[00:09:38]
[00:09:38]
UH, THREE 10.[CALL TO ORDER]
UM, WE'LL CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.[ROLL CALL]
WOULD YOU PLEASE TAKE THE ROLE? COMMISSIONER WEISS PRESENT, COMMISSIONER SHOTWELL PRESENT,[00:10:01]
COMMISSIONER MORALES.UM, COMMISSIONER DE BENEDICTUS, UH, HAS AN EXCUSED ABSENCE.
WILL THEY BE JOINING US LATER, OR SHE WILL NOT BE JOINING US LATER? I DO EXPECT COMM COLEMAN AND COLEMAN MORALE, MORALES AND MORALES TO BE HERE SHORTLY.
VICE CHAIR COLEMAN AND CHAIR P*****K PRESENT.
THE FIRST AGENDA ITEM IS A RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE ETHICS COMMISSION MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14TH, 2024.
[1. 24-54855 Recommendation to approve the minutes for the Ethics Commission meeting of Wednesday, August 14, 2024. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
I HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER SHOTWELL.DO I HAVE A SECOND? UH, WOULD, IS VOTE CAST WHERE I'M SUPPOSED TO DO THAT OR WHERE? OKAY.
I'M GETTING A BLA A BLACK SCREEN WHEN I GO TO VOTE CAST.
WE CAN TAKE A VERBAL FOR THE SECOND.
UH, COMMISSIONER WISE, SECOND COMMISSIONER SHOTWELL, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WISE AND WE'LL MOVE TO DISCUSSION.
UM, I HAVE, I HAVE A COMMENT, COMMISSIONER WISE.
UM, ON THE MINUTES, UM, I BELIEVE ON THE ITEMS THAT RELATED TO THE POLICIES, THERE WERE, UM, I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING THAT JUST SAYS DISCUSSION, UM, AMONG COMMISSIONERS AND RATHER THAN DOING THE, UM, COMMISSIONER, SO-AND-SO SAID THIS AND SO AND SO SAID THIS.
UM, AND SO-AND-SO SAID, SAID THAT, UM, HOWEVER, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT AT LEAST THE FACT THAT THE COMMISSIONERS THAT PARTICIPATED, PARTICIPATED SHOULD BE SHOWN.
AND, AND I BELIEVE IT WAS ON THE FIRST ITEM DISCUSSED.
I LISTENED TO THAT ONE TODAY, AND I CAN TELL THAT COMMISSIONER NOVE TALKED ON THAT ONE, BUT HIS NAME IS NOT MENTIONED AS HAVING SPOKEN TO THE ITEM.
SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE MINUTES AT LEAST REFLECT WHICH COMMISSIONERS SPOKE ON EACH ITEM.
AND I'LL, EVEN IF IT'S NOT GOING TO SHOW THE, YOU KNOW, THE BACK AND FORTH THAT THAT WENT ON, WHICH I DON'T THINK IS, IS REALLY THAT IMPORTANT.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO SAY IT HAPPENED, BUT IT ISN'T.
THE PARTICULAR ORDER OF IT DOES PROBABLY DOESN'T MATTER OR ISN'T WORTH IT BE.
UM, SO THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST, UM, BE, BE ADDED.
I DID NOT GO THROUGH THAT FOR, I THINK THERE'S ANOTHER ITEM THAT SAYS THAT, UM, ITEM NUMBER SIX, PERHAPS I MIGHT HAVE THE NUMBERS WRONG, BUT THEY WERE THE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, DOES THE CITY HAVE THE RECORDS TO IDENTIFY WHO WAS SPEAKING? USUALLY THE, THAT COMES OFF THE RECORDING.
IS THE RECORDING AVAILABLE? YEAH, WE, WE TAKE MINUTES ON, ON WHO SPOKE.
UH, TYPICALLY WE WILL, WE WILL EXCLUDE SOMEBODY FROM SPEAKING IF THEIR, UH, UH, THEIR COMMENT IS NOT OF SUBSTANCE.
IF THEY ARE MAKING AN, YOU KNOW, AN AGREEMENT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING NOT SUBSTANTIAL, IT WOULDN'T BE INCLUDED IN THE, THE FULL MINUTE.
I, I'LL, I'LL JUST SAY AND, AND, UM, I JUST WANT COMMISSIONER NOVE TO KNOW I'M NOT PICKING ON HIM.
I'M, I'M TRYING TO ACTUALLY HAVE YOU BE RECOGNIZED IN THE, IN THE MINUTES.
UH, I APPRECIATE THAT AND, UM, THANK YOU FOR TAKING THAT EXTRA STEP AND REVIEWING THE MINUTES TO MAKE THE VIDEO TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MINUTES MATCH UP.
I, I THINK WHAT I RECALL FROM THE, FROM THE FIRST ITEM WAS THAT WHAT HE SAID WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT ANYONE ELSE HAD HAD YET SAID OR COMMENTED ON.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHY IF YOU LIKE, WE CAN REVIEW THE MINUTES AND THEN WE COULD, UM, AMEND THEM IF THAT WOULD SUFFICE TO DO WHAT, IF YOU WOULD LIKE THE MINUTES AMENDED TO INCLUDE THE INCLUSION OF, UH, COMMISSIONER NOVE.
WE CAN REVIEW THE MINUTES AND INCLUDE THAT.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.
AND I THINK YOU SHOULD CHECK IT ALSO FOR THE, THE OTHER ITEM ABOUT, UM, POLICY.
[00:15:01]
US, AND MAYBE IT'S, IT'S THOSE IN THOSE THINGS IN PARTICULAR, BUT EACH OF US IS LOOKING AT THOSE, THOSE ITEMS IN A DIFFERENT, WE BRING SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO IT.AND, AND SO IT'S IMPORTANT AND WE'RE NOT, WE DON'T REALLY DISCUSS IT AMONG OURSELVES THAT MUCH.
WE'RE MOSTLY GIVING THE FEEDBACK TO THE, TO THE COMMITTEE.
SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO CAPTURE WHO'S EVER PROVIDING THAT, THAT THAT SUBSTANTIVE INPUT.
AND THIS IS, THIS IS FOR THE RECORD.
'CAUSE PARTLY BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, TAPES GET LOST, IT'S MORE LIKELY THE MINUTES ARE GOING TO EXIST.
I MEAN, I DON'T KEEP A COPY OF THE VIDEO, BUT YOU KNOW, I HAVE A COPY OF THE MINUTES AND LOTS.
THERE'S LOTS OF OTHER PLACES WHERE THEY EXIST TOO.
SO, SO ANYWAY, UM, I WOULD SUGGEST IF WE, IF YOU WOULD LOOK AT THOSE TWO AND MAKE ANY AMENDMENTS THAT ARE NECESSARY, THAT WOULD BE WHAT I WOULD BE WILLING TO APPROVE TODAY.
SO, UH, I BELIEVE IF I AM UNDERSTANDING YOU CORRECTLY, YOU WOULD LIKE TO APPROVE IT, BUT WITH THE AMENDMENT, A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO INCLUDE COMMISSIONER NOVE, IS THAT CORRECT? AND ANYONE ELSE THAT YOU FIND THAT WASN'T INCLUDED THAT I THINK THE AMENDMENT IS TO INCLUDE, TO IDENTIFY ANY COMMISSIONER WHO WAS SPEAKING ON A SUBSTANTIVE ISSUE? YEAH.
JUST TO PROVIDE CLARITY FOR THE RECORD.
IS IT TO, IS IT THE INTENT TO HAVE THE MINUTES REVIEWED AND THEN BROUGHT BACK FOR THE NEXT MEETING? I, I, I, I, I PERSONALLY THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO DO IT BECAUSE IF COMMISSIONER WEISS HAS CONCERN THAT THERE MAY BE OTHER PEOPLE THAT WERE LEFT OUT, IT WOULD BE BETTER IF, I THINK, IF WE JUST LAY THIS OVER UNTIL NEXT MONTH AND LOOK AT THEM THEN TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS CAPTURED.
IT MIGHT BE, BECAUSE THAT'S A LOT OF WORK THAT WE'RE ASKING THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE TO DO.
IF WE'RE LOOKING FOR A SUBSTANTIVE REVIEW AND AMENDMENT OF THE MINUTES THAT WE NOT, WELL, I MEAN, IT'S UP TO THE COMMISSIONER.
SO WHAT I AM HEARING, JUST TO PROVIDE CLARITY ON THE RECORD, IT MIGHT BE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO OKAY.
REVIEW AND AMEND AND THEN BRING BACK FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
IF WE DO A, A LAYOVER, LAY THE ITEM OVER AND THEN BRING IT BACK FOR FURTHER REVIEW.
BEFORE, BEFORE I SAY ANYTHING FURTHER ON THIS, WOULD YOU JUST EXPLAIN TO ME, WHEN YOU PREPARE THE MINUTES, YOU LISTEN TO THE TAPE, RIGHT? YES.
WE, WE TAKE, WE TAKE NOTES AT THE MEETING, AND THEN WE REVIEW AFTER THE MEETING, AND THEN WE REVIEW, WE REVIEW INTERNALLY, AND THEN WE SEND THAT ON TO, UH, STAFF AS WELL TO REVIEW.
SO, SO NO ONE, NO ONE LISTENS TO THE TAPE IN THE PREPARATION OF THE MINUTES? WE DO.
BECAUSE I DON'T, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF NOTES YOU'RE TAKING, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU'D HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE TAPE TO HEAR WHO SPOKE UNLESS YOU'VE BEEN TAKING NOTES EVERY TIME SOMEONE OPENS THEIR MOUTH AND MAKING A JUDGMENT CALL AS TO WHETHER IT'S SUBSTANTIVE OR NOT.
THAT WOULD BE A QUESTION FOR THE CLERK'S DEPARTMENT.
SO LIKE FOR THE, LET'S SAY THIS ITEM, WE WILL REVIEW IT BECAUSE MULTIPLE PARTIES HAVE SPOKE AND WE WANNA GET THE CLAR, UH, CLARIFICATION ON WHO SPOKE AND WHEN THEY SPOKE AND WHAT ORDER.
AND, UH, SUCH AS THIS DIALOGUE THAT'S ENSUED, WE WOULD CAPTURE THAT IN THE, IN THE MINUTE NOTES.
WELL, I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD INDICATE, YOU JUST HAVE TO INDICATE THE NAME OF EACH PERSON THAT PARTICIPATES IN THE DIALOGUE.
THAT'S WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN, IN MY OPINION.
THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING THAT YOU DO.
UH, BUT IF, IF YOU FEEL LIKE WE HAVEN'T CAPTURED THE FULL SCOPE OF THOSE MINUTES, WE WILL REVIEW AND THEN WE CAN SEE WHY EXACTLY.
COMMISSIONER NOVE WASN'T, WASN'T CAPTURED.
MORE THAN LIKELY, JUST TO SPEAK ON THE, THE POINT, IT, IT'S TYPICALLY BECAUSE THE, THE PERSON HAD A, A COMMENT THAT WASN'T SUBSTANCE TO SUB SUBSTATIVE AND IT WASN'T, IT WAS, YOU KNOW, LIKE AN AGREEMENT YES.
IT WOULDN'T BE PART OF THE, THE MINUTES.
WELL THEN I'M, I'M MAKE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION IF THAT'S OKAY.
THE MINUTES BE, UM, PUT OVER TILL NEXT MONTH.
AND THAT IN THE INTERIM, THE, THE CLERK, UH, LISTEN TO THE TAPE AND REVIEW THEIR NOTES AND SEE IF, UM, ADDITIONAL PERSONS COMMISSIONERS SPOKE ON THE, THE ITEMS I'VE MENTIONED ABOUT THE POLICY SUBCOMMITTEE, AND THEN AMEND THE MINUTES AND BRING THEM BACK TO US OR COME BACK WITH A REPORT AS
[00:20:01]
TO WHY THEY THINK THE MINUTES SHOULD STAY THE WAY THEY ARE, UM, AS THE MOVING PARTY.COMMISSIONER SHOTWELL, UM, IS THAT A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT THAT YOU'RE WILLING TO AGREE TO? YES, IT IS.
AND COMMISSIONER WISE, AS SECONDING? YES.
UH, I CAN'T, SO I GUESS IT'S GOING THROUGH AS A SUBSTITUTE MOTION RATHER THAN A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.
I'M STILL HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE SCREEN AND GETTING, NOW I CAN'T GET INTO VOTE CAST.
YOU, YOU CAN'T, YOU'RE NEVER GONNA GET INTO VOTE CAST.
JUST STAY IN THE INTER CIRCLE.
THE FULL CAPABILITY'S BEEN DISABLED.
THAT'S WHAT SHE JUST TOLD ME NOT TO DO.
YOU THINK THIS ALL WORKS? YES.
I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO, I CAN'T GET ALL MOTION CARRIES MY THING THERE.
AND GO AHEAD AND CLICK LIVE MEETING.
AND NOW YOU'RE IN THE MEETING.
YOU'RE IN THE MEETING AS WELL.
I'M JUST FINE, BUT I CAN'T GET THE, THERE'S A POWERPOINT.
YOU CAN SWITCH TO MY MAIN SCREEN, BUT IF THERE'S NO POWERPOINT, DON'T TOUCH IT.
UM, THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM IS A RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A PRESENTATION FROM THE MARCOLA CENTER FOR APPLIED ETHICS, PROVIDING THE FINAL STRATEGIC ROADMAP REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CITY'S ETHICS PROGRAM.
[2. 24-54856 Recommendation to receive and file a presentation from Markkula Center for Applied Ethics providing the final Strategic Roadmap report and recommendations for the City’s Ethics Program. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
SO THE SCREEN READS THAT I DON'T HAVE A FIRST MOTION, BUT I HAVE A SECOND MORE.I HAVE A MOTION BY, UH, MORALES AND A SECOND BY VE.
UM, AND WOULD YOU PLEASE BE SURE THAT THE MINUTES REFLECT THAT DURING THE DISCUSSION REGARDING, UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER ONE? COMMISSIONER MORALES AND COMMISSIONER COLEMAN, UH, ARRIVED AND, AND THEY'RE, UH, HERE IN THE MEETING.
WE WILL NOTE THE TIME WHEN THEY ARRIVED.
SO WE HAVE A, A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MORALES, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER, NOR, UM, I, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO, UH, PROVIDE A, A LITTLE INTRO TO THIS, UH, ITEM, AND THEN WE'LL HEAR FROM THE MARCOLA FOLKS.
UM, THIS IS THEIR FINAL REPORT.
UM, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TODAY TO ASK THE FOLKS FROM MARULA QUESTIONS AND TO VERIFY OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE DATA THEY COLLECTED AND THE BASIS FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY'RE MAKING.
BASED UPON THAT DATA, UM, FOLLOWING THE Q AND A SESSION, WE WILL ALSO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS HOW TO, HOW WE INTEND TO IMPLEMENT THE REPORT.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, MARCOLA RECOMMENDS WE CONTINUE OUR WORK UNDER THE ACTION PLAN AND STATUS THAT WORK UNDER ON A, A REGULAR BASIS.
UM, WE NEED TO DECIDE HOW WE WILL INTEGRATE THE MARCO RECOMMENDATIONS WITH THE ACTION PLAN.
UM, AND ALSO BASED UPON SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS SUCH AS THE FINALIZATION OF THE LOBBYIST ORDINANCE RECOMMENDATIONS, WE NEED TO MAKE A DECISION ON THE PRIORITIES, UH, IN TERMS OF IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, ALSO IN THE MATERIALS, YOU PROBABLY SAW A LETTER FROM THE CITY MANAGER, UM, REGARDING, UH, THE STAFFING THAT MAY BE REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AT THIS TIME, WE DON'T HAVE, WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE NECESSARY STAFFING.
SO AS WE TALK ABOUT PRIORITIES, WE'LL ALSO HAVE TO TALK ABOUT AN ITERATIVE PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE
[00:25:01]
ADEQUATE STAFFING, UH, FOR THE, THE, THE, THE VARIOUS ITEMS THAT WE IDENTIFY AS A PRIORITY.COMMISSIONER MORALES, I JUST HAVE A QUESTION 'CAUSE I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO LOOK AT ANY THAT LETTER, BUT DOES IT ALSO REFLECT ANY ADDRESSING OF THE STAFFING RESOURCES THAT WERE ALLOCATED TO THIS COMMISSION THAT HAVE BEEN DIVERTED TO OTHER SITUATIONS? NO.
SO I HAVE VOCALIZED, ONCE I FOUND OUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING AS MY TERM AS CHAIR WAS ENDING, BUT I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY NEED TO, UM, ADDRESS WITH THE CITY MANAGER.
IT'S VERY DIS, I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENT, BUT THAT, UM, RESOURCES THAT WERE SPECIFICALLY ALLOCATED TO STAFF AND SUPPORT THIS COMMISSION HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED TO ANOTHER PRIORITY.
AND THEN THAT THE CITY MANAGER WOULD WRITE A LETTER INDICATING THAT THERE ARE NO RESOURCES WITHIN THE CITY.
UM, I THINK THAT SPEAKS TO THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT THAT WE, WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE GOING FORWARD.
SO HOPEFULLY WHATEVER MOTIONS WE COME UP WITH AT THE END OF THIS DISCUSSION, WE'LL ALSO ADDRESS HOW THOSE RESOURCES THAT WE'RE NOW LACKING ARE GOING TO BE ADDRESSED BY THE CITY.
UM, AND JUST, UH, FOR CLARITY, UH, I BELIEVE THAT OUR DISCUSSION OF THE STRATEGIC REPORT WILL, UH, BE A TOPIC ON THE AGENDA FOR MORE THAN JUST THIS MEETING.
I BELIEVE THAT AS FAR AS IMPLEMENTATION IS CONCERNED, WE WILL, UH, INEVITABLY GO AT LEAST THROUGH OCTOBER.
UM, SO, UH, I FIRST WANNA TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PRESENCE OF THE FOLKS FROM MARULA.
UM, LET'S TAKE AS MUCH ADVANTAGE OF THEIR PRESENCE TODAY AS WE CAN.
AND THEN WE WILL HAVE TO HAVE A NUMBER OF DISCUSSIONS ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION.
SO WITH THAT, I DON'T WHO'S, BUT YOU'RE BOTH SPEAKING.
UH, UH, THANK YOU, UH, CHAIRWOMAN FOR, UH, HAVING US BACK AND GIVING US A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO SUMMARIZE FOR THE, UH, COMMISSION, UM, AND THE ETHICS PROGRAM AND OTHER STAFF MEMBERS.
UM, OUR, UH, OUR PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP AND THEN TAKING YOU THROUGH THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ROADMAP ITSELF.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS AT THE MARLA CENTER, AND MY COLLEAGUE ANN S***T IS THE, UH, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF LEADERSHIP ETHICS AT THE CENTER.
AND, UM, I'M GONNA START US OFF WITH THIS POWERPOINT AND WE'LL BE GOING BACK AND FORTH.
UH, THAT IS ANN AND I PRESENTING MATERIAL.
ALRIGHT, SO, UM, THE, THE AGENDA FOR TODAY IS TO REVIEW WITH YOU THE COMPONENTS OF THE CONTRACT THAT WE WERE, UH, HIRED TO PROVIDE FOR THE ETHICS PROGRAM.
WE'LL GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AGAIN VERY BRIEFLY THAT WE WENT THROUGH.
WE'RE NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL OF THE SOAR ANALYSIS SINCE WE REVIEWED THAT WITH YOU IN OUR VISIT IN MAY.
AND, UM, IT'S INCLUDED IN THE, UH, FULL REPORT.
UM, WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE, THE STEPS THAT WE USE TO GATHER INFORMATION TO, UH, BASE OUR CONCLUSIONS UPON.
UM, AND, UM, AND THEN GET INTO THE ACTUAL PROCESS OF HOW WE GOT TO, UH, FINALIZE, UH, A SET OF, UH, STRATEGIC ROADMAP RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR THE ETHICS PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEN TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS, UM, AFTER THAT.
UH, SO THE, THE KEY COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT, UM, ARE OUTLINED IN THIS SLIDE, WHICH SAYS THAT WE WERE, UM, TASKED TO REVIEW THE CITY'S CURRENT ETHICS PROGRAM, UM, SPECIFICALLY BY, UH, REVIEWING DOCUMENTS.
AND I TALK ABOUT A NUMBER OF THOSE IN THE REPORT.
WE GATHERED PUBLIC INPUT THROUGH A SERIES OF PUBLIC MEETINGS.
WE WERE ASKED TO CONDUCT A SOAR ANALYSIS, LOOKING AT THE STRENGTHS OPPORTUNITIES, UM, UH, ASK FOR ASPIRATIONS, ASPIRATIONS AND RESULTS, THANK YOU OF, UM, THE ETHICS PROGRAM.
AND THEN TO DEVELOP, UH, AND PRESENT TO YOU A A FIVE YEAR PLAN FOLLOWING, WHICH WE ARE ALSO CONTRACTED TO PROVIDE, UH, A SMALL LEVEL OF TRAINING ON, UM, UH, ETHICAL DECISION MAKING.
THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IS OUTLINED IN THE CHART.
AND, AND I'LL JUST SAY THAT IF, IF ANYTHING ON MY SLIDES LOOKS A LITTLE ON OUR SLIDES, LOOKS A LITTLE BIT TOO SMALL, UH, SOME OF THESE ARE PULLED RIGHT
[00:30:01]
FROM THE REPORT THAT YOU WERE GIVEN.IT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO READ, BUT WE BEGAN OUR PROCESS, UM, UH, BACK IN, UH, JANUARY, UH, IN WHICH WE STARTED GOING THROUGH VARIOUS DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE, UH, PROGRAM.
I'LL JUST SHOW YOU ON THIS SLIDE, THE DOCUMENTS THAT WE REVIEWED, THIS IS ACTUALLY A, A SAMPLE OF MANY DOCUMENTS THAT THE ETHICS PROGRAM HAS PRODUCED OVER THE YEARS.
AND, UM, WE FOUND THESE EXTREMELY INFORMATIVE AND ACTUALLY HELPED TO, TO GUIDE US TO SOME OF THE THEMES THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR IN THE WORK OF THE ETHICS PROGRAM.
UM, WE THEN, UH, GOT INTO, UH, A PROCESS OF INTERVIEWING CITY OFFICIALS, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND THE MAYOR, A NUMBER OF THE ELECTED AND APPOINTED CITY EXECUTIVES.
