selflessly
donate their time and resources to positively contribute towards the betterment of our
City. This Policy prescribes the rules, guidelines, and ideals that govern our City's Boards,
Commissions, and Committees.
Board, Commission, & Committee Formation Process
A. Boards and Commissions shall be established by City Charter or ordinance of the
City Council. Committees shall be established by a resolution of the City Council
in accordance with this policy.
B. Boards, Commissions and Committees shall be designated either 1) Permanent;
2) Standing; or 3) Ad Hoc. Boards, Commissions and Committees having a definite
termination date may be extended by City Council action.
C. With the assistance of the City Attorney, all Boards, Commissions and Committees
shall determine the applicability of, and comply with, the Ralph M. Brown Act.
D. All Boards, Commission and Committee meetings open to the public shall include
an opportunity for public comments and questions.
E. Boards and Commissions may be reviewed on or before December 31 of each year
consistent with the Maddy Act (Cal. Gov. Code § 54972). Committees may be
reviewed in October of each year for any needed additions, changes or deletions
by the City Manager and the City Council. Within this review, the City Council
shall consider whether the work done by Committees is duplicative of other
Committees' work, and shall consider merging or disbanding committees as
appropriate. This provision shall not however prevent such changes at other times
of the year.
Types of Boards, Commissions, & Committees
Boards and Commissions (Permanent)
These shall consist of citizens with a staff liaison pursuant to the enabling City Charter
section, ordinance or resolution. Appointments are made pursuant to this Policy.
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City Council Committees (Standing or Ad Hoc)
These shall consist of City Council Members and City staff as prescribed by enabling
ordinance or resolution. The Mayor annually shall appoint the City Council Members
subject to confirmation by the full City Council.
City Council/Citizens' Committees (Standing or Ad Hoc)
These shall consist of City Council Members, citizens and City staff as prescribed by
enabling ordinance or resolution. The Mayor annually shall appoint City Council
members to these Committees subject to confirmation by the full City Council.
Appointment of citizens and staff members to these Committees shall be addressed in the
respective enabling ordinance or resolution.
Citizens' Advisory Committees (Standing or Ad Hoc)
These shall be comprised solely of citizens with perhaps City Council or staff liaison.
Appointments generally shall be made annually by the Mayor subject to confirmation by
the full City Council. However, enabling ordinances or resolutions may provide that
appointees represent each of the Council Districts in which case appointments shall be
made by individual City Council members for their respective districts subject to
confirmation by the full City Council.
Toint Governmental Committees (Permanent or Standing)
These are committees comprised of representatives from several governmental agencies.
Representatives to these committees can be either City Council Members or City staff.
Appointment to joint governmental committees shall be made annually by the Mayor
subject to confirmation by the full City Council.
City Staff Committees (Permanent, Standing, or Ad Hoc)
These are comprised of staff members designated by their job title as prescribed by
enabling ordinance or resolution.
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Member Appointment Process
Annual Appointment List
On or before December 31 of each year, the City Clerk shall, consistent with the Maddy
Act (Cal. Gov. § 54972), prepare a list of all appointive terms of Boards, Commissions and
Committees which will expire during the next calendar year, with the name of the
incumbent appointee, the date of appointment, the date the term expires, and the
necessary qualifications for the position. Also, the City Clerk shall list all Boards,
Commissions and Committees whose members serve at the pleasure of the City Council,
and the necessary qualifications of each position. The list shall be posted in the City's
normal posting location for agendas, as well as the Newport Beach Public Library located
at 1000 Avocado Avenue.
Quali cations
Appointees to Boards, Commissions and Committees shall be electorates and residents
of the City. However, when exceptions are warranted, the reasons shall be so stated in
that Boards, Commissions or Committee's enabling ordinance or resolution.
The City Clerk shall further maintain a file of Candidates for Board, Commission and
Committee appointments, which shall be reviewed each year by the City Clerk to ensure
that those applicants are still available and eligible for appointment. Applications shall
be retained in the active file for two (2) full years; thereafter they will be destroyed.
Vnrn"riP.G
Approximately two (2) months prior to a scheduled vacancy, the City Clerk shall prepare
and submit to a newspaper of general circulation, information relating to the vacancy
including meeting dates and times, Board, Commission, or Committee functions, and the
method of obtaining and submitting applications and establishing a date prior to June 1
as the last date to submit applications. The City Clerk shall notify each applicant of the
receipt of their application.
Consistent with the Maddy Act (Cal. Gov. § 54974), within twenty (20) days after an
unscheduled vacancy occurs on a Board, Commission or Committee, a special vacancy
notice shall be posted in the City Clerk's office, and other locations as directed by City
Council. Additionally, the City Clerk shall prepare and submit information relating to
the vacancy including meeting dates and times, and Board, Commission or Committee
application procedure. Final appointment (other than emergency appointments) shall
not be made for at least ten (10) working days after the posting of the vacancy notice.
