REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
City Council Session on Governance
Report
BACKGROUND
On December 13, 2018, the City Council held a Session on Governance to discuss the necessary components of a high-performing 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).
At that session on Governance, two facilitators guided the Council and staff through their discussions - Dr. John Nalbandian, a professor at the University of Kansas and a former Mayor, and Jan Perkins, a former city manager and Senior Partner with Management Partners, the firm which assisted the City during the council districting process.
The Council and staff discussed the topic of high performing governance including the roles of elected and appointed officials and how elected and appointed officials can all be bridge-builders. Then, the Council discussed the new district election system and confirmed that the following principles would guide governance in Santa Clara:
* We all care about and will govern for the entire Santa Clara community.
* We will follow our Santa Clara ethical values.
* We will follow our Council-Manager form of government.
After establishing their guiding principles, the Council addressed questions regarding protocols and processes that may be impacted by the transition to district elections and discussed how to move forward in these cases. A summary of this discussion is attached to this report (Attachment 2).
At the end of the session, the Council reached a consensus to conduct a check-in to provide an opportunity to assess governance, make adjustments as needed, and determine if a formal Council policy is needed. The Council also referred the question of how to display Councilmembers' names on printed materials and the City website to the Governance and Ethics Committee for review.
On February 19, 2019, ...
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