UH, WE INTERVIEWED THE, UH, ETHICS COMMISSION, THE OFFICE OF ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY STAFF, AND SOME ADDITIONAL INDIVIDUALS ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, THE WORK OF, UH, THE ETHICS PROGRAM.
UM, WE THEN, UH, UH, TOOK THIS ALONG WITH A SURVEY THAT, UH, HEATHER AND, UH, OTHERS CONDUCTED, UH, OF, UH, UH, UH, STAFF EMPLOYEE PERCEPTIONS OF THE ETHICS PROGRAM.
AND WE BUILT THAT INTO OUR, OUR SO R ANALYSIS.
UH, AS WELL, WE PRESENTED AT SORT OF A MIDPOINT HERE IN MAY, WHAT WE HAD LEARNED FROM THE SO R ANALYSIS.
UM, AND, UM, AFTER THAT WE, WE, WE INTERNALIZED WHAT WE HEARD AND THE FEEDBACK FROM THE ETHICS COMMISSION, AND WE BEGAN WORKING TOWARD, UH, WHAT WE COULD PRODUCE FOR THE, UH, STRATEGIC ROADMAP.
AND IN DOING SO, WE ENGAGED SOME OTHER PEOPLE IN THE PROCESS FROM THE CITY OF LONG BEACH STAFF, AND, UM, DID SOME BRAINSTORMING SESSIONS WITH THIS GROUP.
UH, WE PULLED TOGETHER SOME BENCHMARKING DATA, UM, AND, UH, FINALLY IN, UM, THE LAST FEW WEEKS, WE HAVE PULLED TOGETHER THE FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH WE ARE BASED UPON, UH, DRAFTS THAT WERE CIRCULATED AMONG THE, A WORKING GROUP THAT WE'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN JUST A LITTLE BIT, BRINGING US TO OUR PRESENTATION HERE TODAY.
UM, AGAIN, I I, THIS SLIDE JUST SHOWS THE DOCUMENTS THAT, UH, WE LOOKED AT, AND THEY'RE ALSO INCLUDED IN THE REPORT.
I THINK MOST OF YOU KNOW THAT WE STARTED OFF THIS PROCESS WITH A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS, LARGELY IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.
WE TALKED TO PEOPLE WHO WERE ON THE CITY COUNCIL APPOINTED AND ELECTED OFFICIALS IN THE CITY, UM, AND VARIOUS STAFF MEMBERS AND, UH, EACH ONE OF YOU.
AND SO WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
IN GENERAL, WE JUST WANNA COMMENT THAT EVERYBODY WAS, UM, UH, REALLY FORTHCOMING WITH THEIR TIME AND COMMENTS, AND WE REALLY, UM, GOT A LOT OUT OF THE PROCESS IN TERMS OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT PEOPLE MADE IN THE INTERVIEW PROCESS.
SO WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL AND PARTICULARLY GRATEFUL TO THE STAFF WHO HANDLED ALL THE SCHEDULING OF THAT, WHICH IS, AS WE ALL KNOW, IS OFTEN THE HARDEST PART OF ANY PROJECT.
SO, UM, THAT WAS GREAT TO HAVE THAT.
UM, WE HELD THREE PUBLIC MEETINGS.
WE HAD 47 PARTICIPANTS ACROSS THREE DIFFERENT DATES IN MARCH, APRIL, AND MAY.
UM, I WOULD SAY THE PREPONDERANCE OF THE PEOPLE WHO CAME TO THE MEETINGS WERE PEOPLE WHO WERE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH THE CITY, EITHER THROUGH THE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OR BECAUSE THEY SAT ON COMMISSIONS.
WE HAD RELATIVELY FEW PEOPLE WHO WERE JUST COMING TO THE TOPIC OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION FOR THE FIRST TIME.
THAT'S SOMETHING WE WILL TALK ABOUT IN THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP, SORT OF MEANS AND MECHANISMS FOR TRYING TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC.
WE SEE HOW CHALLENGING THAT IS, UM, TO HAVE THEM BECOME AWARE OF YOUR WORK AND TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND FEEL LIKE THEY'RE BEING WELL SERVED BY THE ETHICS COMMISSION.
BUT WE HAVE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, THEIR COMMENTS THAT I'LL SHARE IN JUST A MINUTE.
UM, THE CITY IS BLESSED BY ALREADY HAVING A SET OF VERY ROBUST VALUES THAT ARE PART OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT AND SEEM TO BE EMBODIED IN A LOT OF THE EFFORTS AND WORK THAT HAPPEN IN THE CITY.
UM, WE DID SOME WORK TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE FELT ABOUT THOSE VALUES, AND SO WE ASKED EACH OF THE DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT WE INTERVIEWED, INCLUDING THOSE IN THE PUBLIC MEETING SETTINGS ABOUT THE VALUES.
AND THESE WERE SOME OF THE HEADLINES.
UM, DIVERSITY IS REALLY THE STRONGEST OVERALL, UH, VALUE IN THE CITY.
EVERYBODY EXCEPT JUST A FEW MEMBERS IN ONE OF THE PUBLIC MEETINGS, REALLY FELT THAT THAT WAS, UM, HANDS DOWN THE, THE STRONGEST VALUE.
UM, AND SO THERE WAS ALSO A CONSISTENCY ACROSS THE CITY, UH, IN TERMS OF THE AREAS THAT PEOPLE FELT, UM, WERE STRONG AND THOSE THAT THEY FELT NEEDED TO BE, UM, AMPLIFIED A LITTLE BIT.
THERE WAS A COUPLE OF VARIANCES.
CITY EXECUTIVES FELT THAT TRANSPARENCY WAS THE STRONGEST VALUE, BUT ACTUALLY THE REST OF THE CITY THAT WE INTERVIEWED FELT THAT WAS
[00:35:01]
ONE OF THE LOWEST.UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING FOR YOU TO JUST BE AWARE OF THAT DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE CITY EXECUTIVES AND THE REST OF THE CITY COUNCIL, THE OFFICE OF ETHICS AND, UH, TRANSPARENCY AND THE ETHICS COMMISSION.
UH, THE ETHICS COMMISSION'S, VALUE RANKINGS OVERALL, WERE LOWER THAN EVERYBODY ELSE'S.
YOU ALL ARE TOUGH CRITICS, AND SO THAT CAME THROUGH AND YOU PROBABLY HAVE A, A GREAT DEAL OF FAMILIARITY WITH THEM AND INTERACT WITH THEM IN A WAY THAT A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE DO NOT.
AND SO, UM, THAT MAY HAVE INFORMED SOME OF YOUR RANKINGS A LITTLE BIT, JUST, UM, BUT YOU WERE CONSISTENTLY LOWER.
ALL OF YOU, UM, THAN THE REST OF THE PEOPLE IN THE CITY THAT WE TALKED TO.
CITY EMPLOYEES FELT THAT ACCOUNTABILITY WAS THE LEAST PRESENT VALUE.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING TO NOTE SINCE, UM, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS AND THE WORKFORCE IS AN IMPORTANT ONE.
AND SO THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE EYES OF THE PUBLIC.
TRANSPARENCY AND INTEGRITY WERE THE TWO THAT COULD USE THE GREATEST, UM, WORK.
THEY WERE SEEN AS THE WEAKEST.
UH, THE PUBLIC IS AWARE OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION THAT WE AT 55% OF THOSE THAT, UM, IN, IN THE, UM, COMMENTS WE'RE AWARE OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION.
AGAIN, THAT'S FROM A GROUP OF PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE ALREADY FAIRLY FAMILIAR WITH THE CITY AND ITS OPERATIONS, AND 47% WERE, UH, AWARE OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE SORT OF A DROP OFF THERE IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH THEY INTERACT WITH THE COMMISSION, WHETHER THEY'VE EVER COMMUNICATED WITH YOU OR COME TO YOUR MEETINGS.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVEMENT HERE SINCE ONE OF YOUR PRIMARY GOALS IS TO SERVE THE PUBLIC AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY FEEL GOOD ABOUT, UM, A CITYWIDE CULTURE OF ETHICS.
UM, I THINK I'M GONNA TURN IT BACK TO YOU, JOHN, TO TALK ABOUT THE PROCESS FROM THE MAY RETREAT UNTIL NOW.
UH, SO I MENTIONED THAT, UM, IN, IT'S ACTUALLY IN JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST, THAT, UM, WE, UH, WE, WE BEGAN CONVENING A, A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE, UM, THAT ARE SHOWN HERE ON THIS SLIDE, UM, TO HELP US, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH DEVELOPING THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP AND EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION TO THE THREE COMMISSIONERS, UM, WHO GAVE THEIR TIME, UM, UH, TO US.
AND THEN, UH, THE STAFF, OF COURSE, HEATHER AND ORGE, UH, TYLER JOINED US.
AND IT WASN'T JUST, UH, BEING PART OF THE MEETINGS, BUT WAS ALSO RESPONDING TO DRAFTS, MULTIPLE DRAFTS FROM US OF, OF THE, UM, UH, ROADMAP.
AND, UH, UH, THE CITY CLERK, UH, WAS, UH, SPENT SEVERAL HOURS WITH US, UH, AND REVIEWED DOCUMENTS AS DID, UM, THE DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY.
SO WE, WE FELT IT WAS REALLY, UH, IMPORTANT TO HAVE SOME FEEDBACK AS WE WERE MOVING THROUGH THIS FINAL STAGE OF THE PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT WE WEREN'T GOING TOO FAR AWAY FROM SOME OF YOUR EXPECTATIONS, AND THAT WE WOULD HAVE SOME SENSITIVITY, UH, DRAWN FROM, UH, BOTH THE, OR FROM THE, THE CITY CLERK, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, AND, UM, THE CITY ATTORNEY WHO, EACH OF WHOM IS VERY INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF THE, UH, ETHICS PROGRAM.
UM, THEN WE ALSO, UH, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS IN FACT, THAT WE, UH, SHARED WITH THIS WORKING GROUP WAS THE BENCHMARKING DATA THAT, UH, WE GATHERED RELATED TO OTHER CALIFORNIA CITIES.
AND, UM, WE, WE SELECTED, UH, SIX CITIES THAT, UM, ARE, UH, WELL EN ENGAGED IN THE WORK OF AN ETHICS COMMISSION AND STAFF.
AND THESE WERE LOS ANGELES, OAKLAND, RIVERSIDE, SACRAMENTO, SAN DIEGO, AND SAN FRANCISCO.
UM, AND WE REVIEWED THEIR STAFFING LEVELS.
UM, AND LET, LET ME UH, PAUSE FOR A SECOND AND STEP BACK AND SAY THAT ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE FELT WAS IMPORTANT TO DO SOME BENCHMARKING AROUND STAFFING IS THAT SO OFTEN IN OUR INTERVIEWS, WE HEARD FROM INDIVIDUALS THAT THE ETHICS PROGRAM IS, IS NOT STAFFED ADEQUATELY.
THAT THE COMMISSION, UH, HAS BEEN DRAWN INTO DOING A GREAT DEAL OF WORK THAT OTHERWISE WOULD BE, UM, UH, REQUESTED OF STAFF BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF STAFF.
AND EVEN ONCE, UH, HEATHER'S, UH, APPOINTMENT AND OFFICE WERE ESTABLISHED, UM, THERE STILL WASN'T, UH, THERE STRONG FEELINGS THAT THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH STAFF PRESENT TO ACTUALLY DO ALL OF THE WORK, THE GOOD WORK THAT THE ETHICS COMMISSION IS ADVANCING.
SO WE DECIDED TO TAKE A LOOK AT HOW OTHER CITIES DO THIS.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, IT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO KEEP IN MIND THAT EACH CITY HAS DEVELOPED AN ETHICS PROGRAM THAT'S TAILORED TO SUIT THE ENVIRONMENT OF THAT CITY AND THE DEMANDS ON AN ETHICS PROGRAM AND ITS ETHICS COMMISSION.
[00:40:01]
WERE REASONABLE CITIES TO SELECT.AND, UM, THE TABLE THAT IS DISPLAYED HERE, UH, UH, SHOWS THE BASIC DATA THAT WE UTILIZE TO TRY TO DETERMINE HOW TO, UH, UH, MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS OR AT LEAST OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE, THE STAFF THAT IS ON AVERAGE NEEDED FOR, UH, SUCCESSFUL ETHICS PROGRAMS. AND SO THERE'S TWO WAYS OF, OF LOOKING AT THIS.
ONE IS LOOKING AT THE NUMBER OF STAFF THAT A CITY HAS BASED UPON THAT CITY'S POPULATION SIZE AND STANDARDIZING ON A PER CAPITA BASIS TO DETERMINE WHAT THE STAFFING, UH, MIGHT BE.
AND THE OTHER IS TO TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, THE NUMBER OF CITY EMPLOYEES AND TO STANDARDIZE THAT, UH, ON A PER EMPLOYEE BASIS, UH, IN COM SO THAT WE CAN COMPARE TO THESE CITIES.
WHAT WE LEARNED IN THIS PROCESS IS THAT ON AVERAGE, THESE OTHER CITIES, UH, ON A PER CAPITA BASIS HAVE 1.2 STAFF MEMBERS PER HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE IN THE CITY.
AND SO IF YOU EXTRAPOLATE THAT TO THE POPULATION SIZE OF LONG BEACH, UM, WHICH IS ABOUT 450,000, THEN LONG BEACH SHOULD HAVE A STAFFING LEVEL OF APPROXIMATELY 5.4 STAFF, UM, OR 0.4 STAFF FOR EVERY A HUNDRED THOUSAND POPULATION THAT, UH, YOU HAVE.
AND IF YOU WANTED TO, TO, UH, BASE THE STAFFING ON, UH, THE BASIS, I'M SORRY, IF, IF YOU WANTED TO BASE THAT STAFFING ON THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT THE CITY HAS, UM, AND, UH, LOOK AT THAT AVERAGE, IT'S SIX STAFF MEMBERS PER EVERY, UH, SIX TENTHS OF A STAFF MEMBER FOR EVERY 1000 CITY EMPLOYEES THAT THERE ARE.
SO ON THAT BASIS, UH, LONG BEACH WOULD HAVE, ON AVERAGE WITH ITS TWO STAFF NOW, 0.2.
AND IF WE ACTUALLY WANTED TO SEE THE STAFFING, UH, BE SET TO THAT STANDARD OF THE NUMBER OF, UH, EMPLOYEES THERE ARE, THEN THE, UH, STAFFING IN LONG BEACH SHOULD BE CLOSER TO 3.35, UH, STAFF MEMBERS FOR, UH, THE CITY.
AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A WAY OF, OF COMING UP WITH A GUIDE TO TRY TO MAKE DETERMINATIONS ON WHAT MIGHT BE BEST.
THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER INTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES, UH, THAT MIGHT DETERMINE, UH, A DIFFERENT PATH, BUT, UM, CHAIRWOMAN HAS ALREADY REFERENCED SOME OF THE, THE CONCERNS ABOUT, UH, THE STAFFING IN, UH, TODAY'S MEETING.
AND SO WE THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO, UH, INCLUDE THIS IN OUR REPORT.
SO I'M JUST GONNA SPEAK NOW TO SOME OF THE CONTEXT AND THE KEY CONSIDERATIONS THAT WE TOOK INTO ACCOUNT BEFORE WE, UM, DEVELOPED THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP.
AND AGAIN, YOU WERE, UM, THOSE OF YOU THAT WORKED ON THE WORKING TEAM HAVE BEEN PART OF INFORMING OUR THINKING AROUND THESE, UH, CONSIDERATIONS.
UH, THE LOGICAL PLACE TO START IS WITH THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION.
AND WE STARTED HERE BECAUSE THIS CAME UP CONSISTENTLY IN THE INTERVIEWS, UH, THAT WE TALKED TO ACROSS THE CITY.
UM, THERE WAS A SENSE THAT THERE WERE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT THE ETHICS COMMISSION AND THE ETHICS PROGRAM WERE INITIALLY CHARGED TO DO, AND THAT SOME OF THOSE HAVE BEEN VERY FULLY ACTIVATED, BUT THAT OTHERS HAVE NOT YET BEEN FULLY ACTIVATED.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE IN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, IN THE REPORT THAT WE'VE TRIED TO ADDRESS THAT.
AND REALLY, UM, IF THERE'S A, A MESSAGE IN THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP, IT'S, IT'S SIMPLY TO LOOK AT THIS LIST AND TO MORE EVENLY, UM, CONTRIBUTE YOUR RESOURCES TO THESE VARIOUS ACTIVITY LEVELS.
THE FIRST ONE IN PARTICULAR, THE IDEA OF PROVIDING SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE, UH, REALLY REQUIRES A, YOU KNOW, A STRONG SET OF RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'RE ADVISING.
AND SO ALSO SOME OF WHAT YOU SEE, UH, REFLECTED IN THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP IS AN INVESTMENT IN DEVELOPING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS, WHICH MIGHT SEEM LIKE ONE OF THOSE SORT OF SOFTER KIND OF TACTICS TO DEPLOY.
BUT IT'S CRITICAL IF YOU'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO, UM, PROVIDE ADVICE THAT PEOPLE WILL LISTEN TO AND TRUST AND BE WELCOMING.
UM, IN TERMS OF RECEIVING IT, UH, THE POSITIVE ELEMENTS THAT CAME THROUGH IN THE DISCUSSION, WHICH WE TALKED ABOUT MANY OF THEM IN MAY, WERE THE CREATION OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION IN THE FIRST PLACE.
PEOPLE FEEL VERY GOOD ABOUT THAT AND VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT THE ETHICS COMMISSION DOES.
AND THERE WAS COMMENTS ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE COMMISSION IS EXEMPLARY, YOU KNOW, IS REALLY SETS A STANDARD THAT OTHER COMMISSIONS IN THE CITY, UM, SHOULD WORK TOWARDS AND, UM, AND EMULATE.
AND SO THAT'S REALLY TO THE CREDIT OF ALL OF YOU WHO'VE BEEN PART OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION SO FAR.
AND THERE WAS SIMILAR STRONG FEELINGS OF, UH, GOODWILL AROUND THE OFFICE OF ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY
[00:45:01]
PEOPLE, UM, WHO FELT LIKE IT WAS GOOD TO SEE SOME DEDICATED STAFF AND HAVE CONFIDENCE, UM, IN, IN THE COMPETENT STAFF THAT EXISTS THERE.NOW, THE CODE OF CONDUCT WAS SEEN AS A GOOD, STRONG WIN AND A VERY IMPORTANT THING TO HAVE IN THE CITY.
UM, IT SORT OF GIVES SERVED AS A TOUCHSTONE IN OUR INTERVIEWS.
PEOPLE CAME BACK TO THAT, UH, CONSISTENTLY AS SORT OF THEIR PRIMARY AWARENESS OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION AND ITS WORK AND THE OFFICE OF ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY.
THE TRAINING ON ETHICS THAT HAS STARTED IS ALSO SEEN AS VERY VALUABLE, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN HAVING MORE OF.
AND THE ACTION PLAN THAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WORKING FROM IS ACTUALLY A REALLY WONDERFUL TOOL, AND YOU'VE BEEN DOING A GREAT JOB USING IT TO HELP TRACK YOUR PROGRESS AND REPORT ON YOUR PROGRESS IN A WAY THAT IF AN SOME INTERESTED MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC OR CITY EMPLOYEE WANTED TO GO LOOK AND SEE WHAT THE PROGRESS OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION HAS BEEN, UM, AND THE, AND THE STAFF THAT SUPPORTS IT, IT'S LAID OUT THERE VERY CLEARLY.
AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE RECOMMEND, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST FINISHING THE INITIAL ACTION PLAN, UM, AND, UM, MAKING SURE THAT YOU'RE COMMUNICATING THE COMPLETION OF THOSE ITEMS. CONTINUING TO DO THAT.
SOME THINGS THAT CAME UP THAT NEEDED TO BE ADDRESSED WERE SORT OF THE LACK OF UNDERSTANDING AROUND YOUR ROLES.
AND THAT CAME THROUGH BOTH IN THE INTERVIEW PROCESS AND IN THE PUBLIC MEETINGS.
UM, A LITTLE, UH, INCONSISTENCY SOMETIMES ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.
AND A SENSE THAT THE OVERALL AWARENESS AND THE TRUST IN THE ETHICS COMMISSION IS ON THE LOW SIDE.
UM, SO YOU WANT BOTH MORE PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND ALSO MORE PEOPLE TO HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE WORK AND THE OUTCOMES.
UH, THERE'S DEFINITELY AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEEPEN THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PUBLIC AND THE CITY'S WORKFORCE ABOUT YOUR ROLE AND, UM, AND MAKE THEM MORE AWARE OF THE PERFORMANCE TRACKING THAT YOU'RE DOING AND THE WAYS THAT YOU'RE DEFINING SUCCESS.
AND, UM, THERE IS A SENSE THAT THE OET AND THE ETHICS COMMISSION BOTH SHOULD BE WORKING TO ESTABLISH MORE BUY-IN TO YOUR PRIORITIES, MAYBE EARLIER IN THE PROCESS AS YOU'RE BRINGING, UM, YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD, THAT YOU'RE SHARING THEM, UH, ALONG THE WAY SO THAT PEOPLE CAN START TO, UM, YOU KNOW, LEARN ABOUT THEM AND THINK ABOUT THEM BEFORE THEY'RE ACTUALLY A FINAL RECOMMENDATION.
THE FIVE-YEAR FOCUS, THEREFORE, THAT WE'RE, UH, RECOMMENDING IN THE ROADMAP IS AROUND BUILDING TRUST AND CREDIBILITY IN THE PROGRAM, UM, TO CONTRIBUTE TO AN, A CITYWIDE CULTURE OF ETHICS.
TO SERVE NOT JUST AS A WATCHDOG, BUT TO LIFT UP THE CITY'S VALUES AND SHOWCASE BEST PRACTICES, PARTNER WITH THE STAFF AND CITY OFFICIALS TO PROMOTE GREATER AWARENESS OF THE ETHICS, COMMISSION AND ETHICS IN THE CITY, FOCUS MORE ON EDUCATION AND POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT RATHER THAN ON PUNITIVE MEASURES.
EMPHASIZE ACTIVITIES IN THE ETHICS, COMMISSION'S, RESPONSIBILITIES.
THAT INITIAL LIST THAT WE JUST LOOKED AT THAT ARE NOT YET BEING FULFILLED, COMPLETELY ENGAGE THE STAFF TO FULFILL ITS APPROPRIATE ROLE, RATHER THAN DOING SOME OF THE WORK OF THE, UM, HAVING THE COMMISSION DO SOME OF THE WORK THAT STAFF WOULD TYPICALLY DO THROUGH, UH, THE AD HOC COMMITTEES THAT YOU'VE BEEN DEPLOYING.