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Pursuant to Charter Section 705, if an unscheduled vacancy occurs within six (6) months
from the expiration of the term, the City Council has the discretion to appoint a
replacement to serve the balance of the unexpired term plus one (1) full term.
Board, Commission, and Committee appointees may be replaced after three (3)
consecutive unexcused absences from meetings.
Periodically, situations may arise wherein due to the occurrence of a number of
simultaneously scheduled Board, Commission or Committee vacancies, it may be
appropriate to make certain adjustments in the advertising and recruitment procedures,
which are regularly utilized to fill these vacancies. In these cases, the City Council may
make the following adjustments by majority vote at a regular public meeting:
A. The two (2) month period prior to the occurrence of a scheduled vacancy, which
is established for advertising purposes, may be extended to three (3) months.
B. The last date to submit applications for a vacancy may be changed from the third
Wednesday prior to June, to no sooner than the third Wednesday prior to May 1.
C. The period established for the ad -hoc Appointments Committee's
recommendation to the Council of candidates, may be extended from at least two
(2) weeks, to at least four (4) weeks prior to the date of appointment.
When vacancies occur, the City Council shall make every effort to appoint the best -
qualified person to serve the interest of Newport Beach. The City Council shall only
appoint persons who have filed an application for appointment with the City Clerk no
later than five (5) days prior to the date on which the City Council nominates candidates
for positions. The application shall serve as a basis for determining if the person is a
qualified elector and resident of the City, has no conflict of interest that would prevent
the applicant from serving, and otherwise satisfies the criteria for appointment specified
in the City Charter and any relevant ordinance, resolution or City Council Policy. In
determining whom to appoint to a Board or Commission, the City Council seeks diversity
of opinions and discourages the appointment of persons to Boards and Commissions
who: 1) in their professional capacity supervise or are supervised by another member of
the same Board or Commission; or 2) are a member of the same family as another member
of the same Board or Commission. Also, the City Council prefers that members of Boards,
Commissions and Committees represent different geographical areas of the City, but
residence is a consideration only when applicants are otherwise equally qualified.
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Limit on Service
To afford the maximum opportunity for citizen service, no person shall be eligible for
appointment to any one (1) City Board, Commission, or Committee for more than two (2)
consecutive four (4) year terms, exclusive of a prior appointment to fill an unexpired term.
Appointees shall serve on only one (1) standing City Board, Commission or Committee
at any time.
Optional Ad Hoc Appointments Committee
Unless an alternative appointment procedure is provided in the formation ordinance or
resolution, at such time when an appointment to a Board, Commission or Committee is
necessary, the Mayor, at his/her discretion, may establish an ad -hoc Appointments
Committee composed of three (3) Council Members. If appointed by the Mayor, the ad -
hoc Appointments Committee's duties are as follows:
A. Review all applications for position to City Boards, Commissions and Committees.
The ad -hoc Appointments Committee will review applicant answers to all
questions contained in the application;
B. Conduct any necessary interviews with individual applicants; and
C. At least two (2) weeks prior to the date of appointment, recommend to the full City
Council at a regular public meeting, two (2) or more candidates, if a sufficient
number of candidates are available, for each Board, Commission or Committee
vacancy. City Council Members may wish to interview the recommended
candidates further prior to final selection by the City Council. By having a goal of
two (2) or more candidates for each vacancy, it is the intent of the City Council that
at least two (2) separate individuals should be considered for each vacancy (i.e., if
there are two (2) vacancies, the City will attempt to have four (4) separate
individuals under consideration).
The ad -hoc Appointments Committee, in conducting their review of applications and
interviews with the individual applicants, if any, shall attempt to determine if there exists
a potential conflict of interest, which might interfere with the performance of the
applicant's duties in an impartial manner free from bias. It is generally recognized that
from time -to -time it is possible for any individual to have a conflict on any one (1) given
issue.
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The ad -hoc Appointments Committee, however, shall endeavor to avoid recommending
appointments of applicants with a substantial conflict of interest, which would require
repeated disqualification from voting on issues that are likely to come before the Board,
Commission or Committee.
If no alternative appointment procedure is provided in the formation
ordinance/resolution, and if the Mayor does not form an ad -hoc Appointments
Committee, the City Clerk shall review all applications and submit all qualified
applicants to the City Council for consideration at an open and noticed meeting.
Voting Procedure
A. If possible, the City Council shall vote on all appointments and seats on each
Board, Commission and Committee simultaneously. The voting will be by paper
ballot and the City Clerk will tabulate and announce the results, including the vote
tally.
