REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Summary of the December 13, 2018 City Council Governance Session
Report
BACKGROUND
On December 13, 2018, the City Council held a Session on Governance to discuss the necessary components of a high performance governing body, assess the impacts of the new district election system, and enhance and strengthen the teamwork between the Council and staff. A full summary of that session is attached to this report (Attachment 1).
The City engaged two highly-qualified facilitators for this session:
* Dr. John Nalbandian is a professor at the University of Kansas and also a former Mayor. He has presented to city councils throughout California, including at the League of California Cities conferences, and has recently facilitated discussions with both the City's management and executive leadership teams.
* Jan Perkins is a former city manager and Senior Partner with Management Partners, the firm that assisted the City during the council districting process. Jan facilitates many city council workshops throughout the state, as well as consults on other issues.
The workshop objectives were designed to establish a consensus on how governance within the new district election system would look and create a shared understanding of high performance governance and what it means for the City of Santa Clara. It also provided the new Council and staff an opportunity to discuss key guiding principles and processes around the new governance system. The Council's goals for the day were as follows:
* Clarity of how we will govern - clear consensus
* Establish practical guidelines, including details
* Refresher of protocols so the Council knows what continues and what changes
* Recognize we are one City
* Recognize the City has a Council-Manager form of government
* Know that each Councilmember will have the tools to be successful representatives of their districts and of the whole city
* Understand what level of staff support will be available...
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