SOMETHING THAT WAS NECESSARY, OF COURSE, IN THE BEGINNING, 'CAUSE YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY STAFF, AND SO YOU HAD TO COME UP WITH SOME WAY TO GET THE WORK DONE.
AND THE AD HOCS, UM, FULFILLED THAT, THAT ROLE IN THOSE EARLY DAYS.
BUT THERE'S DEFINITELY A SENSE NOW THAT IT'S TIME TO SHIFT AWAY FROM THAT APPROACH AND HAVE STAFF BRING FORWARD RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU'RE THEN REVIEWING THAT STAFF HAS DEVELOPED AND HAVE LESS OF THAT WORK DONE IN THE AD HOC COMMITTEES.
AND THEN, UM, A SENSE THAT YOU SHOULD ASSESS AND ADJUST THE STAFF LEVEL SO THAT THAT WORK CAN BE DONE BY STAFF.
AND I THINK THE, THE BENCHMARKING THAT JOHN JUST WALKED YOU THROUGH IN YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES WITH, UM, GETTING AND, AND KEEPING
SO THE OVERALL DIRECTION IS SORT OF A DOUBLING DOWN ON WHAT WAS INITIALLY OUTLINED AS THE, UM, PURPOSE AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE ETHICS COMMISSION TO ENGAGE FULLY IN THE TACTICS THAT ARE OUTLINED AS PART OF YOUR, UM, CORE RESPONSIBILITIES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON RELATIONSHIP BUILDING ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATING YOUR WORK.
I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO JOHN TO START OFF WITH THE ACTUAL ROADMAP ITSELF.
SO WE, WE BELIEVE THAT THE, THE CORE PIECES OF A STRATEGIC PLAN OR STRATEGIC ROADMAP, UH, FOR ANY ORGANIZATION, UH, SHOULD INCLUDE SUCH THINGS AS VISION, VALUES AND PRIORITIES, UM, WHICH ARE, UH, ARTICULATED CLEARLY, UM, AND WHICH CAN BE BUILT UPON WITH VERY SPECIFIC INITIATIVES AND PATHWAYS TOWARD ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES.
UM, THE, THE VISION STATEMENT, THE VISION STATEMENT FOR THE CITY OF LONG BEACH,
[00:50:01]
UM, ETHICS PROGRAM, UM, IS, IS ONE THAT IS, IS CLEAR.UM, AND IT'S A NICE LEAD IN TO WHAT YOU, UH, WHY YOU WANT TO HAVE A STRATEGIC ROADMAP FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS TO BE ABLE TO, UH, ACCOMPLISH, UH, THIS VISION AND TO DEMONSTRATE TO THE CITIZENS AND THE EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, UH, THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORK THAT THE ETHICS COMMISSION AND THE ETHICS PROGRAM IN GENERAL, UH, ARE DOING.
UM, YOUR CORE VALUES ARE FAIRLY WELL UNDERSTOOD OR KNOWN, UH, EVEN IF, UH, THERE ARE VARIATIONS IN HOW, UH, INDIVIDUALS IN THE CITY VIEW, UH, THE IMPORTANCE THAT IS ATTACHED TO THESE, OR HOW PRESENT THESE VALUES ARE IN THE WORK OF EITHER THE COMMISSION OR OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT ITSELF.
UM, I, WE, WE, UH, REALLY, UH, SEE THESE VALUES RESONATING, UH, WITH US AND WITH THE WORK THAT YOU'RE CHARGED WITH DOING.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE A COMPREHENSIVE AND NICE PACKAGE OF, UH, UH, CORE VALUES THAT, UM, UH, PEOPLE CAN IDENTIFY, UH, WITH.
UM, THEY, THESE AND THE SOAR ANALYSIS THEN ARE WHAT KIND OF FORM THE BASIS FOR THE PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPED FOR THE, UM, UH, LONG BEACH ETHICS PROGRAM.
AND, UH, ANN AND I ARE GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH THESE AT KIND OF A HIGH LEVEL.
WE, THERE'S A LOT OF DETAIL, AS YOU KNOW, IN THE INITIATIVES AND PATHWAYS, UH, BOTH SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM.
WE'LL HIT A FEW OF THOSE, BUT WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE GO OVER THE, THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS.
SO THE FIRST PRIORITY IS FIRST INTENTIONALLY, UM, THIS, THIS CONCEPT OR THIS DESIRED GOAL OF HAVING A CULTURE THAT, UH, CITYWIDE CULTURE OF ETHICS CAME THROUGH IN ALL THE INTERVIEWS WITH ALL OF THE VARIOUS CONSTITUENTS AS A SHARED GOAL.
AND SOMETIMES THAT'S THE HARDEST THING TO ACCOMPLISH, IS TO SORT OF HAVE A SHARED VISION OR SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE SHOOTING FOR.
SO I THINK THIS IS REALLY TO BE LEVERAGED, AND THAT'S WHY WE, UM, BUILT THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP, UH, AROUND THIS AND STARTING WITH THIS, UM, OVERARCHING PRIORITY IN MIND.
AND THE THINGS THAT WE'VE OUTLINED HERE ARE, ARE SORT OF IN THREE DIFFERENT INITIATIVES.
THE FIRST IS AROUND GIVING THE CITY SOME ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND A LANGUAGE REALLY AROUND ETHICS.
IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE THAT AN ETHICS PROGRAM BASED IN CITY GOVERNMENT WOULD BE VERY COMPLIANCE HEAVY.
THERE ARE CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICIES, AND THERE ARE STATE REGULATIONS AND LOCAL REGULATIONS, ALL OF WHICH NEED TO BE FOLLOWED.
BUT YOU DON'T WANNA LOSE SORT OF THE UNDERPINNING OF ETHICS AND WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE THINKING ABOUT, UH, MAKING DECISIONS THAT ARE, UM, THINKING ABOUT KEEPING THE INTERESTS OF OTHER PEOPLE IN MIND AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST THAT YOU SERVE.
AND SO THE FRAMEWORK FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING THAT WE USE AT THE MARLA CENTER IS ONE SUCH TOOL.
HEATHER'S ALREADY INCLUDED IT IN SOME OF THE NEWSLETTERS THAT SHE'S DISTRIBUTED.
AND SO WE SEE AN OPPORTUNITY HERE TO JUST DEEPEN PEOPLE'S UNDERSTANDING OF ETHICS BY HAVING THEM BECOME MORE FAMILIAR WITH IT, HAVING YOU CUSTOMIZE IT.
UM, WE WORK WITH ORGANIZATIONS TO TAKE THE SIX LENSES THAT ARE IN THE FRAMEWORK AND ADD SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT BE ASKED IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.
AND THEN IN THE SHORT TERM WORK ON, UH, DISSEMINATING AND TRAINING PEOPLE ABOUT THE FRAMEWORK IN THE CITY'S WORKFORCE AND THE LEADERSHIP STAFF, INCLUDING THE COMMISSION, AND THEN IN THE LONG TERM, TO MAKE SURE THAT AS APPOINTED AND ELECTED OFFICIALS COME INTO THEIR ROLES, THAT THEY'RE ALSO TRAINED ON IT AND BECOME MORE FAMILIAR WITH THAT, AGAIN, SO THAT THERE'S A COMMON LANGUAGE.
THE SECOND INITIATIVE IS ABOUT ESTABLISHING OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES FOR THE ETHICS PROGRAM.
IT'S REALLY ABOUT BRINGING TOGETHER THE WORK OF THE CITY AUDITOR, UH, THE ETHICS DEPARTMENT AND HR AS A CRITICAL, UM, WORKING TEAM, IF YOU WILL, A GROUP THAT NEEDS TO, TO SOME DEGREE, TO KIND OF DO A TRIAGE ON THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT COME TO THE ATTENTION OF THOSE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS THROUGH THE AUDITOR'S HOTLINE AND THE OFFICE OF ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCIES HELPLINE, BOTH OF WHICH ARE AVENUES FOR PUBLIC AND CITY EMPLOYEES TO BRING ISSUES TO, UH, TO THE FOREFRONT.
AND SO, UM, WE SEE A NEED FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION BETWEEN THOSE AREAS.
AND, UM, DEVELOPING THE PROCESSES FOR REPORTING AND TRACKING THE, UM, THOSE THINGS THAT COME THROUGH THOSE, UH, THOSE TWO HOTLINES IN THE LONG TERM, WE'RE RECOMMENDING, UH, LOOKING AT THE ENFORCEMENT POLICY ISSUE SO PEOPLE FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE CODE OF CONDUCT.
AND THERE WAS A SENSE IN SOME OF THE INTERVIEWS THAT THERE SHOULD BE AN ENFORCEMENT PIECE TO IT.
AND OF COURSE, WE KNOW THAT THAT REQUIRES A CONSULTATION AND COLLABORATION ACROSS THE CITY, UH, WITH VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS, UM, TO
[00:55:01]
IF, IF SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS GONNA BE PART OF WHAT HAPPENS FOR THE WORKFORCE.UM, BUT WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU EXPLORE THAT IN THE LONG TERM AND, UM, IDENTIFY IF THERE'S A MEANS FOR HAVING AN ENFORCEMENT ASPECT OF THE CITY'S CODE OF CONDUCT.
AND THEN THE THIRD INITIATIVE IN THIS PRIORITY IS ABOUT OPERATIONALIZING THOSE AND BRINGING, YOU KNOW, INSTITUTIONALIZING THEM SO THAT THEY'RE PART OF WHAT YOU DO.
THIS INCLUDES GETTING THE BUDGET FOR IT.
WE KNOW, WE KNOW THAT WE'RE ARRIVING JUST AS THE BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR IS APPROVED.
SO THERE'LL BE A LAG TIME BETWEEN THE TIME THAT YOU CAN GET THE ITEMS THAT ARE, THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING, UM, COVERED IN A CITY BUDGET, BOTH, UH, THE STAFFING ISSUES AND THE ASSOCIATED EXPENSES WITH SOME OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
THERE'S A CULTURE SURVEY THAT'S BEEN DONE IN THE CITY, AND WE RECOMMEND CONTINUING TO DO THAT AND MAKING THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVING A REGULAR CADENCE FOR WHEN THAT SURVEY IS DONE IN THE SHORT TERM AND IN THE LONG TERM.
ALSO, CONTINUING WITH THE AUDITOR'S, UH, REGULAR AUDIT OF THE CITY AND REPORTING THE FINDINGS OF THAT.
UM, THE, UH, I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO READ MY OWN WRITING, UM, OH, AND JUST ALSO IN THE LONG TERM TO REVIEW AND REVISE THE CITY'S CODE OF CONDUCT.
SO COMING BACK TO THAT IN A REGULAR WAY EVERY SO OFTEN, UH, SOMETIME WITHIN THIS NEXT FIVE YEAR PERIOD AND SEEING IF IT NEEDS ANY REVISIONS, GETTING SOME INPUT, UM, RELATED TO THAT IS PART OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE NEXT PRIORITY IS REALLY ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE EMPHASIZED IN THAT FIVE YEAR FOCUS, BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND, AND COMMUNICATING ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
AND AGAIN, WE BROKE THIS DOWN INTO THREE PARTS.
UM, A FOCUS ON INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, SORT OF WHAT YOU'RE TELLING PEOPLE INSIDE THE CITY GOVERNMENT ITSELF, THE WORKFORCE, UM, ESTABLISHING AND DEVELOPING STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS, UH, WITH KEY CONSTITUENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS.
AND THEN, UM, A MORE EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION PLAN, A MARKETING PLAN, UH, THAT'S GEARED TOWARDS THOSE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
UM, THESE, UH, INCLUDE ITEMS LIKE, YOU KNOW, PUTTING THINGS ON THE AGENDA FOR THE CITY COUNCIL MAYBE MORE REGULARLY THAN YOU HAVE BEEN, AND NOT JUST SENDING THEM THE ANNUAL REPORT, FOR EXAMPLE, BUT MAKING SURE IT'S AN ITEM ON THE AGENDA THAT GETS DISCUSSED.
THAT WAS ACTUALLY SOMETHING SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ON THE CITY COUNCIL ARE ASKING FOR BECAUSE THEY RECOGNIZE THAT THINGS THAT COME ACROSS THEIR DESKS THAT ARE JUST WRITTEN DOCUMENTS DON'T GET THE SAME LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT THAT A DISCUSSION IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS WOULD, UM, WOULD, UH, ENCOURAGE.
UM, SO THAT SOUNDS LIKE A SMALL THING, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY HELPFUL, I THINK, IN TERMS OF, UM, THOSE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
CONTINUING WITH THE ACTION PLAN, HAVING SOME TOWN HALLS, BOTH TOWN HALL MEETINGS WITH THE WORKFORCE TO TALK ABOUT THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP, BUT THEN ALSO TO INSTITUTIONALIZE HAVING THOSE AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR IN A WAY THAT, UM, THERE WOULD BE A CHANCE FOR Q AND A PARTICIPATION BY ETHICS COMMISSIONERS, UH, MEMBERS OF THE OFFICE OF ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY STAFF.
UM, SOME IDEAS LIKE HAVING OFFICE HOURS SO THAT PEOPLE COULD KNOW THAT THEY HAVE THE AVAILABILITY, UM, OF STAFF WHEN THEY NEED IT.
AND OF THE, UM, ETHICS COMMISSION, I ALREADY TOUCHED ON PROGRESS REPORTS, BUT SORT OF RATHER THAN WAITING TILL THE VERY END OF A RECOMMENDATION AND THEN SENDING IT TO COUNCIL, SORT OF UPDATING COUNCIL, MAYBE AT A MIDWAY POINT, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON, AND HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING.
UM, AGAIN, JUST AS A MEANS OF COMMUNICATING THE WORK AND GETTING SOME BUY-IN SO THAT YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE SUPPORT FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS AT THE END OF THE PROCESS.
UM, I THINK WE, IN THE MARKETING PLAN, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DEVELOPING SOME PSAS, SO, SO AGAIN, THAT WOULD TAKE SOME BUDGET AND SOME INVESTMENT OF TIME AND RESOURCE TO HAVE A CALENDAR OF COMMUNICATIONS.
UM, MAYBE YOU, UH, THAT YOU PLAN IN LOCAL MEDIA TO, UH, WRITE SOME PIECES OR HAVE SOME COVERAGE OF YOUR ACTIVITIES SO THAT PEOPLE CAN BECOME MORE AWARE OF THE WORK OF THE ETHICS, UH, COMMISSION TO VISIT TO COMMUNITY GROUPS AND IDENTIFY SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH THE COMMISSION AND THE STAFF AND, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ANNUAL PLAN IS UPDATED AND EXECUTED, WHICH YOU, YOU'VE BEEN DOING A VERY GOOD JOB OF.
SO IT'S JUST COMMUNICATING IT MORE BROADLY, UH, AND MAKING A POINT TO SHARE IT IN PUBLIC MEETINGS AS WELL AS, UM, WITH THE CITY COUNCIL ITSELF.
SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO JOHN TO TALK ABOUT THE OTHER TWO PRIORITIES.
SO PRIORITY THREE, UH, IS DESIGNED TO BUILD UPON THE COMMUNICATIONS, UH, STRATEGY THAT ANNE JUST DESCRIBED.
AND IT'S ABOUT, UH, BUILDING, UH, A BROADER PROGRAM OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, UH, THAT WILL IMPROVE THE AWARENESS OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION, OF THE ETHICS PROGRAM,
[01:00:01]
UM, AND, UM, DEVELOP, UH, MORE, UM, AWARENESS ON THE PART OF THE PUBLIC OF WHAT THE, UH, ETHICS PROGRAM IS DOING.UH, SO, UH, THE PRIORITY THREE IS AN EDUCATION AND TRAINING BLUEPRINT WITH THE FIRST INITIATIVE BEING EXPANDING AN ANNUAL ETHICS TRAINING CALENDAR, CONTINUE DOING THE TRAINING THAT YOU'RE DOING FOR NEWLY ELECTED OFFICIALS AND, UH, NEW COMMISSIONS, BUT, UM, ALSO, UH, BEGIN TO IDENTIFY THE BUDGET NEEDS THAT ARE GOING TO BE, UM, UH, IMPORTANT TO BE ADDRESSED IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN EDUCATING THE PUBLIC, EDUCATING THE WORKFORCE, AND, UH, TRAINING, UH, PEOPLE ABOUT, UM, UH, ETHICAL, AN ETHICAL CULTURE IN THE CITY.
UM, THE, THE OTHER, UH, REASON, UH, AND IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THE SHORT TERM PATHWAYS, UH, TO HAVE THIS KIND OF, UH, UH, ANNUAL ETHICS, UH, TRAINING CALENDAR IS SO THAT YOU CAN ADDRESS THIS, UM, LOW AWARENESS AND NEUTRAL PERCEPTIONS THAT WE SAW AMONG CITY EMPLOYEES ABOUT WHAT THE ETHICS COMMISSION OR THE OFFICE OF ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY ACTUALLY DO.
AND I THINK YOU'VE GOTTA, YOU'VE GOTTA BEGIN WITH YOUR LOCAL WORKFORCE, UM, BEFORE YOU CAN BE EFFECTIVE IN, UM, IN REACHING THE PUBLIC ABOUT SOME OF THESE THINGS.
UM, AND THEN, UH, INITIATIVE THREE IS TO DEVELOP DEPARTMENT AND AGENCY CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICIES YOU ALREADY HAVE AS A COMMISSION, A RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEVELOPING CONFLICT OF INTEREST, UH, UH, UH, UH, POLICIES AND RECOMMENDING THOSE TO, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, AND IF YOU CAN MEET WITH DEPART, IF THE ETHICS PROGRAM CAN SCHEDULE MEETINGS WITH OTHER DEPARTMENT HEADS AND THINK ABOUT CONFLICT OF INTEREST, POLICIES THAT NEED TO BE TAILORED A BIT FOR THE NATURE OF THE WORK THAT IS DONE IN THOSE, UM, DEPARTMENTS AND THOSE THAT THEY INTERACT WITH FROM OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.
UH, AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CITY DEPARTMENTS, WE'RE ALSO INCLUDING THE NON-CITY MANAGER, UH, UH, DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS THE HARBOR AND CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION AND SO FORTH.
UM, AND, UM, UH, UH, BUILD UPON CONFLICT OF INTEREST THAT WILL ACTUALLY RESONATE AND BE UNDERSTOOD BY THE PEOPLE WORKING IN THOSE DEPARTMENTS AND WHERE THEY CAN SEE THAT THEY NEED TO HAVE A BIT MORE ETHICAL AWARENESS AT TIMES OF WHERE THERE MIGHT BE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST THAT IS, UH, LIKELY TO DEVELOP WITHIN THEIR, THEIR WORKSPACE.
AND THEN, UH, HELP, UH, INITIATIVE THREE IS TO ENHANCE THE PUBLIC CAPACITY FOR ETHICS.
AND I'M HERE, UH, IT MIGHT BE, UH, BUILDING UPON SOME OF THE ONE PAGE INFOGRAPHICS THAT CAN BE DONE, THE NEWSLETTER THAT, UM, I THINK, UH, HEATHER'S OFFICE HAS BEEN PUTTING OUT, UH, EACH MONTH, UM, AND DEVELOP MORE PUBLICLY ORIENTED PROGRAMS TO INVITE THE PUBLIC TO COME IN AND LEARN MORE ABOUT, UM, ETHICS AND HOW THEY CAN CONTRIBUTE TO ENHANCING THE CULTURE OF ETHICS IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.
AND FINALLY, WE COME TO PRIORITY FOUR, WHICH IS ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL ALIGNMENT.
AND IT SEEMS THAT THROUGHOUT OUR, OUR, OUR SOAR ANALYSIS AND THE INTERVIEWS AND MEETINGS THAT WE HAD, WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT ORGANIZATION, WHETHER THIS, YOU CURRENTLY HAVE THE RIGHT ORGANIZATION, UH, THE RIGHT, UH, STAFFING, THE RIGHT PLACEMENT WITHIN THE, UH, ORGANIZATION CHART OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.
AND WE THINK THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY HERE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS TO BUILD TOWARD HAVING THE RIGHT ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY AND ALIGNMENT TO BE, UH, THE MOST EFFECTIVE ETHICS PROGRAM POSSIBLE.
SO THE FIRST INITIATIVE IS TO DEVELOP A RESOURCE ALLOCATION PLAN FOR THE ETHICS PROGRAM, UM, WITH, UH, UH, UH, TO BUILD UPON SOMETHING THAT ANNE SAID A FEW MINUTES AGO.
IT'S ABOUT BUILDING GREATER COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION AMONG THOSE WHO, WHOSE WORK TOUCHES ON, UH, ETHICS ISSUES.
AND SO IT'S NOT JUST THE ETHICS PROGRAM AND THE OFFICE OF ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY, BUT IT IS THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE, AND, UH, MAINTAINING GOOD PARTNERSHIPS.
THERE IS A, IS A SHORT TERM PATHWAY TOWARD BEING MORE EFFECTIVE.
UM, AND THEN NOT TO LOSE SIGHT OF THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING, UH, INTO THE ANNUAL BUDGET, UH, BUILDING PROCESS AND ENSURING THAT THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, THE CITY MANAGER UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS THAT THE ETHICS COMMISSION AND THE ETHICS, UH, OFFICE OF ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY HAVE IN FOR, UH, RESOURCES IN ORDER TO BE EFFECTIVE.
UH, INITIATIVE TWO IS TO IMPLEMENT STAFFING ADJUSTMENTS.
AND WE WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO, TO REFLECT ON THE BENCHMARKING DATA AND PERHAPS USE THAT AS A BASIS FOR HAVING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT, UH, THE BUDGETARY AND STAFFING NEEDS
[01:05:01]
FOR THE, UH, OFFICE, PARTICULARLY OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.'CAUSE I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE CRITICAL IN BEING EFFECTIVE THAT, UM, AS CHANGES MAY TAKE PLACE IN THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CURRENT OET STAFF, UM, THAT THEY STILL HAVE THE, THE NECESSARY STAFFING TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE COMMISSION, UM, AND TO SUPPORT THE BROADER WORK OF THE ETHICS PROGRAM.
UM, AND, UM, UH, PUTTING TOGETHER WHAT MIGHT BE A FIVE YEAR STAFFING PLAN THAT SAYS THAT FOR EACH YEAR, THIS, THESE ARE THE ADDITIONAL STAFFING AND OTHER RESOURCES THAT, THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE ANNUAL BUDGET FOR THE CITY AND INITIATIVE.