B. Each member of the City Council will cast the number of votes as indicated on the
paper ballot for each seat from the list of the nominees. In order to be appointed,
the nominees must receive at least four (4) votes.
C. For Boards, Commissions and Committees with two (2) vacancies, if two (2) of the
nominees receive four (4) or more votes, they will be automatically appointed.
D. If there is a tie vote, ballots will be distributed to the Council Members to vote for
the tying candidates only.
E. In the event that no one receives four (4) votes, nominees receiving zero (0) or one
(1) vote will be dropped and the City Council will cast two (2) votes from the list
of the remaining nominees, and the determination will be made as previously
stated.
City Clerk Responsibilities
The City Clerk shall also be responsible for the following functions associated with Board,
Commission and Committee appointments:
A. Preparation of letters for the Mayor's signature notifying successful candidates of
their appointment.
B. Preparation of letters for the Mayor's signature notifying unsuccessful candidates
for appointment.
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C. Preparation of letters for the Mayor's signature thanking outgoing members for
their service.
If established, once the final appointments are made by the City Council, the ad -hoc
Appointments Committee will be dissolved.
Business Improvement District Appointments
The appointment of Business Improvement District advisory boards or the designation
of an owners' association is exempt from this City Council Policy, but shall be consistent
with the California Streets and Highways Code.
Decorum and Order
Board, Commission and Committee deliberations and actions should be conducted in
an atmosphere free from personal animosity and hostility. Each member of a Board,
Commission and Committee has the duty to:
A. 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.
B. Represent and work for the common good of the City and not for any private
interest.
C. Refuse to accept gifts, favors, or promises of future benefits which might
compromise or tend to impair independent judgment or action.
D. Provide fair and equal treatment for all persons and matters coming before the
Board, Commission, or Committee.
E. Learn and study the background and purpose of important items of business
before voting.
F. Faithfully perform all duties of office.
G. Refrain from disclosing any information received confidentially concerning the
business of the City or received during any closed session of the Board,
Commission, or Committee held pursuant to state law.
H. Decline any employment incompatible with public duty.
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I. Refrain from abusive conduct, personal charges or verbal attacks upon the
character, motives, ethics or morals of other members of the Board, Commission,
or Committee, City staff, or the public, or other personal comments not germane
to the issues before the body. Members are to be tolerant of all views expressed at
public meetings.
J. Listen courteously and attentively to all public discussions at Board, Commission,
or Committee meetings and avoid interrupting other speakers, including other
members except as permitted by established Rules of Order.
K. Faithfully attend all sessions of the Board, Commission, or Committee unless
unable to do so for some compelling reason or disability.
L. Maintain the highest standards of public conduct by refusing to condone breaches
of public trust or improper attempts to influence legislation.
If a Board, Commission, or Committee member cannot abide by these provisions, he or
she should submit a letter of resignation or be removed from office by action of the Mayor
and City Council.
Ex Parte Communications
Members of Boards, Commissions, or Committees and City employees, agents and
representatives shall not engage in any Ex Parte communication with any members 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.
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Minutes
Written minutes, upon approval of the Board, Commission, or Committee, constitute the
official record of its activities. Minutes will be prepared for all public meetings by City
support staff and distributed to the entire member body for review prior to official
approval. Additions or corrections to the minutes are made at public meetings upon
official Board, Commission, or Committee approval. Member requests for inclusion on
the record of a specific action or comment shall be recorded at the next publicly -noticed
meeting.
Recording of Open Meetings
A. Open and public meetings of Boards, Commissions and Committees may be audio
recorded upon request of the chairperson or pursuant to any procedural rule or
by-law adopted by the Board, Commission, or Committee.
B. Any person attending an open and public meeting of any Board, Commission, or
Committee shall have the right to record the proceedings with an audio or video
tape recorder or a still or motion picture camera unless the Board, Commission, or
Committee determines, based upon evidence in findings made by the chairperson,
that continued recording would create noise, illumination, or view obstruction
problems that are disrupting or would disrupt the proceedings. The chairperson
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).
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 34090 of the Government Code, any
audio or video recording of any open or public meeting of any BCC may be erased
or destroyed one-year after the taping or recordation, excluding Planning
Commission as those are kept permanent. Any person may inspect a video or
audio recording without charge on a recorder made available by the City of
Newport Beach.
Conflict of Interest
No member of any Board, Commission, or Committee shall, at the time of appointment
or during the term of office, hold a position or office in another entity or organization
which creates a conflict of interest with respect to the member's service on the Board,
Commission, or Committee.
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Expression of Official City Position or Policy
Commission and Committee members are authorized to convev information to
the public: as provided for in Council Policy; by law; that is factual in nature, (e.g. about
City programs, projects, and other City business); and as authorized by the City Council.
