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CC - ACTION ITEM: Recommendation from the Ad Hoc City Council Policies Subcommittee to Adopt a Resolution Amending Council Policy Statement No. 2401 (Public Records Requests).
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Meeting Date: February 12, 2024
Contact Person/Dept: Heather Baker/City Attorney's Office
Jeremy Bocchino/City Clerk’s Office
Phone Number: 310-253-5660
310-253-5851
Fiscal Impact: Yes [ ] No [X] General Fund: Yes [ ] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [X] No [ ]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (02/07/2024)
Department Approval: Heather Baker, City Attorney (02/07/2024); John M. Nachbar, City Manager (02/07/2024)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff and the Ad Hoc City Council Policies Subcommittee recommend the City Council adopt a resolution amending Council Policy Statement No. 2401 (Public Records Requests).
BACKGROUND
The Ad Hoc City Council Policies Subcommittee was created for the purpose of working with staff to conduct a comprehensive review of existing City Council policies and make recommendations to City Council as appropriate. The current Subcommittee consists of Vice Mayor McMorrin and Council Member Vera (“Subcommittee”).
Over the course of the City Council Policies review project (“Project”), a total of 23 policies have been considered by the City Council. Of these policies, some have been updated, some have been rescinded after being combined with other policies, some have been rescinded and transitioned to administrative policies due to their administrative nature, and there have been two newly adopted policies (see Attachment 1 for a list of policies considered by the City Council thus far during this Project).
This Project has been delayed on multiple occasions due to other Council-directed priorities and work plans, as well as the unexpected and significant operational workload created by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during Fiscal Year 2020-2021.
City staff, after working with the Subcommittee, is presenting one additional City Council policy for recommended action by the City Council at this time. Additional policies are currently in review and targeted for completion over the next two months with the goal of bringing them to City Council for consideration in March and/or April 2024.
DISCUSSION
Public Records Policy 2401
City Council Policy 2401 (Attachment 2) established a policy for the processing of requests for public records under the Public Records Act. This Policy, which was adopted almost 30 years ago, is out of date due to, among other things, the City’s implementation of an online, web-based public records request system, known as NextRequest <https://culvercity.nextrequest.com/>.
The proposed amended Policy 2401 has been updated to provide a simplified overview of the definition of public records, the requirements of the Public Records Act, the process for submitting a public records request and the City’s obligations to respond to such requests.
Staff recommends the City Council adopt the proposed Resolution amending Council Policy 2401 (Attachment 3). The Subcommittee concurs with this recommendation.
Next Policies In Review
As mentioned earlier in this report, additional City Council policies are currently in review and targeted for completion over the two months with the goal of bringing them to City Council for consideration in March and/or April 2024, including:
• Policy 3402 (Council Recognition)
• Policy 3405 (Public Notification/Community Involvement)
• Policy 3406 (Significant Donor/Contributor Naming)
• Policy 4101 (Travel, Attendance at Conferences…Reimbursement of Expenses)
**Note: Per the Subcommittee’s recommendation, the discussion of a policy regarding the use of electronic devices during meetings, which was on the previous list of the next policies in review, will be folded into staff’s work plan to update meeting procedures and guidelines, including decorum, rules of order, etc.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is no fiscal impact associated with this Agenda Item.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2024-02-12_ATT 1_List of Council Policies Reviewed to Date
2. 2024-02-12_ATT 2_Current Council Policy 2401 (Public Records Requests)
3. 2024-02-12_ATT 3_Proposed Resolution Amending Policy 2401 (Public Records Requests)
MOTION
That the City Council:
Adopt a Resolution amending Council Policy Statement No. 2401 (Public Records Requests).