FOUR THREE IS TO IDENTIFY A PATH TOWARD ORGANIZATIONAL MATURITY.
AND, UM, HERE, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT SHORT TERM, UH, PATHWAYS THAT INCLUDE, UH, UH, A WAYS FOR THE ETHICS COMMISSION TO BEGIN REVIEWING WHAT THE STAFF PREPARES FOR YOU TO REVIEW AND TO PROVIDE THE FEEDBACK ON AND BEGINNING TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE RELIANCE ON THE AD HOC COMMITTEES TO DO THIS WORK BECAUSE THEN YOU, YOU, IN SOME PEOPLE'S EYES, UH, IN THE CITY, YOU HAVE MULTIPLE SMALLER, UH, ETHICS COMMISSIONS COMING TO THEM AND ASKING FOR RESOURCES AND HELP AND RESEARCH AND SO FORTH.
UH, WHEN THEY'D RATHER WORK WITH, IN MANY CASES, UH, THE STAFF IN OET AND HAVE THEM DEVELOP THIS STUFF, THEY CAN HAVE ONE OFFICE CONTACTING OTHER CITY AGENCIES, AND THEN BRINGING TO THE COMMISSION, UH, PROPOSALS FOR YOU TO, TO REALLY WORK ON AND PROVIDE THE NECESSARY FEEDBACK.
AND, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF MATURITY OF THE COMMISSION OVER THE NEXT, UH, FIVE YEARS AND THE ETHICS PROGRAM MORE GENERALLY, UM, IT MAY LEAD TO SOME NEW THINKING ABOUT WHERE THE ETHICS COMMISSION SHOULD BE IN THE CITY'S ORGANIZATIONAL CHART.
UM, WHETHER THERE SHOULD BE A MORE OF AN INDEPENDENT AGENCY ACTING LIKE, UH, A CITY DEPARTMENT WITH ITS OWN STAFF REPORTING TO IT.
BUT, UM, AS ANNE AND I HAVE TRIED TO RELAY IN OUR REPORT AND IN OUR PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COMMISSION, WE DON'T THINK THAT YOU'RE THERE YET.
WE DON'T THINK THAT THERE'S A BUY-IN FROM THE OTHER STAKEHOLDERS IN THIS.
AND CREATING MORE COMMUNICATIONS, EDUCATION, TRAINING AND AWARENESS, UH, WILL HELP YOU GET TO, UH, I THINK WHERE YOU WANT TO BE, UM, BY THE END OF THIS STRATEGIC ROADMAP.
SO THAT CONCLUDES OUR, OUR, UH, OVERVIEW OF THE REPORT THAT WE PROVIDED TO THE COMMISSION.
UM, I, I THINK ON BEHALF OF, UH, ANN AND I, THE ONE THING THAT WE DO WANNA EMPHASIZE IS JUST HOW MUCH, UH, COOPERATION, UH, WE ENCOUNTERED AND HOW EV EVERYONE WAS SO WILLING TO, UH, SHARE WITH US AND BE COOPERATIVE AND VERY CANDID, WHICH WAS VERY HELPFUL TO THE WORK WE'VE DONE.
AND, UM, WE HOPE THAT YOU'LL FIND THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP TO, UH, BE HELPFUL, UM, AS YOU MOVE FORWARD WITH YOUR PLANS, UM, OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
UM, I'LL STOP THERE AND, UH, SEE IF YOU HAVE THINGS YOU'D LIKE TO QUESTION US ABOUT.
UM, AND I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT TO QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS, SPECIFICALLY FROM THE FOLKS FROM MARK KULA, AND THEN WE CAN HAVE PLENTY OF TIME IN THIS MEETING AND, AND OTHER MEETINGS TO TALK ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE WHILE WE HAVE THEM HERE, THAT, UH, THAT WE GET ANY INFORMATION THAT, UH, WE WANNA GET FROM THAT.
UM, I, I WANNA START BY SAYING I REALLY VALUE THE REPORT VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
I FOUND IT TO BE A, UH, VERY VALUABLE, YET VERY DIFFICULT READ.
UH, WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS, I MEAN, SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS THE USE OF AD HOCS AND THE COMMISSIONERS DOING A LOT OF THE WORK, UH, WHICH, UM, AND WE SHOULD REALLY BE MORE IN REVIEW MODE, WHICH I 100% COMPLETELY AGREE WITH.
UH, BUT THEN I DON'T KNOW HOW WE WOULD'VE GOTTEN ANY OF THE WORK THAT WE DID DO, DONE.
WE HAVE STAFF, UH, AND THEY ARE VERY VALUABLE AND THEY'RE COMING UP TO SPEED TOO.
UH, BUT AS YOU'VE NOTED, WE DON'T HAVE SUFFICIENT STAFF TO REALLY GET THE WORK DONE THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
AND I, IT KIND OF CAME THROUGH THAT CAUSE AND EFFECT IN YOUR ORAL REMARKS THAT CAUSE AND EFFECT DID NOT COME THROUGH TO ME IN THE REPORT.
I FOUND IT TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ALONG THE LINES OF COMMISSIONS DOING TOO MUCH AND REALLY NEEDS TO RELY ON STAFF.
AND I AM QUESTION, I'VE BEEN QUESTIONING LIKE, WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF STAFF CAN ACTUALLY DO ALL THE WORK THAT THE AD HOCS HAVE BEEN DOING
[01:10:01]
WHEN IT COMES TO LOBBYING THE POLICY WORK, WHICH ACTUALLY THE POLICY TEAM ACTUALLY DID RELY HEAVILY ON COUNCIL.UM, BUT I AGREE WITH THE FINDING.
UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
ONE, ON PAGE 16 OF THE REPORT, YOU SAY, EMBRACE THE FACT THAT THE EFFECTIVENESS AS THE ADVISORY BODY IS A WORK IN PROGRESS IN THE CURRENT POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT.
AND I WAS REALLY KIND OF QUESTIONING WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THE CURRENT POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT? UM, WE'RE REFERRING TO THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.
UH, THE, UM, THE, THE, THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH YOU HAVE, UH, A CITY COUNCIL THAT, UH, HAS GENERALLY POSITIVE, BUT SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE INITIAL WORK OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION.
AND THEY, THEY WOULD LIKE, UH, TO SEE, UH, MORE, UM, OF, OF THE COMMISSION, UH, WORK, UH, BEING FOCUSED ON THE CORE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT THE COMMISSION WAS CREATED TO DO AND TO BUILD SOME, UH, SOME TRUST, UH, ADDITIONAL TRUST, UM, WITH THE ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THE, THE APPOINTED EXECUTIVES.
UM, IT'S, IT'S NOT REFERRING TO ANYTHING MORE BROADLY THAN LONG BEACH IN TERMS OF POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT, BUT, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT, UH, ABOUT BEING INVOLVED WITH CITY GOVERNMENT, UH, AND BEING EFFECTIVE IN THAT ROLE AS A, A GROUP OF CITIZEN VOLUNTEERS ON THIS COMMISSION, UM, IS TO UNDERSTAND AND AT LEAST HAVE THE AWARENESS THAT IN ORDER TO BE EFFECTIVE, YOU'VE GOTTA ALWAYS ENSURE THAT YOU'RE SOMEHOW IN SYNC WITH, UH, THE CONCERNS OR, UH, THE DESIRES OF OTHER, UH, PUBLIC OFFICIALS, UM, WHO ARE GOING TO BE, UM, CONSIDERING YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS, THE WORK THAT YOU PRESENT.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S A GENERAL STATEMENT ABOUT, ABOUT BEING SENSITIVE TO WHAT THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT CURRENTLY IS AT ANY TIME IN THE CITY, AND, UM, ASSURING THAT THERE'S A, A, A BIT OF A SYNC UP BETWEEN WHAT THE COMMISSION IS DOING AND THE BROADER POLITICAL ACTIVITIES BY OTHER PUBLIC OFFICIALS.
UM, IN LIGHT OF THAT, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE REPORT SAYS THAT KIND OF ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY EARLIER ON WITH DRAFTS AND GET THE COMMUNITY INPUT AND THEN ALSO ENGAGING WITH THE CITY COUNCIL EARLIER ON, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM YOUR WORK AND THE INTERVIEWS THAT HAVE YOU DONE, COULD THOSE BE ACTUALLY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE, UH, IN TERMS OF COULD YOU HAVE POLICY MAKERS SAYING, YOU KNOW, WHY DID YOU TAKE THIS TO THE CITY OR TO THE COMMUNITY BEFORE GETTING OUR INPUT? UM, I, I THINK YOU, YOU WANT TO, TO HAVE A, A BALANCE THERE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH YOU'RE, YOU'RE GETTING IN FRONT OF THOSE THAT ARE THE, THE OFFICIAL DECISION MAKERS, UH, IN THE CITY.
BUT I THINK THAT, UM, AS A COMMISSION, AND I DON'T, I DON'T CLAIM TO HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW OTHER COMMISSIONS IN, IN LONG BEACH ARE FUNCTIONING, BUT IF YOU HAVE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC TO ENGAGE WITH YOU ON SOME REGULAR BASIS WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN YOU'RE REVIEWING, UM, OR, OR REWRITING, UM, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR NEW ETHICS POLICIES IN THE CITY, UM, IT, IT INVITES THEM IN.
AND YET IT STRENGTHENS THE ARGUMENT, I THINK, THAT YOU ARE THEN ABLE TO MAKE TO THE, UM, ELECTED OFFICIALS ABOUT, UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR, FOR NEW POLICIES.
UM, AND COMMISSIONS TEND TO HAVE THE TIME, UH, TO DO THIS THAT THE BROADER CITY COUNCIL MAY NOT HAVE ON A REGULAR BASIS.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS FOR SORT OF INVITING, UH, CITIZENS TO BE PART OF COMMISSIONS.
AND, AND ANN MAY WANT TO ADD SOMETHING TO THIS, BUT LEMME JUST SAY SINCE, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, YOU ASKED ABOUT THIS, THIS WHOLE CONCERN ABOUT AD HOC COMMITTEES WORK AND, AND DOING THINGS WITH STAFF.
UM, ANOTHER WAY OF THINKING ABOUT THE, THE WAY THIS, THIS WOULD TYPICALLY WORK IS THAT THE, THE CITY MAYOR OR THE CITY MANAGER COULD SIMPLY TASK THE STAFF TO DEVELOP A PROPOSAL AND BRING IT TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.
THE MANAGER WOULD REVIEW IT, THE MANAGER WOULD DECIDE, OR THE MAYOR WOULD DECIDE WHEN IT'S READY FOR THE FULL COUNCIL TO LOOK AT IN, IN THE SITUATION HERE IN LONG BEACH, AS IN MANY OTHER CITIES, COMMISSIONS ARE CREATED TO BRING THE PUBLIC IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO ENTITIES.
SO IT ISN'T JUST THE, UM, UH, CITY EXECUTIVES AND THE STAFF THAT ARE DEVELOPING THINGS AND THEN BRINGING THEM TO THE, UH, ELECTED CITY COUNCIL FOR
[01:15:01]
ACTION, BUT THEY'RE ACTUALLY ASKING A COMMISSION TO HELP THEM IN A CERTAIN POLICY AREA TO MAKE THIS BETTER.AND, AND YOU REPRESENT THE PUBLIC'S ROLE IN THIS CAPACITY, BUT YOU CAN EXPAND YOUR ROLE WITH THE PUBLIC BY HAVING MORE REGULAR MEETINGS OR SHARING OF INFORMATION OR ASKING FOR FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC, UM, AS YOU FORMULATE WHAT YOU ARE GONNA RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY MANAGER TAKE TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
I JUST ADD BRIEFLY TO WHAT JOHN HAS SAID.
UM, PART OF THE REASON THAT WE MAKE THE RECOMMENDATION IN PRIORITY ONE AROUND DEVELOPING A SHARED LANGUAGE AND, AND SOME EXPOSURE TO THE FRAMEWORK FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING IS TO REALLY ADDRESS THIS CONCERN THAT YOU HAVE ABOUT THEM POTENTIALLY BEING AT ODDS.
SO IN THAT FRAMEWORK, IT EMPHASIZES, UH, INCLUDING PEOPLE WHO ARE GONNA BE AFFECTED BY DECISIONS IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS.
SO GOING OUT TO STAKEHOLDERS AND GETTING THAT INPUT AND MAKING SURE THAT IT'S INCORPORATED IN WHATEVER RECOMMENDATION IS BEING MADE.
SO IF WE ARE ABLE TO BRING EVERYBODY TO THE SAME UNDERSTANDING OF THAT APPROACH BY EXPOSING THEM TO THAT TOOL, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT'S JUST ONE WAY TO CREATE THAT SHARED LANGUAGE, BUT IT SHOULD HELP WITH THE CITY COUNCIL THEN UNDERSTANDING, AH, THIS IS ACTUALLY A BEST PRACTICE IS TO GO OUT AND GET SOME OF THIS INPUT FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED BY THESE DECISIONS.
IF I COULD REAL QUICKLY, JP, BEFORE YOU GO ON, BUT THAT ALL GOES BACK TO IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A BIG LOOP THAT WE KEEP GOING BACK INTO AND STAFFING, BECAUSE THAT WAS WHAT WE RAN INTO WITH THE LOBBYING ORDINANCE.
WHEN WE WANTED TO GO OUT AND DO MORE COMMUNITY INPUT, WE WERE TOLD THAT IT COULDN'T HAPPEN BECAUSE IT WOULD BE TOO MUCH OF A BURDEN ON THE STAFF.
AND LIKE JP, I KIND OF HAD A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THINGS LISTENING TO YOU TO TALK TODAY ABOUT THE STAFFING ISSUE, JOHN, THAN I HAD BEFORE.
AND REALLY KIND OF WHAT I HEARD YOU SAY, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS WHAT YOU MEANT TO SAY, BUT THAT BY US TAKING ON THESE ROLES AND SETTING UP THESE AD HOCS, IT WAS LIKE THERE WAS ADDITIONAL STAFF IN THE COUNTY OR IN THE COUNTY.
I WENT BACK TO MY OLD LAW CITY IN THE CITY WITHOUT COROLLARY STAFF BEING ADDED IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO WORK WITH US.
AND SO IF IT'S JUST LEFT TO STAFF TO HANDLE IT AS OF RIGHT NOW, THINGS WOULD SLOW DOWN GREATLY.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT THERE WOULD BE THE COROLLARY RESOURCES IN THE CITY TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES THAT THEY'RE BEING RAISED BY ADDING SEVEN OTHER, I FORGOT LONNIE AND RAUL TO MY RIGHT.
BY ADDING SEVEN OTHER PEOPLE TO THE MIX, IT'S KIND OF A BIG CHUNK OF ADDITIONAL BRAIN POWER THAT ISN'T FULLY SUPPORTED IN THE CITY.
UM, IT'S NOT ENTIRELY, UH, ACCURATE IN TERMS OF WHAT I WAS TRYING TO REPRESENT.
UH, MARGO, UM, THE, THE, THE BELIEF A A AMONG A NUMBER OF THAT WE SPOKE TO DURING OUR, OUR INTERVIEWS IS THAT, UM, INSTEAD OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION MAKING A REQUEST OF THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE OR JUST AS, OR THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE TO PROVIDE SOMETHING, UM, YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE THIS AD HOC COMMITTEE ASKING FOR THAT.
THEN ANOTHER AD HOC COMMITTEE IS ASKING THEM FOR SOMETHING ELSE.
AND SO, UNLIKE THE WAY OTHER COMMISSIONS ARE FUNCTIONING IN THE CITY, IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, THERE'S DOUBLE OR TRIPLE THE REQUESTS FOR SUPPORT FROM THE CITY STAFF FROM THIS ONE COMMISSION, UH, BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE, UM, ACTIVELY IN, IN THE AD HOC COMMITTEES.
AND IF IT WAS A LITTLE MORE CENTRALIZED AT THE COMMISSION LEVEL, AND YOU CAN STILL ASSIGN STUFF TO YOUR AD HOCS TO DO, BUT YOU, IF YOU DID THAT ON THE BASIS OF THINGS THAT WERE COMING TO YOU FROM THE STAFF, NOT ONLY WOULD THE OFFICE OF ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY STAFF BE BETTER ABLE TO MANAGE EXPECTATIONS, UM, AND REQUESTS FROM THE COMMISSION, BUT OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS WOULD BE ABLE TO BETTER SUPPORT THE BROADER WORK OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION.
AND I'LL JUST MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT TIMING.
UM, THERE WERE DEFINITELY COMMENTS IN THE INTERVIEWS ABOUT A SENSE THAT THE COMMISSION MOVES TOO QUICKLY.
SO EVEN THOUGH THINGS MIGHT SLOW DOWN WITH THIS APPROACH, UM, THERE WERE CERTAINLY SOME PEOPLE WHO FELT LIKE THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE, AND THAT THAT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T LOSE SIGHT OF THE FACT THAT THE COMMISSION IS PART OF A MUCH LARGER WHOLE, THE WHOLE CITY GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE.
AND SO SOMETIMES IT WILL HAVE TO SLOW DOWN TO LET THAT LARGER, UM, ENTITY KIND OF CATCH UP WITH WHERE IT'S TRYING TO GO.
AND THAT WAS SEEN AS A POSITIVE ACTUALLY.
UM, AND IN A WAY TO BUILD SOME OF THAT TRUST AND UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR ROLE ALONG THE WAY IS TO JUST TAKE THINGS A LITTLE MORE SLOWLY.
[01:20:03]
UH, JUST A COUPLE MORE ADDITIONAL FOLLOW UPS, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT.UM, PAGE 17, YOU REFER TO ASPIRATIONS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THE ASPIRATIONS.
I THOUGHT THAT THEY REALLY MIGHT BE COMING FROM THE COMMISSION AND MAYBE OET, BUT, UH, WERE THOSE ASPIRATIONS OF EVERYONE OR PRIMARILY KIND OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING THIS OET AND THE COMMISSION? UH, THEY ACTUALLY COME FROM EVERYONE.
THESE ARE THE THEMES THAT EMERGED FROM ALL OF THE GROUPS THAT WE TALKED TO.
OH, AND YOU PUT 'EM DOWN AS ASPIRATIONS.
WE KIND OF RANKED THEM IN TERMS OF DID WE HEAR THIS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS? DID WE HEAR THIS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS? DID WE HEAR IT FROM CITY EXECUTIVES? SO THAT'S, THAT'S HOW THESE ENDED UP IN EACH OF THESE CATEGORIES.
YEAH, WE, WE CODED THE RESEARCH.
SO, SO IF IT DIDN'T GET MENTIONED, UH, SIGNIFICANT, UH, BY A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE, IT DIDN'T END UP MAKING THIS LIST.
THIS IS THE LIST FROM THE MAY RETREAT MEETING.
SO IT WAS THE FIRST PART OF THE PROCESS.
ON PAGE, UH, YOU, UH, YOU REFER TO THE TWO RESOURCES, WHICH I AGREE WITH.
ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND, I KNOW WE'VE ALREADY ALSO HAD THE COMMENT ABOUT IF WE REALLY DO HAVE TWO RESOURCES RIGHT NOW, BUT YOU KNOW, ALSO THROUGHOUT THE TIME OF THE COMMISSION SINCE ITS INCEPTION, REALLY HASN'T EVEN BEEN TWO RESOURCES.
DID YOU ACTUALLY TALK WITH THOSE CITIES OR WAS IT JUST GATHERING THE DATA ON THE TERMS IN, IN SOME CASES WE SPOKE TO THE CITY CLERKS, BUT MOST OF THE DATA WE WERE ABLE TO GET, UH, I ACTUALLY, AND I ACTUALLY SPOKE TO, UM, UH, TWO CITY COMMISSIONS, TWO CITY ETHICS COMMISSIONS ALSO, UM, ABOUT THEIR STAFFING.
I MEANT PROBABLY WAS DID YOU TALK WITH THEM MORE ABOUT KIND OF WHAT THEIR COMMISSIONS DO OR YOU DID THAT BA OKAY.
NO, WE DID NOT GET INTO THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL.
AND THEN I THINK I NOW UNDERSTAND THIS, THE AD HOCS, YOU'RE NOT NECESSARILY SAYING ELIMINATE THE AD HOCS THAT THEY STILL SERVE A VALUABLE PURPOSE, BUT IT'S THAT REALLY TRYING TO GET THE AD HOCS TO RELY ON STAFF FOR MORE RESOURCES FOR NOT FOR MORE, FOR MORE WORK, FOR MORE OF THE, THE ACTUAL WORK THAT NEEDS TO GET DONE.
SO IF SOMETHING, UH, JT COMES IN FROM THE STAFF, UH, THE, HOWEVER YOUR, YOUR PROCEDURES ARE, THE CHAIRWOMAN WOULD, WOULD ASSIGN IT TO THE AD HOC ON THIS TOPIC BECAUSE IT, IT'S, IT'S, UH, RELATED TO THE ROLE AND A DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATION COMING FROM STAFF MIGHT BE ASSIGNED TO, UH, ANOTHER AD HOC, AND THEN THAT'S WHERE THE COMMISSION'S WORK WOULD BE DONE INTENSELY BECAUSE OF THE LIMITATIONS OF HAVING MORE THAN THREE OF YOU MEETING, UM, AT A TIME AND THEN COMING BACK TO THE FULL COMMISSION FOR DISCUSSION.
BUT I DON'T, BASED ON THE DISCUSSIONS WE HAD EARLIER, I DON'T THINK THAT YOU'RE SAYING THAT ALL TOPICS HAVE TO COME FROM CITY STAFF.
THE COMMISSION IS STILL OBLIGATED, GIVEN OUR CHARTER TO RAISE ISSUES AND DISCUSS THEM WITH CITY STAFF, AND THEN CITY STAFF WILL MAKE A PRESENTATION AND THE ENTIRE COMMISSION WILL THEN DETERMINE WHAT THE FOLLOW UPS ARE.
I, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S E EXACTLY RIGHT.
AND I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, UH, CHAIRWOMAN THAT, THAT YOU AS, AS THE LEADER OF THE COMMISSION, THE COMMISSION AS A WHOLE HAVE A GOOD, UH, UH, UH, COMMUNICATION WITH THE OET STAFF SO THAT, UH, YOU SAY, WELL, THIS IS ONE OF OUR PRIORITIES.
THIS IS ONE OF THE ROLES ASSIGNED TO US.
