R 4725 RESOLUTION NO. 4725
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARROYO
GRANDE ESTABLISHING A POLICY REGARDING COUNCIL
COMMUNICATIONS
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Arroyo Grande has adopted policies and
guidelines to assist the City Council in the conduct of City business; and
WHEREAS, these policies are contained in the City Council Operations Manual; and
WHEREAS, a fundamental role of a Council member is to communicate with the public,
members of the legislature, other public agencies, and the media; and
WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to Council members to have guidelines and
procedures regarding communication to provide policy direction, to represent the
community's interests, and to inform the public about the functions of government; and
WHEREAS, because the Council functions as a body, it is important that members
identify whether they are expressing the City's official position or their personal view
when communicating with the public.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Arroyo
Grande does hereby resolve as follows:
1. A policy entitled "Council Communications" is hereby established as set forth in
Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference.
2. The City Manager is hereby authorized and directed to incorporate said policy in
the City Council Operations Manual and to post copies of the policy in suitable
places for public review.
On motion of Council Member Guthrie, seconded by Council Member Barneich, and on
the following roll call vote, to wit:
AYES: Council Members Guthrie, Barneich, Harmon
NOES: Council Member Brown, and Mayor Hill
ABSENT: None
The foregoing Resolution was passed and adopted this 24th day of May 2016.
RESOLUTION NO. 97016-*
PAGE2
IM HILL, MAYOR
ATTEST:
KITTY', ORTON, DEPUTY CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
41‘. 4.44
DT NNE THOI P-ON, CITY MANAGER
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
E'ATHER WHITHAM, CITY ATTORNEY
EXHIBIT A
9. COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS
5/24/16
COMMUNICATION GENERALLY
A fundamental role of a Councilmember is communication — communication with the public
to assess community opinions and needs —communication with members of the legislature
and other public agencies to represent the community's interests— and, communication with
the media to inform the public about the functions of government.
Because the City Council functions as a body, i.e., acting on a majority vote, it is important
that members represent the City's official position, or if expressing personal views, the
public is so advised. To ensure that accurate City communications reach the public in a
timely manner, the following shall apply.
CORRESPONDENCE
Members of the City Council will often be called upon to write letters to citizens, businesses
or other public agencies. Typically, the Mayor will be charged with transmitting the City's
position on policy matters to outside agencies on behalf of the City Council. Individual
members of the Council will often prepare letters for constituents in response to inquiries or
to provide requested information. City letterhead is available for this purpose, and staff can
assist in the preparation of such correspondence.
On occasion, members may wish to transmit correspondence on an issue upon which the
Council has yet to take a position or about an issue for which the Council has no position. In
these circumstances, members should clearly indicate either in correspondence or verbally
that they are not speaking for the City Council as a whole, but for themselves as one
member of Council. City letterhead and office support may be utilized in these
circumstances.
After the City Council has taken a position on an issue, official correspondence should
reflect this position. While members who may disagree with a position are free to prepare
correspondence on such issues as private citizens, City letterhead, official Council title, and
staff support should not be utilized. In addition, City letterhead and staff support cannot be
utilized for any personal or political purposes.
Council members are often asked to prepare letters of recommendation for students and
others seeking employment or appointment. It is appropriate for individual Council members
to utilize City letterhead and their Council titles for such letters.
All Council member correspondence using City letterhead shall be copied to the full Council,
the City Manager, the City Attorney, and the City Clerk. In addition, all Council
correspondence to public agencies in which the Mayor or Council Member identifies
themselves as such, shall be copied to the full Council.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Council members may accept public speaking invitations.
Presentations shall clearly articulate the Council's adopted policy position.
A Councilmember may indicate that their individual position differs from that which was
adopted.
MEDIA RELATIONS
Typically, the Mayor is the designated representative of the Council to speak on official City
positions.
Individual Council members may comment to the media but should be clear about whether
their comments represent the official City position or a personal viewpoint.
Generally, press releases shall be prepared and routed to the City Manager for approval
before release to the media.
Police and Fire responses to, and/or press releases regarding, emergencies may be
reported directly to the media by the designated department spokesperson.
OFFICIAL CERTIFICATION
I, KITTY NORTON, Deputy City Clerk of the City of Arroyo Grande, County of
San Luis Obispo, State of California, do hereby certify under penalty of perjury,
that the attached Resolution No. 4725 was passed and adopted at a regular
meeting of,the City Council of the City of Arroyo Grande on the 24th day of May,
2016.
WITNESS my hand and the Seal of the City of Arroyo Grande affixed this 31st
day of May 2016.
724.Q---
KITTY KITTY RTON, DEPUTY CITY CLERK