Lengthy Council Meetings Stem From Causes That Include Not Starting Meetings On Time, Lengthy Honorific "Presentations" Combined With Long Agendas Resulting From Holding Only Three (Instead of Four) Meetings Per Month
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(Oct. 21, 2018, 9:05 p.m.) -- An examination of City Clerk minutes by LBREPORT.com shows that not all City Council meetings run long, but when they do, it often stems from the Mayor/Council failure to begin their meetings on time (usually after Council closed sessions that run beyond 5:00 p.m.) and/or lengthy the Mayor/Council honorific recognitions of favored individuals or groups before getting down to Council voted business..
These two factors also combine with a former Council's decision roughly twenty years ago to hold only three (instead of four) meetings per month, resulting in sometimes lengthy Council agendas. Councilmembers also routinely let Mayor Garcia take items out of order, which sometimes sends controversial items to the end of the agenda. [To date, no Councilmembers have used the parliamentary prerogatives we believe they have to make a floor motion to hear a specific agenda item(s) in a different order than the Mayor indicates; the City Attorney would decide if that's within the Council's parliamentary prerogatives.]
As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, Councilman Daryl Supernaw has agendized an Oct. 23 item asking "the Mayor, City Manager, City Clerk, and City Attorney to review best practices for streamlining City Council Meetings and report back on their findings within 90 days." His agendizing memo seeks consideration of "what other municipalities or government entities have implemented. This may include but is not limited to: setting a meeting curfew, tracking time and setting time limits for council members' comments, adding structure to the public comment process, receiving staff reports prior to the meeting, and closer adherence to parliamentary procedures." Councilman Supernaw's agendizing memo says it's motivated by a desire to ensure that important public business doesn't run into the late hours of long Council meetings on grounds it "diminishes public participation."
The City Clerk's Minutes of Council meetings over the past sixty days indicate the following:
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Aug 14, 2018: Roll call at 5:04 p.m, first hearing item at 5:05 p.m...followed by items Mayor Garcia chooses to take out of order: first is a proposal by Garcia to develop a plan to make LB Airport carbon-neutral. It's followed by naming green space at Loma/1st St. the "John Parkin Green Space;" a request for report on how the City can better address beach violations; an item designating ballot measure argument writers. and a report from Metro (on whose governing Board Garcia sits) on projects "that impact Long Beach." At 6:52 p.m. the Council takes up the proposed FY19 budgets for Fire, Police and Disaster Preparedness and Capital Improvement Program. Public comment on non-agendized items comes at 10:05 p.m. with six minutes two speakers who urge "no kill" animal shelter policies (after Mayor Garcia declined to appoint any activist members of "No Kill Long Beach" to his "Animal Care Services Visioning Task Force.") The Council meeting runs until 12:15 a.m.
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August 21, 2018 Roll call nearly a half hour late at 5:29 p.m., followed by nearly a half-hour presentation for City "Employee of the Month." The Council's Budget Hearing for Public Works, Parks/Rec/Marine, Development Services, Library Services and Health and Human Services, doesn't begin until 5:57 p.m. Budget discussion runs till about 10:45 p.m. At at about 11:00 p.m., the Council takes up an agenda item to "award a contract to Compulink Management Center, Inc., dba Laserfiche Solutions Group, of Long Beach, CA, for the implementation, installation, software, maintenance, and support of the Enterprise Document Management System, for one-time software and services in the amount of $1,839,966, and ongoing annual maintenance and licensing in the amount of $385,444, for a period of five years, and authorize a 15 percent contingency in the amount of $565,078, for a total contract amount not to exceed $4,332,264..." A motion by Uranga, seconded by Richardson, approves the action 8-0 (Austin absent.) [On Sept. 11, Compulink Management Center, Inc. contributes $25,000 to the "Mayor Robert Garcia Committee & City Auditor Laura Doud Committee to Support Good Government Measures AAA, BBB, CCC, DDD."] Public comment is shoved to 12:21 a.m., when one speaker speaks in support of a a "no kill" animal shelter. A number of regular agenda items are taken up 12:25 a.m, including a significant item to amend the City's pest/weed management policy to eliminate the use of products or materials that contain glyphosate(s), including weed abatement sprays such as "Roundup" and "Ranger Pro." Direct City Manager to seek alternative organic products for weed and pest abatement for use by City staff in parks, medians and other areas. The Council meeting ends at 12:37 a.m.
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Sept. 4, 2018: Roll call at 5:19 p.m., followed by presentations for Sister Cities of Long Beach, YAAS Competition Winners and Long Beach Pony Baseball Team. The Council begins its FY19 budget hearing (on passage) at 6:12 p.m., finishing at 9:44 p.m. After midnight, the Council reaches a politically charged agenda asking the City Attorney to draft an ordinance requiring "public safety measures" for hotel workers not covered by a petition-initiated November ballot measure. (Hotel/hospitality interests oppose the ballot measure but supported the agenda item; union organizers support the ballot measure and opposed the agenda item.) Following polarizing public testimony and Council discussion, four Councilmembers (opposed to the agenda item) walked out of the Council Chamber (Gonzalez, Pearce, Uranga and Richardson); the remaining five direct the City Attorney to prepare the ordinance for subsequent Council approval. The Council meeting ends at 1:59 a.m.
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Sept. 11, 2018 Roll call 5:06 p.m., presentation for We've Got Your Back - Backpack Give-Away. followed by a hearing at 5:33 p.m. Council meeting ends at 7:04 p.m.
Sept. 18, 2018: Roll call at 5:17 p.m., presentations for Hispanic Heritage Month, National Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Month and National Voter Registration Day. A hearing begins at 5:43 p.m. The Council meeting ends at 8:52 p.m.
Oct 2, 2018: Meeting began 5:42 p.m. Presentations follow for Autism Awareness, Disability Employment Awareness Month and the retirement of Fire Chief Michael DuRee. Hearings begin at 6:31 p.m. Council meeting ends at 10:29 p.m.
Oct. 9, 2018 Council meeting begins at 5:15 p.m., followed by Presentations for Los Cerritos Wetlands Update and Domestic Violence Awareness month. Council hearing begins at 5:38 p.m. Meeting adjourns at 8:56 p.m.
Oct. 16, 2018 Council meeting was canceled for a presentation on plans, and public suggestions on services to be offered at a smaller version of Community Hospital. (The event didn't discuss a key issue now being negotiated: how much will LB taxpayers pay, if anything, to have a private entity operate a smaller version of the former Community Hospital on the city-owned, seismically challenged site.)
The upcoming Oct. 23, 2018 Council meeting agenda includes opening presentations for Dia de los Muertos, Shore Aquatics and a welcoming presentation for incoming LB Fire Chief Xavier Espino. On the Council voted agenda is the return of the hot-potato hotel workers safety ordinance that triggered the Sept. 4 walk-out of four Councilmembers (Gonzalez, Pearce, Uranga, Richardson.) It's number 40 out of 41 on the Council agenda. There's no telling whether the Mayor will move it, or any Councilmember(s) will seek to move it.
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