If members of City Boards, Commissions, or Committees desire that a particular official
City position or policy be established or expressed on a given issue, they shall submit
their recommendations on said position or policy to the City Council for evaluation and
disposition as the City Council sees fit. In their interactions with the media, members of
City Boards, Commissions, and Committees shall comply with the media policies in City
Council Policy D-1.
Any member of a Board, Commission, or Committee who wishes to make a personal
statement or opinion (that is not authorized by this Policy) regarding any City matter,
especially matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of their Board, Commission, or
Committee, shall ensure that said statement or opinion cannot be construed by the public
as being an official position or policy of the City. When communicating such opinion or
statement, a member shall not use City email addresses or City stationery.
This Policy furthers an important public purpose by ensuring the public does not confuse
personal opinions expressed by members of City Boards, Commissions or Committees
with official expressions of City policy. This PPolicy is not intended to restrict
communications between Boards, Commissions and Committees and others on matters
exclusively within the purview or responsibility of such Boards, Commissions or
Committees, but rather is intended to avoid confusion with regard to the official City
position or policy, which is define' as that e on matters within the purview of the City
Council.
Private Digital Communications
Digital communication(s)by a member of a Board, Commission, or Committee on a Digital
Communication Platform, as that term is defined in Council Policy D-5, that is owned or
controlled by a member or a third-party(i.e., someone other than the City) and which
discusses any matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council, shall be
deemed to be made in their personal capacity. Digital communications by a member of a
Board, Commission, or Committee through a Digital Communication Platform owned or
controlled by the member or a third -party that discusses City matters shall make it clear
that the member is not speaking on behalf of the City (i.e., "views expressed are my own".
All social media platforms owned or controlled by a member that discusses City matters
shall contain a notice that they are the personal page of the member.
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Fundraising & Contracting
A. No Board, Commission, or Committee shall have the authority to independently
raise and collect funds on behalf of itself, any other Board, Commission,
Committee, or the City. Any such funds shall be generated by and collected
through legally established nonprofit groups and organizations which are
independent of the City. An exception to this policy may be granted by the City
Council on a per project basis when circumstances justify the exception.
B. No Board, Commission or Committee which has been established by the City
Charter or by the City Council, shall have the authority to enter into any contract
with any agency, group, entity or individual without authorization from the City
Council.
Use of City Stationeary and Email
If authorized in this Policy, Members of Boards, Commissions, and Committees are
authorized4onLay use City stationery and Cie email -when corresponding on matters that
relatei-Rg to official City business. Said correspondence or email shall identify the author
of the '"correspondence or emailas-sueh. ,
Commission, and Committee fnember-s must have the approval Of their- FespeetiVe Boaf(47
Commis E)r Committee. Use of City stationery or City email for private personal
matters or statements of personal opinion is not permitted.
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Iwj
History
Adopted A-4 -
6-28-1965 ("Boards and Commission Appointments")
Amended A-4
- 8-15-1966
Amended A-4
- 9-26-1966
Adopted A-6-11-13-1967
("Recording of Council Meetings")
Amended A-4
- 6-10-1968
Reaffirmed A-4 & A-6 - 3-9-1970
Reaffirmed A-4 - 2-14-1972
Adopted A-9 -
5-8-1972 ("City Council Committees")
Amended A-9
- 6-11-1973
Amended A-9
- 5-12-1975
Amended A-9
-12-8-1975
Amended A-9
- 6-28-1976
Amended A-9
- 8-9-1976
Amended A-4
- 7-12-1976
Amended A-9
-12-13-1976
Amended A-9
-1-10-1977
Amended A-9
-1-24-1977
Amended A-6
- 6-13-1977
Amended A-4
- 9-12-1977
Amended A-6
-10-25-1977
Amended A-4
-11-28-1977
Amended A-4
-12-19-1977
Adopted F-18
- 3-27-1978 ("Fund Raising')
Adopted F-19
- 4-10-1978 ("Contracts")
Amended A-4
- 6-26-1978
Amended A-9
- 9-11-1978
Amended A-4
-11-27-1978
Adopted A-12
-1-8-1979 ("BCC Expression of City Position")
Adopted A-13
- 2-12-1979 ("Use of City Stationary")
Amended A-4
- 3-12-1979
Amended A-9
-10-1-1979
Amended A-9
-11-12-1979
Amended A-4
- 7-14-1980
Amended A-6
& A-9 - 2-9-1981
Amended A-4
- 7-27-1981
Amended A-4
& A-9-11-23-1981
Amended F-18
-11-14-1983
Amended A-9
-1-12-1987
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Amended A-13
