REPORT TO BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES
SUBJECT
Title
Action to Approve and Adopt Proposed Updates to Board of Library Trustees Bylaws
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Enhance Community Engagement and Transparency
BACKGROUND
The Board of Library Trustees Bylaws were initially adopted on March 2, 1970, and reapproved and revised multiple times:
* Reapproved 5/2/83
* Reapproved 7/7/86
* Revised 1/3/94
* Revised 2/6/95
* Revised 5/6/96
* Revised 4/3/00
* Revised 10/2/00
* Revised 12/3/07
* Reapproved 12/6/10
Staff received an inquiry from the Board as to whether the Bylaws mentioned the office of a Board Secretary, to take detailed notes regarding Board discussions.
In current practice, the City of Santa Clara Board and Commissions Meeting Minutes are drafted in compliance with the City Clerks Association of California Guidelines for Preparing Minutes for Governmental Agencies as Action Minutes, recording final decisions made. Details of discussion are available on the City's website, where video recordings of Board Meetings are archived alongside Agendas and Minutes. The Board's inquiry suggested that it might be more convenient to have written notes to review, in addition to posted video recordings, Agendas and Minutes.
Upon review of the Bylaws, staff found that the office of nominating secretary is present in the most recent 2010 version of the Board of Library Trustees Bylaws whose stated task is to poll prospective candidates for officers of the board. In practice, the Board has not utilized the role of nominating secretary nor any position resembling the role of a traditional secretary.
At the June 3, 2024 Board of Library Trustees meeting, the Board reviewed two draft revisions coordinated with the City Attorney's Office and presented by Deputy City Attorney Luis Haro. Option 1 eliminated the position of the nominating secretary and secretary, to comply with current practice. Option 2 eliminated the position of a nominating secretary and replaced it wit...
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