UM, WHAT'S YOUR THINKING ABOUT DOING SOME RESEARCH ON THIS AND BRINGING A PROPOSAL TO US THAT WE CAN BEGIN TO WORK ON? YES.
QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONER? COMMISSIONER NOVA? THANK YOU, CHAIR.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I JUST HAVE A FOLLOW UP QUESTION, UH, ON PAGE 16, UH, UNDER THE OPPORTUNITIES COLUMN, UM, AFTER, YEAH.
FOCUS ON EDUCATION AND POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT RATHER THAN PUNITIVE MEASURES.
DO YOU HAVE ANY FEEDBACK ON MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO DON'T SEE IT THIS WAY, WHO ACTUALLY SEE IT THE OPPOSITE, WHO WANT PUNITIVE MEASURES TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION AGAINST OTHER, UM, MEMBERS OF COMMISSIONS OR DEPARTMENT HEADS IN RECENT MONTHS? UM, WELL, AT LEAST SINCE I'VE BEEN SERVING ON THIS COMMISSION, I'VE SEEN NUMEROUS, UH, PUBLIC COMMENTS COME IN WHERE THERE'S ALLEGATIONS OR REPORTS OF MISCONDUCT, UH, ALLEGED MISCONDUCT.
AND I SEE A LOT OF THAT MORE SO THAN POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY FEEDBACK OR CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT OPPORTUNITY? E UM, SO I WOULD SAY TWO,
[01:25:01]
TWO THINGS HERE.PART OF THIS CAME FROM SOME PEOPLE WHO WERE REACTING TO THE EARLY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE COUNCIL MADE THE FIRST, UM, UH, THINGS THAT WERE FORWARDED TO COUNCIL, WHICH WERE CENSURE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS AND SORT OF SAYING ALSO BALANCE OUT THOSE CENTER RECOMMENDATIONS WITH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ENHANCE THE CITY'S VALUES AND THE CULTURE OF ETHICS, AND REALLY TALK ABOUT THE POSITIVE THINGS THAT WE CAN BE DOING IN THE CITY.
UM, THERE WAS SOME CONVERSATION AROUND BEHAVIOR AND OTHER COMMISSIONS ACTIVITIES THAT WERE HAPPENING IN THE CITY.
UM, THERE, I I WILL SAY IT DIDN'T COME ACROSS AS A THIRST FOR THE COMMISSION TO TAKE UP THE CHARGE OF GOING AFTER A LOT OF PEOPLE.
UM, IT REALLY CAME UP IN JUST ONE OF THE THREE MEETINGS.
UM, AND IT HAD MORE TO DO WITH BEHAVIOR THAT WAS HAPPENING IN OTHER COMMISSIONS AND A DESIRE TO ADDRESS THAT.
AND SO WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE IN A GOOD PRACTICE IS ASKING, AGAIN, THE STAFF TO DO SOME RESEARCH AROUND WHAT THE PRACTICES ARE AND THE DIFFERENT COMMISSIONS BRING BACK A RECOMMENDATION IF THERE IS GOING TO BE ONE FOR THE ETHICS COMMISSION TO ADVANCE SOMETHING TO THE CITY COUNCIL, THAT WOULD BE MADE A CITYWIDE PRACTICE.
UM, BUT, BUT, UH, DEFINITELY THE EMPHASIS WAS MORE ON, UH, LESS ON BEING A GOTCHA COMMISSION.
AND MORE ON BEING, UM, SUPPORTIVE TRAINING, MAKING SURE EVERYBODY HAS THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED AND A COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.
AND I AGREE WITH YOUR, UM, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, TO DO THAT IN THE FUTURE MOVING FORWARD.
I JUST WANTED SOME CLARIFICATION 'CAUSE I'VE PERCEIVED SOME OF THOSE COMMENTS.
IN FACT, WE RECEIVED ONE TODAY, UM, WHERE IT'S KIND OF LIKE, MAKE SURE YOU LOOK AT THIS, MAKE SURE YOU LOOK AT THIS.
AND SO I'VE INTERPRETED A LOT OF THOSE PUBLIC COMMENTS AS, MAKE SURE YOU LOOK AT THIS, MAKE SURE YOU REPORT 'EM, SEE IF THEY'RE VIOLATING ANY, ANY ETHICS RULES.
AND WE, WE DEFINITELY HAVE A RECOMMENDATION IN HERE THAT YOU ARE DEVELOP A PROCESS TO RECORD AND TRACK THOSE AND COMMUNICATE THOSE WITH THE COMMUNITY SO THAT PEOPLE KNOW THIS IS WHAT THE ETHICS COMMISSION IS HEARING FROM THE PUBLIC.
AND YOU HAVE THAT DOCUMENTED AND YOU CAN COME BACK AND SAY, WE REFERRED THIS TO STAFF, OR WE MADE A RECOMMENDATION IN THIS AREA.
WE LOOKED INTO IT AND DECIDED THERE WASN'T ANYTHING TO DO ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE.
IT WAS A ONE-OFF WHATEVER THE FINDING MIGHT BE.
BUT, UM, THAT JUST HAVING THAT, UM, INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF, OF THAT FEEDBACK SOMEWHERE THAT IS BEING PROVIDED IN A WAY THAT THE PUBLIC AND THE CITY WORKFORCE CAN ACCESS IT, I THINK IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S IN THE, IN THE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND, UM, JUST A COMMENT, UH, I AGREE WITH ALL YOUR POINTS AND HIGHLIGHTS AND SUGGESTIONS ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH AND HAVING A PRESENCE.
UM, AND I HOPE LATER ON WHEN WE GET INTO MORE DETAILED DISCUSSION, UM, I HAVE SUGGESTIONS FOR THE COMMISSION.
OTHER QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, UH, COMMISSIONER WISE? YEAH.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION GOING BACK TO THE SLIDE THAT YOU HAVE ON, UM, RECAP OF VALUES ASSESSMENT.
I'M NOT SURE WHAT NUMBER IT IS.
'CAUSE THE COPY I HAVE OF THE, IT'S RIGHT AFTER CITY VALUES IN THE SLIDE.
AND I THINK IT RELATES TO SLIDE NUMBER EIGHT.
MAYBE IF YOU WANNA GET THAT UP, I'LL DO THAT.
SO, AND IT'S IT'S BULLET POINT, THE SECOND BULLET POINT, CONSISTENCY OF RANKINGS.
AND YOU, YOU PUT THE, WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS, AND YOU SAID CITY EXECUTIVES FEEL THAT THE VALUE OF TRANSPARENCY IS MUCH HIGHER THAN OTHER CONSTITUENTS.
IN THE NEXT ONE, YOU SAY TRANSPARENCY WAS THE LOWEST RANKED VALUE ON AVERAGE BY CITY EXECS.
I DON'T THINK YOU MEANT TO SAY CITY EXECS RANKED IT LOW.
THEY RANKED IT HIGH AND THE CITY COUNCIL, THE OET AND THE EC RANKED IT LOW.
UH, I THINK IN THE COMPARISON CHART THAT WE SHARED IN MAY, WE HAD AN AVERAGE OF RESPONSES AND WE SHOWED IT COMPARED TO THE AVERAGE.
AND SO THAT WAS CAPTURING THAT LANGUAGE IS FROM THAT AVERAGE.
UM, SO IT WAS AVERAGING TOGETHER ALL THE RESPONSES AND COMPARING THE CITY EXECUTIVES TO THE OVERALL AVERAGE, WHICH ALSO INCLUDED THE CITY EXECUTIVES.
SO ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT IT'S, IT'S THE FIRST, THOSE TWO BULLET POINTS ARE NOT INCONSISTENT IN TERMS OF WHAT POSITION THE CITY EXECUTIVES TOOK? I, I'M TELLING YOU, I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE, BUT I THINK IF WE LOOKED BACK AT THE
[01:30:01]
POWERPOINT PRESENTATION THAT WE DID IN THE MAY MEETING, THAT WE, UM, THAT THERE WAS A CHART THAT HAD THE SPECIFIC QUANTITATIVE RANKINGS OF EACH ONE OF THE, UM, RESPONSES, AND I THINK THERE WAS A COMPARISON AGAINST THE AVERAGE.WE CAN CERTAINLY GO BACK AND LOOK.
BECAUSE, BECAUSE IT ISN'T HOW I UNDERSTOOD THE TEXT OF, ON THAT TOPIC IN YOUR REPORT EITHER.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE MY SENSE WAS IS THAT THE, THE CITY EXECS THOUGHT IT WAS THAT THEY WERE DOING GREAT ON TRANSPARENCY AND EVERYBODY ELSE THOUGHT THEY WERE DOING LOW.
BUT WHEN I YEAH, THAT IS RIGHT.
AGAIN, I THINK THIS BULLET WAS TRACKING TO A SPECIFIC GRAPH WHICH HAD NUMBERS IN IT, AND THOSE NUMBERS INCLUDED A COMPILATION OF ALL OF THE RESPONSES.
SO WHEN YOU COMPARE THE, TO THE AVERAGE OF EVERYBODY'S RESPONSE OH, WITH THOSE OF THE CITY EXECUTIVES, I'M, I'M PRETTY SURE ABOUT THAT.
WELL, IT'S VERY CONFUSING TO JUST TO, TO SEE THIS AND THEN SEE THE OTHER, AND IT HAS TO DO WITH THE, I GUESS HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THE GROUP THAT YOU'RE, THAT YOU'RE MEASURING IN THE SENTENCE.
BUT YEAH, COMMISSIONER, JUST TO, TO TRY TO BE CLEAR AMONG, AMONG THE SIX VALUES, IF I HAVE THE, THE NUMBER RIGHT? YEAH.
TRANSPARENCY RANKED THE LOWEST AMONG THE SIX VALUES.
PEOPLE THOUGHT IT WAS LEAST IMPORTANT, LEAST, LEAST PRESENT, LEAST PRESENT, LEAST IN THE CITY.
THE CITY EXECUTIVES, UM, ARE THE ONE GROUP THAT PLACED TRANSPARENCY HIGHER THAN ANY OF THE OTHERS WHO RANK TRANSPARENCY LOWEST AMONG THIS.
SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, FOR WHICH WAS THE LOWEST RANKED VALUE PRESENT IN THE CITY, IT'S TRANSPARENCY ONLY THE, THE CITY, UH, EXECUTIVES FOUND THOUGHT THAT TRANSPARENCY WAS MORE PRESENT THAN THE OTHER GROUPS DID.
SO TRENT, THE FIRST BULLET POINT IS REALLY ABOUT COMPARING CITY EXECUTIVES TO OTHER GROUPS THAT WE INTERVIEWED, SUCH AS CITY COUNCIL, UH, THE PUBLIC AND THE CITY EMPLOYEES.
AND THE SECOND BULLET IS REALLY ABOUT, UH, COMPARING ALL OF THE VALUES.
WHICH ONE WAS THE LOWEST? ITS TRANSPARENCY ACROSS ALL OF THE GROUPS.
WELL, UM, I, I JUST PULLED UP THE MAY PRESENTATION.
AND CITY EXECUTIVES SHOWED THE HIGHEST SCORE.
THEY GAVE THE HIGHEST SCORE TO TRANSPARENCY, UM, WHEREAS OTHER, UH, ENTITIES, SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE ETHICS COMMISSION GAVE IT THE LOWEST SCORE.
SO ETHICS COMMISSION SAID 4.3, CITY EXECUTIVES SAID, SAID 8.0 MM-HMM.
AND THEN, UH, ALL INTERVIEWEES RANKED TRANSPARENCY, LOWEST OF ALL OF THE VALUES.
WE COULD TAKE A LOOK AT HOW THE TEXT AND THE LANGUAGE THAT WE'VE USED OKAY.
UM, WELL, THAT WAS ONE THING BECAUSE I THINK THAT THAT, UM, BECAUSE I THINK THE GAP IS, UM, IS IMPORTANT.
UM, I I'M NOT SURE WHAT OTHER, WELL, I DO HAVE SOME OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR, UM, ABOUT YOUR, UH, ROADMAP GOING FORWARD.
UM, BUT I, I HAVE, THERE'S A LOT I HAVE TO SAY, BUT I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO WASTE THEIR TIME WITH IT ABOUT WHAT I CAN SAY ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST.
AND I, I WILL JUST SAY THAT WHEN, WHEN I READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT IT, I AM VERY CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT IN THE PERIOD OF TIME THAT I HAVE SERVED ON THIS COMMISSION, I THINK ALMOST THE ENTIRE CITY COUNCIL HAS CHANGED.
WE HAVE A DIFFERENT MAYOR, WE HAVE A DIFFERENT CITY ATTORNEY, UM, WE HAVE A DIFFERENT CITY MANAGER.
AND SO ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT.
AND SO OF COURSE THEY WOULD RANK THINGS AND SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
AND THEIR INTRODUCTION TO THE ETHICS COMMISSION FOR SOME OF THEM WAS IN JANUARY OF, OF, UM, 23 WHEN THEY WERE, THEY WERE SEATED.
AND THE FIRST THING THAT THEY SAW PROBABLY WAS THIS REPORT FROM THE ETHICS COMMISSION ABOUT, UH, WITH THE CENSURE ISSUE IN IT.
AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT IS, UM, IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME UP IN THE, IN THE CONVERSATIONS THAT ITEM CAME, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT HISTORY, BUT THAT CAME FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY.
IT CAME FROM THE CITY, THE PRIOR CITY ATTORNEY TO THE ETHICS COMMISSION.
[01:35:01]
JUST, THERE'S A LOT IN THERE.BUT, BUT THERE IS A, THERE DIFFERENT PEOPLE IN OFFICE OR IN THESE POSITIONS OVER TIME HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS ABOUT HOW THE ETHICS COMMISSION SHOULD, WHAT IT SHOULD BE, AND HOW INDEPENDENT IT SHOULD BE.
AND THEY SEND IN DIFFERENT WAYS,
AND WHEN THERE WAS NO STAFF, ESSENTIALLY THE ONLY WAY TO, TO, AS YOU POINTED OUT, THE ONLY WAY TO REALLY DO IT WAS TO JUST ROLL UP THE SLEEVES, STAND AND GET IT DONE.
WE COULD, I'M NOT SAYING WE'RE GONNA DO THIS, SO HEATHER AND JORGE DON'T GO CRAZY.
WE COULD JUST SAY, WE'LL ACCEPT YOUR REPORT AND YOU GUYS GO TAKE IT AND COME BACK AND TELL US AND, AND JUST GIVE YOU THIS WHOLE LIST OF THINGS TO DO.
WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THAT BECAUSE THAT ISN'T HOW, HOW WE WE WORK.
BUT, BUT INSTEAD OF GOING OVER THE HISTORY RIGHT NOW, I'D JUST LIKE TO ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING WE DO GOING FORWARD AND THAT ARE ARE CURRENTLY IN, IN PROCESS AS WE, AS WE SPEAK.
SO, UM, I AM CONCERNED ABOUT HOW WE GO ABOUT ADDRESSING, UM, THIS, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT HOW WE PROCEED WITH WHAT, WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON WITHOUT A A, A COMMUNICATIONS STRUCTURE SET UP WITH THE, WITH THE CITY COUNCIL.
WHETHER, AND, AND I THINK THERE MAY BE A DIFFERENCE IN OF OPINION ABOUT THIS, WHETHER WE'RE SUPPOSED TO JUST DO OUR WORK WITH WHOMEVER AND, AND THEN MAKE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS OR WHETHER WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GO TELL THEM ABOUT IT ALONG THE WAY.
AND IS THAT OUR JOB, OR SHOULD THAT BE HAPPENING FROM, WHEN I SAY OUR JOB, I MEAN THE COMMISSIONER'S JOB, OR SHOULD WE BE ASKING STAFF TO GO MEET WITH ALL THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS OR, BECAUSE EVERY MEETING WE HAVE A MEMBER OF THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND WE HAVE THREE MEMBERS FROM THE, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE HERE.
WHAT WE DON'T HAVE IS WE DON'T HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM ALL THE OTHER, UM, THE NON-CITY MANAGER, UM, DEPARTMENTS HERE.
AND SO THERE, THERE OBVIOUSLY IS A, IS A PERHAPS A COMMUNICATIONS ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE, NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.
BUT SO HOW DO WE, WE HAVE A LOBBY ORDINANCE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE NOW PREPARED TO, WE JUST ADOPTED THAT.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON SEVERAL YEARS.
UM, HOW, HOW DO WE PROCEED WITH THAT TO, TO THE, TO THE CITY COUNCIL? WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO THINK ABOUT REALLY IS, UM, HOW BEST TO SOCIALIZE THE CITY COUNCIL TO THOSE THINGS THAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO RECOMMEND.
THEY MAY KNOW YOU'RE WORKING ON THEM, BUT, UM, UH, IF, IF THERE IS, FOR EXAMPLE, A WAY FOR THE CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION TO MEET WITH THE MAYOR OR WITH THE CITY MANAGER IN ORDER TO CONVEY, UM, WHAT THE COMMISSION BELIEVES IS A PRIORITY RIGHT NOW THAT NEEDS THE ACTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL THAT CAN HELP TO GUIDE THE COMMISSION ON WHETHER THIS MONTH OR NEXT MONTH OR NEXT YEAR IS THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE COMMISSION TO MOVE THIS RECOMMENDATION FORWARD TO THE CITY MANAGER TO, TO SEND ON TO, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL.
AND SO, UM, IT, IT GOES BACK TO I THINK J T'S, UH, EARLIER QUESTION ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT, UM, IN THE CITY.
AND IF THERE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, AN INFORMAL PROCESS THAT THE COMMISSION CAN BE USING WHEREBY THERE'S AN INFORMAL MEETING FROM TIME TO TIME BETWEEN THE COMMISSION CHAIR, THE MAYOR OR THE CITY MANAGER TO HELP SOCIALIZE THEM ON WHAT THE COMMISSION THINKS ARE PRIORITIES RIGHT NOW AND WOULD LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD, THAT MIGHT SAVE EVERYBODY, BOTH A LOT OF TIME, UM, AS WELL AS ANY DISAPPOINTMENT THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DOESN'T THEN TAKE UP YOUR RECOMMENDATION FOR ACTION.
UM, HEY SUSAN, REAL QUICK, 'CAUSE I, I KNOW YOU'VE GOT OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT SO WE DON'T GO ON 'CAUSE I SEE IT'S GETTING CLOSE TO FIVE, OR IS THAT CLOCK WRONG? NO, IT'S, UM, A, A LOT OF THE STUFF THAT I THINK HAS MOST OF OUR BACKBONES KIND OF RIGID AND FEELING I'M, AND I SAID THIS IN MAY ATTACKED WAS THERE IN MAY.
AND I DON'T THINK THE COMMENTS THAT YOU'RE HEARING RIGHT NOW ARE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN WE HEARD IN MAY.
SO I, I THINK WE GOT THAT ALL OUT IN MAY.
THIS IS, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THEY TOLD US IN MAY, WE WERE GOING TO BE GETTING, IT'S NOTHING DIFFERENT AND WE HAD THE EXACT SAME REACTION THEN.
[01:40:01]
MAYBE WE JUST LET THAT HISTORY KIND OF GO AND, AND UNDERSTAND THIS IS THEIR BEST RECOMMENDATION GOING FORWARD.AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE.
UM, THEY HAVE DONE SOME WORK TO SOFTEN THIS FROM WHAT IT ORIGINALLY WAS.
I, I STILL HAVE SOME UNEASINESS WITH SOME OF IT BECAUSE I KNOW YOU, WHEN YOU WERE CHAIR, HAD MEETINGS WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND YOU WERE VERY ACTIVE IN ADVOCATING FOR BUDGET ISSUES.
SO I THINK MAYBE WE JUST GO FORWARD WITH WHERE DO WE GO WITH THIS DOCUMENT FROM HERE RATHER THAN REHASHING EVERYTHING WE DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT.
WELL ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT IT MENTIONS IS HOW WE COMMUNICATE WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
AND SO I GUESS I'M CURIOUS IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR US AT THIS POINT ABOUT HOW WE, WE QUICK, QUICKLY, I GUESS ADDRESS THAT.
PARTLY BECAUSE THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, IT DOES REQUIRE, UM, INPUT FROM, FROM COUNSEL AND SO PERHAPS WE HAVE BEEN, I MEAN I'M, I'M SURE WE'D ALL BE WILLING TO COOPERATE IF THERE WITH, WITH WHATEVER WAY, UM, PEOPLE PREFER FOR IT TO BE DONE.
UM, BUT JUST I'D LIKE TO HEAR RECOMMENDATIONS OR MAYBE I SHOULD BE ASKING THE CITY ATTORNEY.
MAYBE I SHOULD JUST BE ASKING THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE HOW THEY WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE THOSE, THOSE REQUESTS.
WELL CERTAINLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO, TO HAVE A DIALOGUE AND THROUGH INCLUDE THE OFFICE OF ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY IN THAT DIALOGUE WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
THERE WAS, UM, THIS IS BACK TO THE OBSERVATION THAT JOHN SHARED ALREADY, THAT IF EACH AD HOC IS GOING TO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY, ASKING FOR THINGS THAT CAN FEEL TO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY, LIKE, OH, WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF REQUESTS FROM JUST THIS ONE COMMISSION.
IF THOSE ARE ALL FUNNELED THROUGH THE OFFICE STAFF SO THAT THEY CAN THEN, YOU KNOW, SORT OF PRIORITIZE THEM, BUNDLE THEM UP, MAYBE ONLY TAKE, TAKE MORE THAN ONE ITEM AT A TIME, UH, TO GO IN THE MEETING THAT THEY'RE HAVING WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY.
THAT'S SOMETHING TO BE, UM, TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT.
THE OTHER THING THAT WE'RE AWARE OF THAT'S JUST A REALITY, AGAIN, BACK TO POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTS, IS THAT THERE USED TO BE A DEDICATED PERSON IN THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO THE WORK OF THE OET AND NOW IT'S MORE DISTRIBUTED AND, AND LESS FULL-TIME.
AND AGAIN, ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT COULD SLOW YOU DOWN IN TERMS OF YOUR ABILITY TO MOVE THINGS THAT DO NEED INPUT FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE THROUGH, BUT, BUT DEFINITELY CONTINUE TO COMMUNICATE WITH AND ASK.
I THINK THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION TO ASK THE CITY ATTORNEY, YOU KNOW, WHAT CHANGES THEY MIGHT, THEY MIGHT WANNA RECOMMEND.