-1-8-1990
Amended A-9-10-22-1990
Amended A-9-1-24-1994
Amended A-4-1-24-1994
(changed to A-2)
Created A-11-1-24-1994
("Recording of City Meeting')
Reaffirmed A-12
-1-24-1994 (changed to A-7)
Amended A-13
-1-24-1994 (changed to A-8)
Created A-5-1-24-1994
("Fund Raising/ Contracts", incorporating F-18 & F-19)
Amended A-9 & A-11- 2-27-1995
Amended A-2 & A-9 - 2-26-1996
Adopted A-13 -
5-28-1996 ("Decorum and Order for BCC's")
Corrected A-5,
A-7 & A-8 - 2-26-1996
Amended A-2 -
8-12-1996
Amended A-2 -
2-24-1997
Adopted A-15-11-10-1997
("Ex Parte Communication")
Amended A-9 -
5-26-1998
Adopted A-16 -
6-22-1998 ("Conflict of Interest Procedures")
Amended A-2 -
3-22-1999
Amended A-2 -
7-12-1999
Amended A-2 -
9-27-1999
Amended A-2 -
3-14-2000
Amended A-2 -
5-8-2001
Amended A-2 -
4-23-2002
Amended A-2 -
5-14-2013
Amended A-11
- 5-13-2014
Amended A-2 & A-9 - 5-12-2015
Amended A-11
- 4-12-2016
Amended A-13
-1-24-2017
Amended A-2 -
8-8-2017 (incorporating A-5, A-7, A-8, A-9, A-11, A-13, and A-15)
Amended A-2 -
7-26-2022
Amended A-2 -
5-14-2024
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ATTACHMENT D
D-1
MEDIA RELATIONS
Purpose
A continuing responsibility of the City of Newport Beach is to provide timely, accurate
and factual information to residents, businesses and visitors. Tin or -der meet that
responsibility, the City must work in partnership with the news media. To ensure that
the City communicates effectively with media representatives, the following procedures
shall be followed and adhered to by all City employees, consultants,sta€f-,- and members
of boards, commissions, and committees.
A. Print and Broadcast Media Spokespersons
1. Designated Spokespersons
The City Manager, City Attorney, Assistant City Manager, Assistant City
Attorney, Department Directors, Public Information Manager, Fire or Police Public
Information Officers, designated departmental representatives (such as on -duty
Watch Commander), or City Manager designee, may handle routine requests from
the media that are within their area of expertise. Except to the extent authorized by
Council Policy or law, no other persons may disseminate official information on
behalf of the Ci , , and _should refer the reporter to the
Department Director, Public Information Office or designated department
representative.
2. Potential Controversial Issues
The City Manager, City Attorney, Assistant City Manager, Assistant City
Attorney, and Department Directors may address questions from the media on
sensitive issues relating to their area of expertise, including topics that may affect
City policy and/or matters that may ultimately result in Council action.
B. Release of Information
Approval
News releases shall be prepared and routed to the Public Information Office
for review before they are released to the media. The City Manager or
Assistant City Manager will have final approval on all news releases except
announcements regarding special events and routine activities.
Exception. Fire and Police responses to emergencies in the community may
be reported directly to the media by a designated department spokesperson
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with the approval of the Fire or Police Chief or their designee.
Investigations and routine community relations activities may also be
reported directly to the media by the designated Fire or Police Department
spokespersons. All news releases should also be copied to the City Manager
and the City's Public Information Office.
2. Format
All City representatives shall use standard City of Newport Beach news
release stationery and follow City news release format and writing style to
distribute information to the media. Electronic distribution of news releases
shall utilize City email addresses, and where applicable, City-antd-Digital
Communication Platforms as defined in City Council Policy D-5. News
releases shall include the name of and contact information for the
designated spokesperson to contact for additional information. Personal
stationery, personal email addresses, and personal Digital Communication
Platforms shall not be utilized for the dissemination of official news
releases.
3. City Council Notification
All news releases shall be distributed to the Mayor and members of the City
Council prior to release to the media if practical, or immediately thereafter.
4. Staff Notification
All information - written or spoken - released to the media by a member of
the City staff will be immediately communicated via e-mail to the City
Manager, appropriate Department Head and Public Information Office.
The e-mail should contain a brief synopsis of the information
communicated, the name and phone number of the person interviewed, the
reporter's name, the name of the media outlet, and when the story is
expected to appear.
5. Release of Reports
Reports prepared by City staff for submission to the City Council shall net
be shared wit-hmade available to the media or the general public flat the
same time as the agenda packets have bee are delivered to the City
Council.
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6. Confidential Information
News Releases shall not contain information, which is confidential
pursuant to provisions of Sstate or fPederal statutory or decisional law, or
which has been received by the City pursuant to a representation of
confidentiality. Documents -or -information -exempt- from -disclosure
pursuant to provisions of the California Public Records Act shall not be
contained in any news release without City Attorney approval. No City
representative will release public information contrary to the provisions of
the California Public Records Act, the Brown Act, the California Penal
Code, cases interpreting those statutes, or City of Newport Beach policy.
Any questions related to Public Records Act requests should be directed to
the City Clerk's Office and the City Attorney's Office.
C. Guidelines
1. Litigation, Personnel, Election Issues
Due to legal and privacy concerns, any request for information related to
litigation, personnel or election issues must be handled by the appropriate
department. This information includes: private employee information,
employee disciplinary actions, matters considered in closed sessions of City
Council, certain law enforcement records, certain Fire and EMS records,
matters related to internal and external security, privileged communication
records and work products of the City Attorney or special legal counsel,
draft correspondence or documents, and records pertaining to litigation
where the City is a party.
• Media inquiries regarding pending or ongoing litigation should be
referred to the City Attorney's Office.
• Questions regarding personnel issues or matters should be referred to
the Human Resources Department.
• Any inquiries regarding election or campaign issues should be referred
to the City Clerk's Office.
In all cases, especially if there is any question as to which department
should respond to the inquiry, the department should notify the City
Manager and the Public Information Office about the inquiry.
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2. Personal Points of View
City staff member semployees and consultants and members of boards,
committees and commissions (BCC) _have a right to their personal points of
view and the freedom to express their opinions. Any City employee,
consultant staff "'^"'b^N or BCC member that identifies themselves as an
employee, consultant or BCC member of the City of Newport Beach must
clearly indicate that said opinions do not represent those of the City, but
are the C�employee's, consultant's, or BCC member's personal opinions
Li.e., views expressed are mom). In addition, media contact made as a
private citizen may not be communicated or prepared on City time,
stationeary, equipment or in any way at City expense.
3. General or Routine Media Requests (events, meetings, etc.)
Routine media requests may be handled by any employee if the information
provided is of a factual, incidental or inconsequential nature such as
confirming a meeting time or providing scheduling, location or other
routine information about a City event or activity.
4. City -initiated Media Contacts/Information Distribution
Proactive media contacts should be made by the Public Information
Manager (or the City Manager's designee) or the Police and Fire Public
Information Officers. This includes issuing news releases and media
advisories and making proactive, personal contact with news reporters or
editors requesting coverage. All staff, including the Ddesignated
Sspokespersons identified in Section A-1 of this policy, must work through
the Public Information Office or the Police and Fire Public Information
Officers in initiating media contact.
5. Errors in Reporting
Reporting errors should be brought to the attention of the Public
Information Office. The Public Information Manager, in conjunction with
the City Manager or the appropriate Department Head, will determine if
the reporter should be contacted about the error.
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6. Crisis or Emergency Issues
During a crisis or an emergency as defined in Newport Beach Municipal
Code Section 2.20.020, or any successor section, all media relations will
follow the guidelines specified in the City's emergency operations plan.
[Attachment - Exhibit A]
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History
Adopted G-3-11-23-1992
Amended G-3-1-24-1994 (changed to D-1)
Amended D-1- 2-26-1996
Amended D-1- 4-23-2002
Amended D-1 - 10-14-2008
Amended D-1 - 8-8-2017
Amended D-1- 5-14-2024
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ATTACHMENT E
IM7
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
Purpose
Digital communication tools and channels enable the City of Newport Beach to efficiently
inform and engage residents, businesses and visitors. They also enable greater public
access to City information and services. For purposes of this policy, "Digital
Ceommunication Platforms" include any social media platforms used to digitally
communicate including, toolsand Ehkannelssnot limited to, Facebook,
Instagram, YouTube, and TikTo ,
sites, ivikis, blogs, and mobile content.
City officials, staff employees and others who share and receive information on behalf of
the City shall use Ddigital Coommunication Platforms and email channels and -tools -in
ways that are professional, consistent and coordinated, maximize transparency and clear
communication, maintain the security of the City network, and adhere to all other
applicable laws and Council and administrative policies.
The City Council recognizes that City employees and consultants use Digital
Communication Platforms in their personal lives and that it is important for the public to
know when individuals are speaking on behalf of the City. This policy is intended to set
forth the City's official policy regarding how City employees and consultants may use
Digital Communication Platforms and email to officially communicate on behalf of the
QtYL.
City Websites
The City of Newport Beach websites have been created and maintained for exclusive use
by the City in communicating information relevant to the City's mission to the public.
The City websites are not public forumsa for debate or discussion of controversial issues
or topics.