UM, JUST A A POINT OF NOTE, UH, COMMISSIONER WISE, UH, VICE CHAIR COLEMAN, AND I'LL BE MEETING FOR OUR QUARTERLY MEETING WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY ON MONDAY IF THAT HAPPENS TO BE OUR NEXT QUARTERLY MEETING.
SO I CERTAINLY WILL RAISE SOME OF THESE, THESE, UH, POINTS IN TERMS OF SUPPORT.
'CAUSE BECAUSE I CAN SAY I'M HAPPY TO COOPERATE HOWEVER I CAN, UM, CERTAINLY ANY, UH, INPUT THAT ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS HAVE, ANYTHING YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE RAISE WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY TO SEND ME AN IS IS IT OKAY FOR THEM TO SEND ME AN EMAIL BROWN ACT WISE USUALLY GOES THROUGH HEATHER OR DOES IT GO THROUGH TO YOU? HEATHER? I'M NOT INVOLVED IN ANY OF THESE CITY ATTORNEY MEETINGS.
SO I, I'M NOT, CAN'T REALLY ADVISE UNDER THE BROWN ACT THOUGH.
CAN I RECEIVE INPUT FROM THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS? UM, IT MIGHT BE BEST THAT THOSE QUESTIONS BE DIRECTED TO YOUR ASSIGNED CITY ATTORNEY TO AVOID ANY BROWN ACT ISSUES BECAUSE IF EVERYONE IS INPUTTING, WE MAY HAVE AN INSTANCE WHERE THERE MIGHT BE QUORUM, UM, RIGHT.
VIA SO EMAIL, WHICH YOU WANT TO AVOID.
UH, THE ASSIGNED CITY ATTORNEY SUPPORT PERSON DOES NOT PARTICIPATE IN THOSE MEETINGS.
UM, I WOULDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH HAVING THE ETHICS OFFICER ATTEND THOSE MEETINGS IF SHE'S AVAILABLE.
AND THEN PEOPLE COULD PROVIDE THEIR INPUT TO HEATHER IF, IF I COULD MAKE ANOTHER SUGGESTION BECAUSE MONDAY IS COMING PRETTY QUICKLY.
AND IT MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TIME FOR PEOPLE.
BUT YOU'VE GOT YOUR NEXT QUARTERLY MEETING, MAYBE THE MONTH BEFORE THAT MEETING IS GONNA BE HELD.
THERE'LL BE AN ITEM ON THE AGENDA THAT ASKS THE QUESTIONS, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT THEY WANT YOU TO RAISE WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY? AND THEN IT'S IN A PUBLIC FORUM AND YOU'VE GOT THE INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE SEEKING.
AND MAYBE THAT JUST BECOMES A ROUTINE PART OF OUR CALENDAR GOING FORWARD.
I I DEFINITELY WANT IT TO BE A ROUTINE PART OF THE CALENDAR.
THE NEXT MEETING AFTER THE ONE ON MONDAY IS DECEMBER 5TH.
[01:45:01]
OKAY.UH, SO WE'LL FOR SURE HAVE IT ON THE NOVEMBER AGENDA, UH, TO PROVIDE PUBLIC INPUT DURING A FULL COMMISSION MEETING.
AND AS FAR AS THE MEETING IN SEPTEMBER, UM, UH, IF PEOPLE COULD SEND INPUT TO HEATHER, UH, AND THEN, UH, WE'LL FIGURE OUT HOW TO PROCEED AT THAT POINT.
IT WOULD BE AN INDIVIDUAL'S INPUT TO HEATHER.
THEY WOULD BE THE THIRD PERSON.
SO WE WOULD, WE WOULD NOT BE TALKING ABOUT A QUORUM IF THEY PROVIDE THE INPUT TO HEATHER AND THEN, UNLESS IT'S MORE THAN THREE, THAT WELL, EACH OF THEM WOULD PROVIDE THE INPUT TO HEATHER, BUT YOU STILL HAVE INDIVIDUALLY WOULD STILL HAVE INDIVIDUAL INPUT FOR MORE THAN, AND THEN I WOULD, IF I RECEIVED IT ALL, THAT WOULD BE A BROWN ACT PROBLEM.
BUT EVEN IF HEATHER, IF HEATHER GOES OVER IT WITH YOU, IT'S STILL YEAH.
I GUESS WE CAN'T USE IT FOR THE SEPTEMBER MEETING.
I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY THAT WE'RE GOING TO IMPLEMENT A PROCESS WHERE WE'LL BE RAISING IT ON THE AGENDA EACH TIME BEFORE THE MEETING SO WE CAN BE SURE.
I, I I'LL, OH, PARDON ME, COMMISSIONER.
I'LL NOTE THAT IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS AT HAND RIGHT NOW, NOW WOULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MENTION THOSE SINCE YOU ARE IN THE MIDST OF A MEETING.
IT IS PART OF THE CURRENT ACTION ITEM, BUT WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF TIME ALSO.
IT'S PRETTY LIMITED TIME, BUT, BUT NOW WOULD BE A GOOD MOMENT IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS THAT WANNA BE PASSED ON TO THE CHAIR TO BE DISCUSSED DURING MONDAY'S MEETING.
I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER WISE, I'M SORRY FOR INTERRUPTING.
JUST, JUST, I, I JUST WANNA POINT OUT THAT RECENTLY FROM THE LOBBYING SUBCOMMITTEE, I SENT A DIRECT EMAIL TO THE CITY ATTORNEY ASKING QUESTIONS THAT HAD HAD COME UP.
AND, UM, SO WE DIDN'T VIOLATE THE BROWN ACT 'CAUSE I COPIED MY FELLOW, I, I DID COPY THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE.
I DID NOT COPY STAFF ON IT BECAUSE I, AT THE TIME, I WASN'T THINKING, WELL, I WASN'T SURE AND I LEFT IT TO THE CITY ATTORNEY WHETHER TO COMMUNICATE IT WITH OUR, OUR, OUR STAFF.
BUT IF THE BROWN ACT, I, IT, IT'S GETTING, IT'S GETTING, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE BROWN ACT AND ALSO WHAT'S WHAT'S EFFICIENT FOR EVERYONE IN, IN TERMS OF GETTING THE WORK DONE.
AND I'M NOT SURE THAT WAITING A MONTH TO BE ABLE TO ASK A QUESTION OF THE CITY ATTORNEY OR MAKE IT KNOWN IN A PUBLIC MEETING IS, IS GONNA WORK VERY, VERY WELL.
AND I THINK THE CITY ATTORNEY WOULD PROBABLY WANNA KNOW SOME OF THE QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, ONCE THEY AROSE.
SO, I MEAN, SOMETIMES YOU MIGHT HAVE A PERSONAL QUESTION ABOUT A CONFLICT, FOR EXAMPLE.
JUST SO I'M JUST SAYING, I I, WE DON'T HAVE TO GO INTO ALL THIS NOW, BUT I JUST, I THINK THIS DESERVES A LOT OF OF THOUGHT BEFORE WE JUST PUT TOGETHER WHAT WE'RE GONNA INDEED.
AND JUST AS A FINAL POINT OF CLARIFICATION, WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS, WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID IN A SITUATION IS WHERE QUORUM IS UNINTENTIONALLY, UM, RIGHT.
SO, UM, THAT'S JUST SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS AND THEN, UM, FROM YOU AND TO THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
SO THAT WOULD BE A CASE BY CASE DETERMINATION.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? UM, COMMISSIONER COLEMAN, THANK YOU.
UH, FIRST OFF, I, I REALLY DO WANNA SAY THANK YOU.
I KNOW WE'RE A DEMANDING COMMISSION.
UM, I, I THINK PART OF THE REASON WHY IS 'CAUSE WE ALL DEEPLY CARE, RIGHT? IT, IT COMES OUT OF A PLACE OF NOT, UM, WANTING THE INFORMATION JUST TO KNOW IT, BUT IT COMES OUT OF A PLACE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I'LL SPEAK FOR MYSELF, BUT I, I REALLY DO THINK IT COMES AT A PLACE OF CARE FOR NOT ONLY ETHICS, BUT REALLY A DEEP CARE FOR THIS CITY.
UM, BUT I WANT TO SEND REALLY A SINCERE THANKS.
IT'S OBVIOUS THAT YOU'VE PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO THIS.
YOU'VE CAME IN MAY, YOU'VE TALKED TO, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL OF THE PAST CHAIR, THE CURRENT CHAIR.
YOU'VE TALKED TO ME AND, AND A LOT OF THE STAFF, AND I KNOW WE ALL REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
SO, UM, IF THAT HASN'T BEEN SAID ENOUGH, UH, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO AT LEAST THANK YOU IN THIS PUBLIC FORUM.
UM, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW THIS QUESTION HAS BEEN ASKED IN PROBABLY SEVERAL DIFFERENT WAYS, UM, BUT I'M FEELING A LITTLE BIT CATCH 22 ISH ON THIS AD HOC VERSUS, UM, CITY STAFF.
AND SO I THINK, I'M JUST THINKING A LITTLE BIT OF CLARIFICATION ON WAS THE, THE ISSUE OR THE PERCEPTION ONE THAT SAY THERE'S SEVERAL AD HOCS AND THEY'RE ALL SENDING THINGS
[01:50:01]
TO, LET'S JUST SAY THE CITY ATTORNEY FOR INSTANCE, IS THAT THOSE REQUESTS WERE NOT STREAMLINED ENOUGH, OR THEY WERE COMING FROM SO MANY DIFFERENT AREAS THAT IT WAS OVERWHELMING THAT STAFF WAS, OR IS IT, OR IT COULD BE BOTH THAT CITY STAFF FEEL THAT WE ARE MOVING AT A RATE THAT IS PERHAPS NOT NECESSARY OR THAT WE'RE KIND OF SOMETIMES PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE.UM, AND I'LL, I'LL STOP THERE TO, I CAN ANSWER.
WELL, IT, IT'S PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH OF THOSE PERSPECTIVES.
UH, CHIEF, I, I WOULD SAY THAT THE PERCEPTION OUT THERE IS THAT UNLIKE OTHER COMMISSIONS, THIS COMMISSION IS DOING A LOT OF WORK IN AD HOCS IN WHICH THAT TAXES THE RESOURCES OF OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.
AND THAT IF THE COMMISSION, UM, REORIENTED ITS APPROACH TO POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND LET THE STAFF DEVELOP POLICIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY WOULD BRING TO THE COMMISSION, THE COMMISSION THEN CAN STUDY THEM AS A WHOLE OR IN AD HOC COMMITTEES, UM, AND THEN, UH, UH, REVISE AND, AND SUBMIT A RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY MANAGER AND, AND, UH, EVENTUALLY OF COURSE TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, BUT, UM, IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR COMMISSIONS TO HAVE SUBCOMMITTEES THAT THEY'RE WORKING THROUGH THAT ARE KIND OF WHERE THE WORK OF THE COMMISSION TAKES PLACE.
BUT THE, YOU HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO OVERCOME THE PERCEPTION THAT YOUR AD HOCS ARE ACTING LIKE STAFF, UM, WHEN THERE IS STAFF TO SUPPORT.
THERE WASN'T ORIGINALLY, BUT THERE IS NOW STAFF TO SUPPORT THE WORK THAT THE, THAT THE COMMISSION, UH, UH, NEEDS TO DO.
I THINK THAT BRINGS UP MY, THE NEXT QUESTION I WAS GONNA ASK ALSO, IN YOUR RECOMMENDATION YOU SAY WE'RE UNDERSTAFFED, RIGHT? UM, AND SO DO YOU HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR, TO PRESENT THAT TO THE CITY OF PERHAPS THE REASON WHY AD HOCS HAVE TAKEN ON SO MUCH OF THIS WORK IS EXEMPLIFIED IN THIS REPORT OF WE ARE UNDERSTAFFED AND THAT CAUSES SOME OF THE OVERWHELMING OF RESOURCES.
UM, I I, I, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION.
I DON'T THINK THAT WE DO THAT ADDRESSES YOUR QUESTION, COMMISSIONER.
UM, BUT, UM, THERE'S A LEVEL OF DETAILED WORK THAT YOUR AD HOCS HAVE TAKEN ON, WHICH REALLY SEEMS TO, UH, UH, WARRANT, UH, MORE ATTENTION FROM STAFF RATHER THAN FROM CITIZEN VOLUNTEERS.
NOW, I CAN USE JUST ONE EXAMPLE THAT CAME UP IN ONE OF OUR, OUR, OUR MEETINGS, UM, AS WE WERE PREPARING.
THIS WAS ABOUT THE AD HOCS THAT ARE REVIEWING, UM, I BELIEVE IT'S THE FORM SEVEN HUNDREDS, AND LOOKING AT WHO'S FILED THEM, WHO HASN'T FILED THEM, HOW COMPLETE THEY ARE AND SO FORTH.
THAT'S A VERY, IT HAS TO BE AN EXTREMELY TIME CONSUMING TASK.
AND THE, UH, THE, THAT TYPE OF WORK IS ALREADY BEING DONE IN PART BY THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.
UM, IT MAY BE MORE APPROPRIATELY MANAGED SOMEWHERE ELSE.
MAYBE IT'S OET, BUT IT IS UNUSUAL AND IT STRIKES MANY AS UNUSUAL THAT, UM, THE A, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMISSION WOULD BE TAKING ON THAT LEVEL OF DETAILED REVIEW RATHER THAN ASKING STAFF TO DO IT.
AND THEN HERE ARE OUR FINDINGS COMMISSIONERS, THIS IS WHAT WE'VE LEARNED FROM REVIEWING THESE.
UM, AND THESE ARE SOME POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU MAY WISH TO MAKE TO IMPROVE HOW WE'RE CURRENTLY RECEIVING AND REVIEWING.
AND THOSE, UH, THOSE FORMS, I HAVE TO PUSH BACK AND I HAVE TO PUSH BACK REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HARD ON THAT EXAMPLE BECAUSE IN 2022, THERE WERE MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS REPORTED TO THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE OF THE CITY'S CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS.
AND WE ASKED WHO WAS RE REVIEWING THOSE, AND WE WERE TOLD, HMM, NOBODY REALLY REVIEWS THEM.
WE ASKED FOR RESOURCES TO BE ALLOCATED TO THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE SO THAT THAT REVIEW COULD BE DONE.
AND WE WERE TOLD, NO, IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT CITY STAFF
[01:55:01]
THAT DEEPLY INVOLVED IN SOMETHING THAT COULD BE SEEN AS POLITICAL.WE WERE TOLD IF THAT REVIEW'S GONNA BE DONE, GUESS WHO'S GONNA DO IT? SO THAT WAS NOT A GOOD EXAMPLE, JOHN.
'CAUSE YOU JUST REALLY PUT THE HAIRS UP ON THE BACK OF MY NECK BECAUSE I ASKED AND ASKED AND ASKED AND ASKED FOR STAFFING RESOURCES TO DO THAT BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE FOR THE CITY TO HAVE CAMPAIGN FINANCE RULES AND NOT HAVE ANYONE THAT'S EVEN LOOKING AT POSSIBLE VIOLATIONS.
THE ONLY WAY THOSE CAME TO THE CITY CLERK'S ATTENTION WAS BECAUSE CITIZEN ACTIVISTS WHO WERE OPPOSED TO CERTAIN CANDIDATES WENT AND REVIEWED THEIR CAMPAIGN FINANCE FILINGS AND SAID, WHOA, LOOK WHAT I FOUND.
LOOK WHAT THIS PERSON IS DOING.
AND WE DIDN'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN IN THIS ELECTION.
I'M, I'M SORRY, UH, BUT THAT IS A PASSIONATE ONE FOR ME.
NO, NO, I THANK YOU FOR, FOR THE COMMENTS, COMMISSIONER.
ALL I WAS GONNA ADD, MARGOT AND, AND FOR THE REST OF YOU IS, SO SEE THIS AS A TOOL, RIGHT? 'CAUSE NOW YOU HAVE A DOCUMENT THAT SAYS HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK AND WHICH WORK IS REALLY THE COMMISSION'S WORK TO DO, AND WHICH WORK IS STAFFED TO DO.
AND OH, ALSO WE NEED MORE RESOURCES.
SO IT'S HERE, I MEAN, WE CERTAINLY TRIED TO ARTICULATE IT HERE SO THAT YOU HAVE A COMMON DOCUMENT.
IT'S PART OF WHY WE INVITED THE CITY MANAGER TO BE PART OF THE PROCESS AND TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO BE PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE I BRISTLE IS, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE SUSAN BRISTLES ALSO IN THAT, HAVING BEEN HERE FROM DAY ONE, WE KNOW WHAT RESOURCES WE'VE ASKED FOR.
WE KNOW WHAT QUESTIONS WE'VE ASKED AND WE KNOW THAT WE'VE BEEN TOLD REPEATEDLY, NO, AND I UNDERSTAND THE CITY HAS FINANCIAL ISSUES.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A LIMITED NUMBER OF RESOURCES, BUT YOU CAN'T ON ONE HAND TELL US THAT THERE ARE NO RESOURCES IN THE CITY TO DO THIS.
AND THEN ON THE OTHER HAND, TELL US, OH, YOU SHOULDN'T BE DOING IT YOURSELF.
BECAUSE IN THAT CASE, THEN WE ARE GOING TO BE A COMMISSION THAT DOES NOTHING BUT TWIDDLE OUR THUMBS BECAUSE THERE'S NOT ENOUGH STAFF OUT THERE TO DO THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T END UP LIKE LA CITY AND SOME OF OUR SISTER CITIES, I MEAN, LA CITY, I SHOULDN'T USE THEM AS AN EXAMPLE BECAUSE THEY HAVE A VERY EXTENSIVE COMMISSION STAFF AND THEY STILL HAVE MULTIPLE PROBLEMS. BUT WE DON'T WANT, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO STAVE OFF PROBLEMS GOING FORWARD.
AND SO I UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S WRITTEN BECAUSE THIS WAY, BECAUSE WE'VE HAD MULTIPLE QUESTIONS BACK OR CONVERSATIONS BACK AND FORTH, BUT IT'S STILL, IT HAS AN UNSETTLING FEELING FOR US BECAUSE THE WAY THAT THIS IS WRITTEN, IT ALMOST SEEMS LIKE WE DIDN'T ASK THOSE QUESTIONS.
NOT EVEN HEADFIRST, BUT JUST FULL BALL BELLY FLOP IN TO DO THESE THINGS.
BUT WE HAVE BEEN ASKING SUSAN, ASK THE QUESTION REPEATEDLY, WHAT OTHER RESOURCES DOES THE, DOES THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE NEED? DOES THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE NEED, SHE HAD MEETING AFTER MEETING ASKING THOSE QUESTIONS, AND WE WERE TOLD NO, THERE'S NO RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR THEM.
SO IT THAT THAT'S THE FRUSTRATION THAT YOU'RE HEARING FROM US NOW.
AND THAT, THAT LAST ONE JUST, IT TOOK ME OVER THE EDGE.
THERE ARE SOME BENEFITS NOT BEING THE CHAIR, VICE CHAIR
NO, I, I JUST WANTED TO SAY AGAIN, THANK YOU.
AND, UM, I THINK THAT WE, THIS IS MORE OF A COMMENT FOR THE COMMISSION IS, YOU KNOW, UH, AS HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY OUR CONSULTANTS IS THAT THIS IS A ROADMAP.
THIS IS A WAY A, I THINK YOU JUST SAID IT PERFECTLY, A TOOL FOR US NOW TO GO BACK AND MAKE THOSE ASKS AGAIN AND AGAIN, UM, AND CONTINUE TO TRY TO CREATE A MORE ETHICAL AND TRANSPARENT, UM, CITY.
BUT ALSO OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MEETINGS, I'M SURE THAT WE WILL HAVE DISCUSSIONS ON OUR PRIORITIES FROM THIS LIST AND HOW WE ARE GOING TO ACCOMPLISH THEM.
SO I, I TAKE THE FRUSTRATIONS, I TAKE THE, UM, HOW DO WE DO THE, GET THIS DONE, BUT I DON'T THINK THIS COMMISSION HAS EVER HAD A PROBLEM OF ROLLING UP OUR SLEEVES AND FIGURING SOMETHING OUT.
SO I AM VERY HOPEFUL FOR THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS AS WE CONTINUE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, KEEP DOING THE WORK.
BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR THE INPUT.
UH, DO ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, OR DO ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE FOLKS FROM MARULA? I WOULD JUST LIKE TO END BY THANKING THEM VERY, VERY MUCH FOR THE WORK.
'CAUSE I, I REALLY DO APPRECIATE IT.
UM, WE'VE ENJOYED THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH YOU.
YEAH, THANK, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE WORKED WITH
[02:00:01]
THE ETHICS PROGRAM IN, IN LONG BEACH.UM, I, I THINK GIVEN THE TIME, UH, WE WILL HOLD OVER FURTHER DISCUSSION BY THE COMMISSION UNTIL OUR NEXT MEETING WHEN WE CAN START TO TALK ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION.
BEFORE I ASK FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, I DO WANT, UH, I, I'VE GONE BACK AND FORTH A COUPLE TIMES ON, UH, THE CITY MANAGER MOCA'S LETTER, UM, AND FOLLOWING COMMISSIONER MORALES'S POINT, UM, I HAD TO GO BACK AND, AND LOOK AT IT AGAIN.
AND HE SAYS, AS THE PLAN IS FINALIZED, CITY STAFF WILL EVALUATE THE RESOURCES AND STAFFING NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT STRATEGIES OUTLINED IN THE ROADMAP.
I, I GUESS I SAW THAT INITIALLY AS A PRETTY POSITIVE STATEMENT.
UM, YOU, I I, I'M REMINDED THOUGH WHEN WE'VE TALKED ABOUT STAFF FOR CERTAIN OF THE INITIATIVES AND THE STAFF WAS DEEMED ADEQUATE.
AND THEN WE, SO I THINK WE'LL HAVE THAT ITERATIVE PROCESS GOING FORWARD AND WE'LL SEE HOW IT GOES.
IT, IT, UM, NOW I'D, I'D LIKE TO, UM, FIND OUT IF THERE'S ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS AGENDA.
I WASN'T PLANNING ON SPEAKING ON THIS AGENDA ITEM, BUT I AM REALLY, I MAY START CRYING FIRST.
I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS 9 11, 21 YEARS LATER.
UH, IS THAT RIGHT? 23 YEARS LATER.
AND TO REMEMBER, ESPECIALLY THE INDIVIDUALS ON FLIGHT 93 WHO GAVE UP THEIR LIVES BECAUSE THEY DID NOT WANNA HURT DEMOCRACY AND OTHERS.