A. Content
The City's websites shall be used to convey timely information about City services,
officials, programs, projects and events to the local community and the general
public. Content on City websites must be approved, prior to posting, by an
authorized member of the City staff. The City exclusively controls the content of
all City websites.
1. Political Speech Prohibited.
No City website shallwiIl be used to support or oppose a local or statewide
ballot measure. No City website shallwi4 be used to support or oppose any
campaign for public office.
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2. Commercial Speech Prohibited.
No City website shallwill contain commercial advertising. A City website,
may2 however, contain a list of sponsors that have supported a City event
or program.
B. External Links
The City of Newport Beach website may provide hyperlinks (hereinafter "links")
to external websites that provide additional information on selected topics. Links
shall be posted at the City's sole discretion, and shall not be posted at the request
of third parties. City websites shall only contain external links that: (1) are
determined to fall within the categories described below, and/or (2) are
determined to be consistent with the purposes of this Policy as stated above.
No external links shall be construed as an endorsement of, and the City of Newport
is not responsible for, the content of any such external websites. An external link
is not intended to create a designated or limited public forum on any portion of the
City website. If the City decides to post an external link on one of its websites, the
City alone shall determine how, when and where links are located on its website.
1. The City Manager or his/her designee may approve links within the
following categories:
a. Other government agencies;
b. Firms with franchise agreements with the City, such as for utilities,
cable TV and/or internet service, waste removal and other similar
companies thatwhic provide service to residents of the City under
agreement with the City;
C. Links to corporate or company sites that provide web -based
automated solutions specifically designed for use by the City and/or
the public through the City website. These applications may be
hosted internally or externally;
d. Organizations in a direct contractual relationship with the City, that
receive funding in the form of either monetary or in -kind
contribution from the City to promote the economic and cultural
development of the City, in areas such as commerce, dining, tourism,
and arts and entertainment within the City;
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IM7
e. For the Newport Beach Public Library ("Library') website, and/or
any section of the City website used for Library purposes, links that
support the Library's mission to meet the cultural, educational and
informational needs of Library customers.
2. The City website shall not include links to websites that:
a. Promote or exhibit hate, bias, discrimination, "adult -oriented"
material or material not suitable for viewing by persons of all ages,
or material with libelous or otherwise defamatory content;
b. Advocate the agenda or position of a political party, candidate for
elected office, ballot initiative, or campaign or fundraising websites
of holders of or candidates for political office (whether elected or
appointed), unless (1) the link is to a website that contains only
speech the City wishes to adopt as its own, as indicated by an action
adopted by Council, and (2) no violation of Government Code
Section 54964 (prohibiting expenditures of public funds on any
communication that expressly advocates approval or rejection of a
clearly identified ballot measure, initiative or candidate certified to
appear on a local ballot) is reasonably likely to result. No linked
website shall post communications on its homepage that expressly
advocate the approval or rejection of a clearly identified ballot
measure or candidate certified to appear on the local ballot; if it does
so the City shall remove the link from the City websites immediately.
The City websites shall remain consistent with federal policies on
Gov. Internet domains that prohibit references and links to specific
websites operated by campaigns and any campaign entity or
committee, and websites containing political acronyms or party
names;
C. Violate any of the City's equal opportunity policies; and/or
d. Are personal in nature and are operated by individuals. (This
category shall include all blogs and chat groups.)
B.C. Accessibility
City websites will comply with accepted disability access design standards.
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&D. Service Marks, Trademarks and Copyright
All intellectual and proprietary property rights, including copyrights and rights to
service marks and trademarks, as to mall text, material, images and/or
content appearing on or accessible through the City website, belong to the
respective owners of these rights. The City owns all other intellectual and
proprietary property rights, including copyrights and rights to service marks and
trademarks, as to the City Seal, all City logos, symbols, emblems, and mall
other images, designs, content and materials created by or on behalf of the City
that appear on or are accessible through the City website. No person or entity
shall: modify and or use the text, images or other City website content from a web
server; distribute the City's web content; or "mirror' the City's information on a
non -City server without written permission from the City Manager or his/her
designee.
Digital Communicationc,,cial Aka„-.
The City of Newport Beach utilizes soeial media platforms Communication
Platforms to provide information to and interact with its citizens and the general public.
finds and intends
that speeeh posted OR SOEial media platfoi:m venues
by ci�.JT
by the
in
FepFesentatives,
and Eomments publie posted OR SE)Eial media platform
venues
do
forum kt i I 1 11 1 2 forum
i
response,
not create a public of 1. on any per-tion of
the
or- other such City pfopefty,
Nvebsites, equipment
A. Seeial Media Si'�sDigital Communication Platforms
The City of Newport Beach official website at www.newportbeachca.gov (or any
domain owned by the City) is the City's predominant internet presence and the
primary location of its electronic information ^'�essi'�aeial Media site
1_ 11 1• 1 . _ .1 n.. /_ _ !'d• _• _1 1 _•.. . _ f •1... _ . 11. . _ f_ _ _ _ 1
Other Digital Communication Platforms, new social media accounts, and/or
websites Seeial media sites created on behalf of the City each must
first be approved by the City Manager's Office and the appropriate Department
Head. Where appropriate, other Digital Communication Platforms created on
behalf of the Citv shall link to the Citv's official website to facilitate public access
to forms, records, documents and online services.
B. Official Seeial Media Us Digital Communications
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All digital communications use of s,,,,i ri, ,a; ,by any City , employee,
beard, committeeor-Eemmissionmember-, or consultant, en behalf of the City of
Newpor-t Beach will shall comply with the following:
1. Private or Personal Digital Communication Platforms and Email: No private or
personal Digital Communication Platform or email shall be used by any City
employee or consultant to officially communicate on behalf of the City. Any
personal Digital Communication Platform that is private or personal that
discusses any matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City
shall make it clear that the individual is not speaking on behalf of the City and
shall contain a notice that the views expressed therein are strictly their own
(i.e., "views expressed are my own' .
2. City Owned or Controlled Digital Communication Platforms: Except as
provided in subsection (B)(3) below, City employees and consultants shall
officially communicate on behalf of the Cie through City owned or controlled
Digital Communication Platforms and email. Only those authorized by
Council Policy, law, the City Council, the City Manager, the City Attorney, the
City Clerk, Public Information Officer or a Department Director to speak on
behalf of the City and convey information regarding City programs, projects,
policies or any other such City business on social media platforms may
communicate on the City's behalf. on the subj et of City ,,.,afters on any social
media platform. The use of all City owned or controlled Digital
Communication Platforms and email shall comply with all applicable federal,
state and local laws and Citv Council and Citv administrative policies.
3. Third -Party Owned or Controlled Digital Communication Platforms: Onl
those authorized by Council Policy, law, the City Council, City Manager, the
City Attorney, the City Clerk, the Public Information Officer, or a Department
Director to speak on behalf of the City may officially communicate on behalf of
the City on third -party owned or controlled Digital Communication Platforms
open to the public. This includes initiating statements on, or responding to
comments received from, various social media outlets in any manner that
members of the public might perceive as a statement on behalf of the City.
expi:ess their- personal points ef i oeial media platfofm may do so
theiF own time and equipment. if-, on their- own time and equipment, a City
representative Eomments about a City matter- or issue On a SOEiald ,
platfor-m-, they should identify themselves as being affiliated with the City and
elear-ly indieate that their- opinions and statements are their- Own and aFe not t
representations of the City of Newport Beael-,
e. 4. Those utilizing social media
Digital Communications in their official capacity shall, at all timesAlways,
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D-5
conduct themselves in an appropriate and professional manner and comply
with all applicable federal, state and local laws and City Council and City
administrative policies.
d. All City SOEial media sites and users (ineluding use of non City Soeial Medi-a
sites for communications related to City business) must conform
applicable federal, state and local laws and City Council and City
administrative policies,
e. Members of the City Council or a City comn�dssion, board or conmnittee, must not "Iike!�
share", "retweet" or comment on any social media posts, o. ions abou
or discuss an issuewithin the subject matter jurisdiction of the body Y-5.
If any City employee or consultant has any question regarding this Policy,
thev shall reauest an opinion from the Citv Attornev as to the annlicability of
the policy to the situation.
Communication through Digital Communication Channels
Communication made through the City website shall in no way be deemed to constitute
legal notice to the City or any of its departments, officers, employees, agents, or
representatives, with respect to any existing or potential claim or cause of action against
the City or any of its departments, officers, employees, agents, or representatives, where
notice to the City is required by any federal, state or local laws, rules, or regulations. The
City does not accept service of notice or process through its website.
Disclosure and Disclaimer
While the City endeavors to keep content on its website and social media sites accurate
and timely, the City neither warrants nor makes representations or endorsements as to
the quality, content, accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of the information, text,
graphics, links, and/or other items or material contained on or within the City digital
communication tools and channels, its server or any other server accessible through the
City website. Any and aAll such information, text, graphics, hyperlinks, and/or other
items or material are distributed, made available and transmitted "as is", without
warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, including without limitation,
warranties of title or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular
purpose, and any such warranties are expressly disclaimed.
History
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D-5
Adopted D-5 - 7-28-2009 (as D-5 "City Websites")
Adopted D-6 - 3-23-2010 (as D-6 "Social Media")
Amended D-5 - 8-8-2017 (incorporating D-6, renaming "Digital Communication")
Amended D-5 -- 5-14-2024
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