UM, I GOT SAY I WAS TAKEN ABACK BY YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT THE PUBLIC SUBMITTING COMPLAINTS REALLY, AND WANTING KIND OF GOTCHAS OR C UM, IT WAS ME.
AND IF THIS COMMISSION DOESN'T WANT 'EM, I WON'T ADD 'EM.
I WAS AT THE EQUITY COMMISSION ON AUGUST 7TH, AND THERE'S A SOLUTION TO THE OVERLOAD ON THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
FORMER COMMISSIONER SAID THAT THERE WERE MANY CREATIVE WAYS AROUND THE BROWN ACT THAT THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION HAD USED THEM, AND THAT THEY'RE ALL PERFECTLY LEGAL.
SO AS LONG AS YOU HAVE COMMISSIONERS TELLING OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT THERE'S LOTS OF CREATIVE WAYS AROUND THE BROWN ACT AND THEY'RE ALL LEGAL, I GUESSED YOU DON'T HAVE TO BURDEN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
'CAUSE AS I CAME TO THIS COMMISSION EARLY ON AND SAID I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT VIOLATIONS AND WAS TOLD, OH NO, OH NO, NOT BY YOU, BUT BY THE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
AND HERE YOU HAVE A FORMER COMMISSIONER WHO ABSOLUTELY SAID VITRIOLIC THINGS ABOUT WHY SHE WASN'T REAPPOINTED.
AND I HAVE BEEN ASSURED BY AN ASSISTANT TO THE MAYOR, THAT IS NOT WHY SHE WASN'T REAPPOINTED STANDING UP AND ADVISING THE COMMISSIONERS TO DO CREATIVE WORK AROUNDS THE BROWN ACT.
SHE TALKED ABOUT AD HOC COMMITTEES AND THAT THEY'RE PERFECTLY LEGAL.
UM, I LOOK TO THIS COMMISSION TO SPEAK FOR THE PUBLIC.
I RELY ON THAT TRANSPARENCY AND I RELY ON THE BROWN ACT.
IF IT'S A PROBLEM TO HEAR, WHEN A PUBLIC SEES THAT KIND OF THING, LET THE PUBLIC KNOW.
AND REALLY, I WILL JUST MOVE ON.
'CAUSE THIS ISN'T MAKING, DOING WELL FOR ME.
I THINK YOU MISUNDERSTOOD WHAT, WHAT RAUL WAS SAYING.
YOU CAN IF I DID FINE, BUT IT JUST REALLY STUCK WITH ME.
I KNOW WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS.
YEAH, WE'RE, BUT IF I CAN JUST, I'M DONE.
THAT WAS NOT MY, THAT'S NOT AT ALL WHAT I SAID.
I WAS JUST CONCERNED ABOUT HOW TO BALANCE THE BULLET POINT THAT WAS PRESENTED TO US.
I HAVE NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER.
AND I CAN SPEAK, I BELIEVE I CAN SPEAK FOR THE COMMISSION THAT WE WELCOME ALL ALLEGATIONS, ALL PUBLIC COMMENT.
MY COMMENT TO, UM, THE CENTER WAS JUST HOW TO BALANCE THE EDUCATION, INFORMATIONAL POINT VERSUS THE NEGATIVE.
THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE THE PRESENTATION FROM THE MARCOLA CENTER FOR APPLIED ETHICS.
I, WE HAVE, UH, MOVED BY COMMISSIONER MORALES, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER NOVE.
CAN WE HAVE A VOTE AND CHAIR? PARDON ME? BUT AS A POINT OF CLARIFICATION, UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE CONVERSATION WOULD
[02:05:01]
BE LAID OVER.IS THAT INTENDED TO BE AN AGENDA ITEM FOR THE NEXT, UM, MEETING? AND THEN WOULD THE PRESENTERS NEED TO BE IN ATTENDANCE? I JUST, IT'S, IT'S, YEAH.
I THINK TODAY WE'RE RECEIVING AND FILING.
UM, WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER AGENDA ITEM, WHICH I THINK COULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THIS ONE, BUT IT'LL BE SMALLER NEXT TIME BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED AND FILED.
SO NO AMENDMENT THEN IT, IT'LL JUST BE RIGHT.
WE'RE VOTING ON THE, THE MOTION AS IT WAS READ.
COMMISSIONER WEISS, CAN WE GET A VOTE? I HAVE A WAITING FOR VOTE SCREEN WITH A SPINNING WHEEL.
SO, SO DO I, BUT I VOTE FAVOR.
I CAN TAKE A VERBAL FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER WEISS.
AND COMMISSIONER SHOTWELL? YES.
WHEN DO WE HAVE TO VACATE THE CHAMBERS? IS THERE A MEETING TONIGHT? I DON'T BELIEVE THERE IS ANY, UM, ANY MEETING PLANNED AFTER THIS.
CAN THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS STAY FOR COMMISSIONER? WE CAN'T.
I, I CAN'T STAY THAT MUCH LONGER, BUT WE STILL HAVE FORM POWDER.
COMMISSIONER NORV, CAN YOU STAY FOR A BIT MORE? YEAH, ABOUT 5 35.
UH, LET'S, UH, CONTINUE WITH THE AGENDA THEN, UH, AND SEE HOW FAR WE CAN GET.
UH, WE HAVE A RECOMMENDATION, SORRY.
RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE CONFLICT OF INTEREST AMENDMENTS FROM THE CITY CLERK IN PREPARATION FOR THE UPCOMING 2024 BIANNUAL REVIEW.
UH, HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER COLEMAN, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WISE
[3. 24-54857 Recommendation to receive and file COI amendments from City Clerk in preparation for the upcoming 2024 Biennial Review. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
DISCUSSION.PEOPLE HAVE REPORT TO PRESENT.
IS THERE, UH, THERE'S, THERE'S NO DISCUSSION ON MY END.
IT'S, UH, JUST ANOTHER COI, UM, AMENDMENT.
UH, WE DID HAVE A, A PACKET IN THE AGENDA CHAIR.
ISN'T THIS THE SAME ITEM THAT WE HAD LAST MONTH THAT WE JUST CARRIED OVER? NO, THESE ARE ADDITIONAL INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS.
I THOUGHT, I THINK THERE'S THREE SEPARATE JOB TITLES.
DID YOU MEET, UH, DID YOU WANNA DISCUSS THIS ITEM? I CAN'T CHAIR P*****K.
DID YOU WANNA DISCUSS THIS ITEM FURTHER, OR, OR SHOULD I OPEN IT FOR A VOTE? UM, I, I WANNA FIND OUT IF THERE'S, UM, AN INTEREST IN DISCUSSION FROM ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS.
ANY DISCUSSION? ANY DISCUSSION FROM THE PUBLIC? WE HA UH, HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER COLEMAN.
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WISE.
UM, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR, RECOMMENDATION TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON UPDATED POLICIES REGARDING THE DRAFT ETHICS ORDINANCE PROPOSED TO DATE.
IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, CAN I MOVE THAT WE CARRY THIS OVER TO NEXT MONTH? I'D BE AMENABLE WITH THAT.
[4. 24-54859 Recommendation to provide feedback to the Ad Hoc Committee on Updated Policies regarding the draft Ethics Ordinance proposed to date. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
I WILL BE AMENABLE TO THAT, BUT, UH, AGENDA ITEM FIVE, WE DO NEED TO GO FORWARD.UH, SO WE'RE GONNA LAY OVER AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR YEAH.
SO THAT WAS A SUBSTITUTE MOTION WITH THE SECOND.
ITEM NUMBER WE HAVE TO TAKE A VOTE ON.
OH, ON, ON, I'M PUTTING IT OVER.
[02:10:01]
PLEASE VOTE.MOTION CARRIES IS MOVING TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE, RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A PRESENTATION FROM THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON UPDATED POLICIES REGARDING CHAPTER 4.10 DONATIONS, SPONSORSHIPS, AND FUNDRAISING.
I HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER SHOTWELL, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MORALES.
UH, COMMISSIONER SHOTWELL, DO YOU, ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE THE REPORT? YEP.
I'LL MAKE THE REPORT ON BEHALF
[5. 24-54860 Recommendation to receive and file a presentation from the Ad Hoc Committee on Updated Policies regarding Chapter 4.10 (“Donations, Sponsorships, and Fundraising”). Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
OF, UH, UH, THE OET STAFF AND COMMISSIONER DAVE BENEDICTUS AND ME.UH, SO THIS IS THE ETHICS AND GOOD GOVERNANCE ACT.
THIS IS THE LAST INSTALLMENT OF THE SECTIONS THAT WE ARE PROVIDING TO YOU FOR YOUR REVIEW.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT THIS ENTIRE ACT, UH, AND THE WORK THAT WAS DONE ON THIS WAS HEAVY.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE HAD HE GREAT HEAVY INPUT FROM THE AD HOC, BUT STAFF, IN PARTICULAR, THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE THEMSELVES, UH, PREPARED THIS DOCUMENT, PREPARED THE INITIAL WORK PRODUCT, UH, AND THE BULK OF, UH, WELL, THE BULK OF THE INITIAL PRODUCT THAT THEN HAS BEEN MODIFIED.
UH, SO THE CHAPTER THAT WE'RE NOW PROVIDING TO YOU IS, UH, CHAPTER 4.10.
THIS IS DEALING WITH DONATION, SPONSORSHIP AND FUNDRAISING.
UH, AND, UH, THESE ARE ANY DONATIONS THAT ARE, THERE ARE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT ARE GIVEN TO THE CITY WHERE THERE'S NO EXPECTATION OF BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE.
THESE ARE BOTH UNRESTRICTED AND RESTRICTED, UH, DONATIONS.
UH, THE, UH, ORDINANCE IS REALLY FOCUSED ON HOW THEY'RE TO BE USED, THAT THEY CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PERSONAL GAIN OR POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.
THAT ALL THE DONATIONS ARE EVALUATED, UH, FOR COMPLIANCE, UH, WITH LAW AND IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST.
ANY DONATIONS THAT ARE OVER $5,000 ARE TO BE APPROVED OR UNDER THIS ORDINANCE WOULD'VE TO BE APPROVED BY THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
UM, AND ANYTHING UNDER $5,000 HAVE TO BE APPROVED BY THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
UH, WE DO HAVE POLICY GUIDANCE THAT ANY, UH, THAT THERE WOULD BE A PROCESS WHERE ANY DONATIONS COMING, UH, WOULD BE REVIEWED BY THE OFFICE OF ETHICS.
UM, AND, AND TRANSPARENCY AND THE, UH, NOTING THAT THE, UH, UH, ANY DONATIONS THAT ARE INTENDED TO BE GIVEN TO THE CITY CAN BE REFUSED BY THE CITY.
UH, SECTIONS DEALING WITH APPROPRIATE RECOGNITION.
UH, AND SECTIONS WHERE WE'RE FOCUSING ON, UH, THE RECORD KEEPING AND THE REPORTING ASSOCIATED WITH ANY DONATIONS THAT ARE GIVEN TO THE CITY.
UH, THERE ARE SPECIFIC RESTRICTIONS REGARDING THE ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC SERVANTS, SO ANY ELECTEDS AND, UH, CITY EMPLOYEES, UM, THAT IS BEING HANDLED BROADLY IN THE ORDINANCE.
UH, WITH THEN MORE SPECIFIC GUIDANCE BEING INTENDED TO BE PROVIDED IN POLICY.
UH, OFFICE HOLDERS ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT UNDER THIS ORDINANCE ANY BEHEADED PAYMENTS EXCEEDING $5,000.
I BELIEVE THEY HAVE INDEPENDENT OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE POLI FAIR POLITICAL PRACTICE COMMISSION RULES OFFER ANY REPORTING.
UM, AND THEN, UH, SPONSORSHIPS AND DONATIONS THAT RELATE TO PRIORITY FUNDING, UH, THAT ARE PROVIDED BY THE, UH, UH, FOR INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL DISTRICTS REQUIRE CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL.
WE RECOGNIZE ONE THING, UH, THAT IN THE DRAFT YOU HAVE, UH, THE INTENT IS FOR US TO PROVIDE A DEFINITION OF PRIORITY FUNDING.
AND THAT DEFINITION IS NOT PROVIDED IN THE DRAFT.
AND THAT WILL BE, YOU KNOW, PROVIDED AND WE CAN DISCUSS THAT AT THE NEXT MEETING.
WHAT WE'RE EXPECTING IS ANY FEEDBACK ON THIS ORDINANCE TO BE GIVEN TO THE, UH, AT THE COMMISSION MEETING IN OCTOBER.
UH, AND THEN THE AD HOC IS INCORPORATING ALL THE FEEDBACK THAT THE COMMISSION IS PREVIOUSLY GIVEN ON ALL THE OTHER, OR, UH, DRAFTS, UH, OR SECTIONS.
UH, AND WE WILL BE INCORPORATING ANY FEEDBACK YOU HAVE ON THIS, UH, DRAFT.
UH, AND THEN WE WILL PROVIDE A DRAFT OF THE ENTIRE ORDINANCE, UH, AT THE NOVEMBER MEETING FOR THE COMMISSION'S INPUT OF THE ENTIRE ORDINANCE.
THAT WILL BE, SO YOU CAN SEE HOW, UH, YOUR FEEDBACK HAS BEEN INCORPORATED.
AND THEN TWO, WE RECOGNIZE THAT AS YOU'RE GOING THROUGH IT, YOU'RE LOOKING AT EVERYTHING TOGETHER THAT THERE MAY BE NEW, UH, AND ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK.
WE'RE NOT TRYING TO, AND THE INTENT GOING THROUGH A PROCESS, WASN'T TRYING TO SQUELCH, UH, MORE FEEDBACK ON PARTICULAR SECTIONS
[02:15:01]
IF YOU HAVE A LATER POINT IN TIME.BUT THAT WE ARE, UH, THAT, UH, WE WERE KINDA GIVING YOU BITE-SIZED APPROACHES.
AND THEN, UH, WE WANT ANY FEEDBACK THAT YOU HAVE ON HOW IT FITS TOGETHER OR SOMETHING NEW THAT YOU HAVE JUST IDENTIFIED, WE'LL THEN, UH, COLLECT THAT FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMISSION IN DECEMBER.
AND THE PLAN IS TO PROVIDE A FINAL COMPLETE DRAFT FOR THE COMMISSION'S APPROVAL IN JANUARY.
AND I BELIEVE THAT IS MY REPORT.
UH, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSION? UH, COMMISSIONER WISE, I, I HAVE ONE QUESTION.
UH, AND I KNOW YOU SAID THERE IS, THERE IS NOT YET A DEFINITION OF PRIORITY FUNDING, BUT YOU EXPLAINED WHAT IT WAS.
SO COULD YOU JUST EX YOU, YOU, YOU SAID PRIORITY FUNDING IS FUNDING DESIGNATED FOR THE COUNCIL'S, DISTRICTS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO I MIGHT NEED SOME ASSISTANCE FROM THE STAFF AND ALSO FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY.
BUT IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, AND IT WAS ONE OF THE DISCUSSIONS WE HAD IN OUR, ONE OF OUR LAST MEETINGS, IS THAT EACH OF THE, THERE IS FUNDING THAT IS AVAILABLE TO THE CITY, EACH OF, TO THE CITY DISTRICTS.
UH, AND THEN THE CI THAT COLLECTIVELY AND THEN THE CI, THOSE ARE DIVIDED UP.
UM, THOSE ARE DIVIDED UP AMONG THE INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS AND THEY'RE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WITHIN THEIR DISTRICT WHAT THEIR PRIORITIES ARE WITHIN THEIR DISTRICT.
WELL, I WOULD JUST ASK THAT IF, IF, IF THERE'S, IF, IF STAFF COULD PROVIDE FOR US THE GENERAL IDEA OF WHAT PRIORITY FUNDING IS OR WHERE IT'S DEFINED SOMEWHERE ELSE, BECAUSE IT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND, TO EVALUATE THE LANGUAGE WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT IT IS.
SO, AND UH, UH, VICE CHAIR COLEMAN HAS A COMMENT, SORRY, I JUST WENT TO, IS THAT THE, WHAT IS KNOWN WITHIN CITY STAFF IS DIVIDED BY NINE FUNDING.
UH, SO GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER WEISS, WE WERE INTENDING TO GET THAT TO THE COMMISSION AT THE OCTOBER MEETING.
IS THERE A WAY THOUGH THAT WE CAN GET IT TO THE COMMISSION IN ADVANCE OF THE OCTOBER MEETING AS THE COMMISSION IS REVIEWING THIS DRAFT? UH, FOR INPUT, UH, AT THE OCTOBER MEETING.
I RECEIVED A NOD FROM STAFF, SO I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN GET THAT TO THE, UH, COMMISSION BEFORE THE OCTOBER COMMIT MEETING.
I'M GOING TO HAVE TO ASK TO BE EXCUSED NOW.
UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, I HAVE ONE QUESTION.
UM, SECTION, THE FIRST SECTION, UH, DONATIONS TO THE CITY, 4.1 0.020.
IS THERE A CURRENT MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION THAT COVERS DONATIONS TO THE CITY? I THINK IT'S JUST CITY AND REGULATIONS.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE AN ORDINANCE ON, ON THIS WITHIN THE CITY, BUT I THINK WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CITY REGULATION.
ANY OTHER INPUT FROM THE COMMISSION? ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? UH, SEE NONE.
UM, AND THE RECORD WILL REFLECT COMMISSIONER WISE IS EXCUSED.
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, RECOMMENDATION TO CHANGE.
DID WE WANNA SKIP SIX? I'M SORRY.
RECOMMENDATION, UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX.
RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE AN UPDATE FROM THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON THE AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION.
MOVED BY COMMISSIONER MORALES.
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER COLEMAN.
IS THERE A REPORT COMMISSIONER SHOT? WE,
[6. 24-54861 Recommendation to receive and file an update from the Ad Hoc Committee on the Authority of the Commission. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT WHO WAS GOING TO GIVE THE REPORT, BUT WE MET[02:20:01]
MULTIPLE TIMES.UM, WE'VE BEEN DRAFTING SOME QUESTIONS THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE ASKED OF INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE WOULD MEET WITH, BUT ONCE THE UH, MAR REPORT CAME OUT, WE DECIDED WE KIND OF NEEDED TO REGROUP AND RE-LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IN LIGHT OF THE INFORMATION THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THERE.
UM, SO WE WILL BE, WE HAVE ANOTHER MEETING SCHEDULED FOR THIS FRIDAY.
DO YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING NO, NO THANK YOU.
ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS FROM THE REMAINDER OF THE COMMISSION? ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? TAKE A VOTE.
MOTION CARRIES AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, RECOMMENDATION TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON THE AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION TO THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON COMMISSION RESPONSIBILITIES.
HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER MORALES, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SHOTWELL.
[7. 24-54862 Recommendation to change the name of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Authority of the Commission to the Ad Hoc Committee on Commission Responsibilities. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
OKAY.DO YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING? JUST AS, AS THE AD HOC, WE, UM, WE DECIDED THAT THE TITLE, AD HOC ON AUTHORITY GAVE A DIFFERENT FLAVOR TO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THAN WHAT IT REALLY IS WE'RE LOOKING AT.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE RESPONSIBILITIES AS OUTLINED IN THE CHARTER AND HOW WE CAN MOST EFFECTIVELY, UM, PERFORM THOSE, THOSE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, UM, ON A DAILY BASIS.
I THINK WE CAN MOVE TO A VOTE.
OH, IS THERE ANY INPUT FROM THE PUBLIC? WE CAN MOVE TO A VOTE.
ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE AN UPDATE FROM THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON THE 2024 PRIMARY NOMINATING ELECTION CANDIDATE FILINGS.
HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER MORALES, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER COLEMAN AND WHO'S GOING TO GIVE THE REPORT.
[8. 24-54863 Recommendation to receive and file an update from the Ad Hoc Committee on the 2024 PNE (Primary Nominating Election) Candidate Filings. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
AS A REMINDER, LAST MEETING, UM, WE WERE REPORTING OUT ON JULY 31ST, UH, 31, 2024.UM, NOMINATING, UH, YEAH, NOMINATING, UH, ELECTION FILINGS.
UH, WE WERE, UM, UNABLE TO, UH, ACCESS THE, THE FILINGS, UM, 'CAUSE OF COMPUTER PROBLEMS, BUT WE HAVE, UM, I HAVE COUNCIL DISTRICTS TWO AND FOUR, AND I AM, UM, UH, HAPPY TO STAY IN COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO.
UM, BOTH, UH, ALL FOUR CANDIDATES, UM, EITHER FILED THEIR, UH, THE, THEIR FILINGS OR, UM, FILED TO TERMINATE THEIR, UM, PRIMARY NOMINATING ELECTION, UM, ACCOUNTS BECAUSE THEY WERE NO LONGER IN THE RACE.
UM, THERE WAS ONE SMALL QUESTION THAT I HAD FOR THE CLERK'S OFFICE, AND, UM, THAT WAS, IF THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LOAN AND PERSONAL, UM, A DONATION FROM SOMEONE'S OWN PERSONAL ACCOUNT TO THEMSELVES.
UM, AND I THINK, UM, THERE WAS, UH, A DIFFERENCE.
AND SO, UM, THERE WAS NOTHING TO REPORT THERE.
AND THEN IN COUNCIL DISTRICT FOUR, UM, UH, UH, CANDIDATE ALLEN HAD TERMINATED.
UM, UH, THE ONLY PROBLEM ON THAT ONE IS THAT CANDIDATE, UH, ERO HAD NOT FILED TO TERMINATE THEIR, UM, ACCOUNT AS OF YET, OR THERE HAD BEEN NO FILINGS.
AND SO, UM, THERE SHOULD, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE, UM, UH, TURN TO CITY STAFF AND ASK FOR, UM, AN UNDERSTANDING WHY PERHAPS THERE HAD BEEN NO TERMINATION, UM, TO THAT ACCOUNT.
SO, UH, IT REALLY IS UP TO THE COMMITTEE IF THEY'D LIKE TO TERMINATE OR NOT.
YOU, THERE IS NO REGULATION THAT SAYS YOU MUST TERMINATE IF YOU DO NOT SUCCEED IN, IN AN ELECTION.
SO YOU CAN, YOU BASICALLY CAN STAY OVER AND ROLL YOUR COMMITTEE INTO THE, THE NEXT AVAILABLE, UH, CONTEST.
SO THUS, YOU KNOW, STAY ACTIVE, BUT YOU HAVE TO FILE ALL THE SUBSEQUENT FILINGS.
SO THE NEXT ONE WOULD BE, UM, WE JUST HAD THE JULY, SO THE NEXT ONE WOULD BE IN DECEMBER.
THEN I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THE, THE SAME CANDIDATE DID NOT, UM, PRODUCE ANY FILINGS FOR THE JULY,
[02:25:01]
UH, DEADLINE AS WELL.AND THEN, UH, WE'VE ALREADY SENT THEM TO ENFORCEMENT.
SO WE'VE, WE'VE REQUESTED 'EM TO FILE EITHER CLOSE TERMINATE FILE OR BE SENT TO ENFORCEMENT.
AND SO WE'VE, UH, GIVEN THE MATTER OVER TO THE FBPC.
AND AS FAR AS CANDIDATES IN RACES SIX AND EIGHT, UH, MY REPORT, UM, STANDS AS I REPORTED IN AUGUST.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE STILL DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE FORMS. UM, THERE'S STILL A SYSTEM GLITCH, OR THE FORMS ARE NOT COMING UP ON THE SCREEN.
UH, I HAD A BRIEF CONVERSATION WITH THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE ABOUT THAT.
SO MY REPORT FROM AUGUST WAS THAT IT APPEARS THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, SORROW AND COUNCIL MEMBER ELECT, UH, THRESH AND TOOK, APPEAR TO BE IN COMPLIANCE.
BUT IT IS REALLY HARD TO SAY UNLESS I SEE THE ACTUAL DOCUMENT.
UH, THE OTHER FORM OF REVIEWING THE DATA IS THROUGH THE EXCEL FORMAT, WHICH HAS, UM, AT FIRST I JOKED IT WAS A THOUSAND COLUMNS, SO I WON'T JOKE, BUT IT'S ABOUT 900 COLUMNS AND IT'S REALLY, IT, IT'S REALLY HARD TO READ AND CHALLENGING TO READ.
IT'S MUCH EASIER TO READ THE PDF FORMAT.
SO IF YOU WANT A FINAL CONCLUSION ON THE, UM, THE CANDIDATE'S FILINGS, I, I'M HAPPY TO COME BACK IN AN OC UH, OCTOBER AND REPORT AGAIN, I BELIEVE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE IS GOING, UM, HAS ALREADY SUBMITTED, UH, A WORK TICKET OR HAS ESCALATED, UM, THE ISSUE.
SO HOPEFULLY WE WILL HAVE THE FORMS AVAILABLE BY NEXT MONTH.
SO I THINK WE CAN RECEIVE AND FILE WHAT, WHAT HAS BEEN PROVIDED.
AND WE'LL ADD ANO WE WILL ALSO PUT THIS ON THE AGENDA AGAIN FOR OCTOBER.
YEAH, ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? JUST LIKE TO THANK THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE FOR THEIR HARD DILIGENT WORK.
I, IT'S NOT, AND HOPEFULLY WE DIDN'T RUIN YOUR EYESIGHT ON 900.
NO, IT'S NOT 900 COLUMNS, BUT IT'S ABOUT, UM, I'D SAY MAYBE 20 COLUMNS AND YEAH.
SO ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM, LET'S TAKE A VOTE.
MOTION CARRIES AGENDA ITEM NUMBER NINE, RECOMMENDATION TO DISCUSS ANTICIPATED AD HOC COMMITTEES FOR UPCOMING PROJECTS.
AND IF APPROPRIATE, TAKE ACTION TO DISSOLVE, CREATE OR REAUTHORIZED AD HOC COMMITTEES.
UM, I THINK WE'RE KEEPING THE LOBBYIST ORDINANCE AD HOC IN PLACE BECAUSE WE ARE
[9. 24-54864 Recommendation to discuss anticipated Ad Hoc Committees for upcoming projects; and, if appropriate, take action to dissolve, create or reauthorize Ad Hoc Committees. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
CONTINUING TO HAVE MEETINGS AS WAS PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED BY THE FULL COMMISSION, UM, WITH MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL.AND THEREAFTER, WE WILL, UH, WE MAY MAKE A PRESENTATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, SO THAT ONE WILL REMAIN IN EXISTENCE.
UH, I, I DON'T, I DON'T SEE ANY AD HOC.
WE CAN DISSOLVE ANY NEED FOR A NEW AD HOC RIGHT NOW.
ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? I, OKAY, WELL, WE CAN TAKE A VOTE.
ITEM NUMBER 10, RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A MONTHLY UPDATE FROM THE ETHICS OFFICER.
JUST A VERY LEVEL BRIEFING ON WHAT WE'VE DONE SINCE LAST MONTH.
UM, AUGUST 26TH, WE LAUNCHED OUR COMMISSION LIAISON TRAININGS.
[10. 24-54865 Recommendation to receive and file a monthly update from the Ethics Officer. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
HAD 86 PARTICIPANTS, WHICH TELLS US THAT THERE'S A NEED FOR, UM, THESE TRAININGS FOR OUR LIAISONS.UH, SO OUR NEXT TRAINING WILL BE ON SEPTEMBER 26TH.
AND, UH, WE'LL BE DOING ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER.
UM, THE ANNUAL, WHAT I CALL ROADSHOW WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE HAS KICKED OFF WHERE, UH, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND I WILL BE VISITING DIFFERENT COMMISSIONS AT THEIR MONTHLY MEETINGS.
UM, JUST TO REINTRODUCE, REINTRODUCE THE ETHICS PROGRAM AND JUST HAVE THE MAYOR'S OFFICE TOUCH BASE OUR NEW CODE OF CONDUCT AND TRAINING OR CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICS TRAINING VIDEO LAUNCHED.
UM, SO IF YOU HAVEN'T TAKEN YOUR
[02:30:01]
TRAINING YET, YOU'LL SEE THE NEW VIDEO WHEN YOU DO.THIS WEEK WE LAUNCHED OUR, UH, OET OFFICE HOURS, SO THAT WILL BE MONTHLY FOR NOW.
IF WE THINK THERE'S A NEED FOR MORE OFFICE HOURS, UH, WE'LL ASSESS THAT LATER.
LUNCH AND LEARNS, WE'RE LAUNCHING THOSE IN OCTOBER.
UM, OUR NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER WENT OUT AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MONTH.
AND JUST WANNA THANK YOU ALL FOR RESPONDING TO MY AL CONFERENCE REQUEST.
EVERYONE GOT BACK TO ME AND THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE INTERESTED OR ABLE, UM, HAVE BEEN REGISTERED AND ARE GOOD TO GO.
UM, WITH THAT, I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW, UM, THERE WILL BE, WE'LL HAVE TO REPORT OUT ON THAT AT PROBABLY THE DECEMBER MEETING, BECAUSE IT'LL BE RIGHT AFTER COGO.
IT'LL JUST BE A RECEIVE AND FILE.
WE SPENT CITY FUNDS DOING A, B, AND C AND THAT'S IT.
I'LL BE OUTTA THE OFFICE FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, I JUST WANNA, DID YOU SAY 86 PEOPLE ATTENDED THE LIAISON TRAINING? 86.
HOW MANY LIAISONS ARE THERE?
THERE'S LET'S SAY A LITTLE LESS THAN TWO DOZEN COMMISSIONS, BUT THERE'S STAFF AND THEN THERE'S SUPPORTING STAFF.
THERE'S ALSO, LIKE THE CITY CLERK'S DEPARTMENT JOINED US FOR THAT.
SO IT, IT WASN'T JUST LIAISONS, BUT THOSE OF US THAT ARE ASSOCIATED, UM, AS DIFFERENT, UM, SUPPORT ARMS OF THE COMMISSIONS.
SO, UM, WE TREATED THE FIRST ONE AS JUST AN INTRODUCTION.
THIS IS WHAT OUR EXPECTATIONS ARE FOR LIAISONS.
THESE ARE THE REQUIREMENTS, THIS IS THE ROLE, AND JUST GOING OVER THE RESPONSIBILITIES.
AND THEN EVERY MONTH WE'LL DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
UM, SO ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER, WE DID A, A SURVEY, WE DID SEVERAL SURVEYS THROUGHOUT THE MEETING.
AND ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER, UM, WAS ONE OF THE MOST VOTED ON TOPICS THAT, UH, FOLKS JUST WANTED MORE INFORMATION ON.
AND THEN BROWN ACT, I THINK IS SECOND OR THIRD.
SO WHILE YOU'RE ON VACATION, YOU'LL BE TAKING YOUR CELL PHONE AND COMPUTER AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO REACH YOU AND HAVE MEETINGS WITH YOU WHILE YOU'RE OUT.
UH, AND PLEASE, IF I ACCIDENTALLY DO TEXT YOU, PLEASE DON'T RESPOND.
WELL, I JOKINGLY TOLD JORGE NOT TO GIVE COMMISSIONER SHOTWELL HIS CELL PHONE NUMBER.
SO,
UM, I, WE CAN TALK ABOUT NOW, PROBABLY PREFERABLY, YOU KNOW, IN NEXT MONTH'S REPORT, UH, IF YOU COULD PROVIDE KIND OF A RE REACQUAINT ME OR THE COMMISSION WITH, UH, KIND OF WHAT THEIR DUTIES AND EXPECTATIONS ARE AS, AS LIAISONS AND, YOU KNOW, THE CRITERIA THAT WAS USED TO SELECT THEM, NUMBER ONE, OR TO ACCEPT THEM.
AND THEN TWO, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEIR JOB RESPONSIBILITY IS FOR THAT PORTION OF THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
SO JUST A YOU ETHICS LIAISONS IS WHAT YOU MEANT TO SAY.
SO JUST A REMINDER THAT WE DECIDED ONCE UPON A TIME THAT ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS WOULD ALSO SERVE AS OUR ETHICS LIAISONS, BECAUSE THE CRUX OF THEIR WORK REALLY LIES IN ETHICS.
SO WE DON'T HAVE A SELECTION PROCESS, A SEPARATE TEAM, UM, THAT WAS PART OF THEIR DUTIES, OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED WHEN THE ETHICS PROGRAM CAME TO LIFE.
SO WE LEAN INTO THE THANKS AS A REMINDER, THE AOS A LOT FOR NOW, AND THAT'S ALWAYS OPEN FOR DISCUSSION.
I HAVE ONE OTHER THING, BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHERE IT'S, YOU CAN TEXT ME WHEN I'M JUST, I SAID YOU CAN, I HAVE A GREAT VACATION TEXT WHEN YOU REMEMBER
ANY, ANYONE, ANY OTHER INPUT ON THIS ITEM? ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? I KNOW YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
ONE BIG SHOUT OUT AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU.
UM, JOB, UM, R I'LL BE NICE TO YOU.
I'VE TRIED TO BE NICE TO HEATHER.
UM, BUT ALSO I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE
[02:35:01]
AOS OR ETHICAL LIAISON.COULD THEY ALSO BE AT LEAST INVITED TO COME TO EACH OF YOUR MONTHLY MEETINGS SO THAT THEY COULD BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ETHICS COMMISSION DOES AND WHAT IS GOING ON? UM, JUST A THOUGHT.
FINAL AGENDA ITEM RECOMMENDATION TO DISCUSS POTENTIAL AGENDA ITEMS FOR FUTURE COMMISSION MEETINGS.
MOVED BY COMMISSIONER COLEMAN, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MORALES.
DOES ANYONE HAVE A POSSIBLE FUTURE AGENDA ITEM?
[11. 24-54866 Recommendation to discuss potential agenda items for future Commission meetings. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
WE'LL TAKE A VOTE.UH, I BELIEVE WE RECEIVED A PUBLIC COMMENT.
I ASKED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT QUIETLY.
UM, ACTUALLY I BELIEVE WE HAD A PUBLIC COMMENT.
DO WE NEED TO DISPLAY THAT STILL? YES.
THE PUBLIC COMMENT THAT WAS RECEIVED DIGITALLY WOULD NEED TO BE PUBLISHED OR COMMUNICATED OR READ INTO THE RECORD IN SOME WAY.
WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT IN THE PAST.
UH, SO I CAN'T READ THAT NORMALLY I THOUGHT PUBLIC COMMENT IS PROVIDED TO US.
SO WE, WE DID, UH, EMAIL THIS OUT EARLIER TODAY AND IT PINED IT TO THE, UH, PUBLIC DOCUMENT ONLINE.
UM, WE JUST DIDN'T RE UH, SEND YOU A SECOND AMENDMENT PACKET.
SO SOMEBODY NEEDS TO READ IT NOW.
COULD SOMEONE READ IT OUT? YEAH, I'LL READ IT OUT.
SO WE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING, UH, COMMENT, UH, AT THE AUGUST 7TH, 2024, EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION, EHRC MEETING, A FORMER COMMISSIONER MADE SOME RATHER, UH, VI COMMENTS ABOUT WHY SHE WAS NOT REAPPOINTED TO A SEAT ON THE EHR UH C AND ALSO CLAIMED THAT THE EHRC HAD PREVIOUSLY FOUND CREATIVE WAYS TO QUOTE, WORK AROUND THE BROWN ACT AND ADVISE THE CURRENT COMMISSIONERS THAT THEY COULD CONTINUE TO DO SO.
AND THEN IT WAS ALL, UH, QUOTE, UH, QUOTE, LEGAL.
UM, I DO NOT THINK THAT THIS IS THE QUOTE, GOOD GOVERNMENT THAT THE ETHICS COMMISSION IS ADVOCATING.
I ASKED THE COMMISSION TO PLEASE SPEAK UP ABOUT, UH, THIS ALLEGED PRACTICE.
UH, THEN IT GOES ON TO QUOTE, UH, AND SO JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT THERE ARE SOME CREATIVE WAYS AROUND, UM, THE BROWN ACT AND ALL THAT, THAT ARE COMPETITIVELY, UH, COMPLETELY LEGAL AND STILL GET, UM, YOU KNOW, THE COMMISSION, UM, TO THE GOALS THAT YOU ALL WANT.
AS IT RELATES TO THE COMMITTEE ENGAGEMENT, I URGE THE COMMISSIONS TO WATCH AND, OR LISTEN OR READ TRANSCRIPT OF AUGUST 7TH, 2024 EHRC MEETING AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELVES HOW TO ACT OR NOT.
THEY PROVIDE A LINK IN THE COMMENT, UH, CREATE A WORKAROUNDS OF DEMOCRACY, USUALLY HAVE PRETTY TRAGIC INDIANS.
I WAS JUST WONDERING IF IT'S POSSIBLE FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO SEND SOMETHING TO THE HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSIONERS AFTER IT IS, IN THE PAST, WAY PAST WHEN TAYLOR WAS HERE, IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAD COME UP, SHE WOULD HAVE, BASED ON OUR DISCUSSION WITH HER, HAD A CONVERSATION OR SENT A LETTER TO THE HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION NURSE, LETTING THEM KNOW THAT AD HOCS ARE NOT A WAY AROUND THE BROWN ACT.
SO I'M WONDERING IF WE COULD ASK YOUR OFFICE TO LOOK AT SOME KIND OF COMMUNICATION WITH THEM, UM, JUST POINTING OUT THAT THAT WAS BAD INFORMATION THAT THEY WERE GIVEN.
IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BROWN ACT, THEY SHOULD COME TO YOUR OFFICE FOR ADVISEMENT.
IT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD TOPIC OF CONVERSATION TO HAVE WITH YOUR QUARTERLY MEETING THAT'S HAPPENING ON MONDAY.
ADDITIONALLY, I CAN BRING, BECAUSE I AM JUST SUBSTITUTE FOR TODAY'S, UH, MEETING, I CAN BRING THIS TO YOUR ASSIGNED CITY ATTORNEY'S ATTENTION.
UM, THAT, THAT'S WHAT I CAN, THAT PERFECT IS WHAT I CAN DO.
BUT I WOULD RECOMMEND HAVING THAT CONVERSATIONAL, SO OKAY.
I'LL THE RECORDING BEFORE THE QUARTERLY MEETING ON MONDAY.
AND THEN I WOULD ALSO CONSIDER THE COMMITTEE BRINGING AN, A MOTION TO RECOMMEND SUCH ACT ACTION AS WELL.
THAT IS SOMETHING WITHIN THE COMMITTEE'S PURVIEW.
THIS IS JUST PUBLIC COMMENT AND THERE'S NOTHING ON THE AGENDA THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO MAKE A MOTION.
IS THERE? WELL, THAT ACTUALLY, THAT IS CORRECT, BUT I'M JUST SAYING GENERALLY SPEAKING, NOT IN RESPONSE TO THIS.
YEAH, WE COULD PUT IT ON THE AGENDA FOR ANOTHER MONTH, BUT I WOULD JUST, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING GOOD TO RAISE WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S
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OFFICE AND SINCE YOU HAVE YOUR MEETING ON MONDAY, AND I'LL REPORT BACK TO THE COMMISSION ON THAT MEETING.AND I'LL FLAG IT FOR ANITA AS WELL.
AND CHAIR, ALONG THAT LINE, I WOULD JUST ADD WITH THE MEETING WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY, YOU KNOW, AND WITH ANY TRAINING THAT THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE PROVIDES IS THAT PARTICULAR COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST THE TECHNICAL COMPLIANCE WITH THE BROWN ACT, BUT IT ALSO THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPLYING WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE BROWN ACT, WHICH GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT MAYBE THE TECHNICAL COMPLIANCE IS AND WHAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT IN TERMS OF ADVOCATING ETHICS WITHIN THE CITY.
I THINK THAT THAT, THAT'S AN EXCELLENT POINT.
COMMISSIONER SHOTWELL MAKES, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE'VE GIVEN THE IMPRESSION THAT BY HAVING AD HOCS IT'S A WAY AROUND THE BROWN ACT, IT IS DEFINITELY NOT IN THE, THE AD HOC ON THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMISSION.
WE STARTED OUT HAVING OUR, OUR INITIAL MEETINGS AND I TOLD THEM THAT I HAD INFORMATION THEY DIDN'T HAVE, BUT I COULDN'T SHARE IT WITH THEM BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE A VIOLATION OF THE BROWN ACT AND THAT I RECOMMENDED WE JUST, WE WE GO AHEAD WITH WHAT WE WERE GONNA DO, BUT WAIT UNTIL THE MARK COOLER REPORT CAME OUT AND THEN THEY WOULD UNDERSTAND MY HESITANCY WITH REALLY GOING FORWARD.
BUT, UM, WE, WE ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT WE DO NOT DISCUSS ANYTHING THAT IS NOT RELATED, UM, BECAUSE WE ARE, WE, WE TRY TO WALK WHAT WE PREACH.
IS THERE ANY OTHER COMMENT? UM, I, I WANTED TO COMMENT AS WELL, AND, AND WE'VE HAD THIS DISCUSSION, UM, YOU KNOW, ETHICS IS GOING ONE STEP BEYOND THE LAW, RIGHT? AND, AND I, I DO THINK IT'S OUR PLACE.
IF, IF, IF WE UNDERSTAND THAT SOMEONE IS COMPLIANT WITH THE LAW, BUT REALLY ATTEMPTING TO TWIST THE LAW TO BE MINIMALLY COMPLIANT, BUT IN FACT AVOID THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW, THAT'S WHEN YOU GET INTO ETHICS AND LOOKING AT THINGS WITH AN ETHICAL LENS.
AND SO I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THIS BOTH FROM, IS THERE ABSOLUTE COMPLIANCE, BUT ALSO WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE REACTION OF ANY COMMISSION OR ANY EXECUTIVE IN THE CITY WHEN, WHEN THERE'S AN EFFORT TO MINIMALLY COMPLY WITH THE LAW AND, UH, AND OPENLY AVOID THE LAW'S PURPOSE.
SO I, I THINK WE JUST NEED TO KEEP THAT IN MIND.
I KNOW AS LAWYERS, THERE'S THE LAW AND THERE'S A, THERE'S A LINE AT THE END, BUT AS, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT ETHICS, I'M THE ONLY NON-LAWYER SITTING HERE AT THIS MOMENT.
BUT I, I, UH, YEAH,
I'VE WORKED WITH ENOUGH ATTORNEYS.
DO WE VOTE? HAVE A VOTE ON, UH, NUMBER 11 RECOMMENDATION TO DISCUSS POTENTIAL AGENDA ITEMS? MOTION CARRIES.
ACTUALLY, WE HAVE TO JUST OPEN IT TO PUBLIC COMMENT.
PUBLIC COMMENT BECAUSE THAT WAS WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENT.
THIS IS A NON AGENDA, PUBLIC COMMENT.
OH, PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON AGENDA ITEMS. IF POSSIBLE, I WOULD REQUEST WHEN YOU SPEAK TO THE ATTORNEY, NOT ONLY TO SEND THE LETTER, BUT BECAUSE THOSE COMMENTS ARE PUBLICLY ON THE RECORD OF THAT MEETING AND HAVE BEEN SAID FOR ALL THE PUBLIC TO SEE, TO PLEASE ASK THAT SOME CITY OFFICIAL, EITHER FROM THE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE OR THE ETHICS DEPARTMENT, MAYBE JORGE, YOU'LL BE HEARING NOT HEATHER, TO ACTUALLY STAND UP AT THE MEETING, SPEAK TO WHAT WAS SAID, AND SAY THAT THIS IS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE CITY TO DO CREATIVE WORKAROUNDS.
I ACTUALLY, AFTER HEARING IT AUGUST 7TH, I WAS VERY DISTRESSED.
I TOLD MY 12-YEAR-OLD GRANDDAUGHTER AND SHE KNEW ABOUT ALL THE SIGNS THAT HAD BEEN AT ALL THE MEETINGS.
AND I WAS GONNA TAKE THIS SIGN TO THE EHRC MEETING, WHICH BASICALLY SAID CEASE CREATIVE
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WORKAROUNDS THE BROWN ACTS NOW.UM, IT'S FUNNY, BUT IT'S NOT FUNNY.
BUT THERE WERE A LOT OF SIGNAGES OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS AND ANYTHING TO GET THE ATTENTION THAT THIS IS DEMOCRACY.
THERE ARE NEW CREATIVE, CREATIVE WORKAROUNDS, DEMOCRACY, THE END.
I PROMISED HER I'D HOLD THE SIGN UP TODAY.
ARE THERE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? ONLY, UH, CHAIR, AS YOU KNOW, I WILL NOT BE ATTENDING THE OCTOBER MEETING.
[ANNOUNCEMENTS]
NOW WE WILL ADJOURN.