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09/09/2013 Open Government Commission Regular Meeting Adopted 12/12/2013 Open Government Commission Meeting Minutes 9-3-2013 -1- GILROY OPEN GOVERNMENT COMMISSION MINUTES Tuesday, September 9, 2013 I. OPENING A. Call to Order and Roll Call Chairperson Woodward called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. Roll Call: Commissioner Dion Bracco Commissioner Robert Esposito Commissioner Jack Foley Commissioner Walter Glines Commissioner Perry Woodward II. PRESENTATIONS TO THE OPEN GOVERNMENT COMMISSION A. PUBLIC COMMENT BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA, BUT WITHIN THE SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OF THE There were no public comments on items not on the agenda. III. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of the Minutes of May 30, 2013 Motion on Item III.A. Motion was made by Commissioner Bracco, seconded by Commissioner Glines and carried unanimously to approve the minutes. V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There were no unfinished business items. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Quarterly Review of Public Records Requests Per Gilroy Code Section 17A.35 Open Government Commission Meeting Minutes 9-3-2013 -2- (c) The item was presented by City Administrator Haglund . There was a discussion regarding including the name of the requestor within the log of public records which was submitted to the Commission for review. City Administrator Haglund spoke on the legal requirements associated with requesting a document from the city and the idea of excluding the name of the requestor to avoid a “chilling” effect which could stop a member of the public from requesting a record. Chairperson Woodward spoke on the previous discussions of the Commission regarding the same topic. Commissioner Foley asked if there was a running log of the names of the people who requested records, and further asked if it would be considered a public document. City Clerk Freels explained that there was no such log kept by the city, but if there was such a log, it would be a public record in of itself. Commissioner Esposito asked if it would be included in the index of records kept by the City. City Administrator Haglund stated that it was not. Chairperson Woodward asked what would be provided if someone requested information about who had requested public records within the last month . City Clerk Freels explained that the City would respond by providing copies of all of the requests that had been submitted. Commissioner Glines asked how the synopsis was created; asking if there would be any significant staff time to include the name of the requestor. City Clerk Freels explained that the log was created in her office as an ongoing document throughout each quarter and there wouldn’t likely be any significant time to include the name. She went on to explain that the Open Government Ordinance did not allow for the inclusion of the requesting party’s name within the log. There was further discussion on the legal citations within the Police Department log, and discussion of the process of documenting appeals. There were no public comments. The Commission received the report. B. Discussion of Annual Presentation to the City Council Scheduled October 7 th Open Government Commission Meeting Minutes 9-3-2013 -3- The item was introduced by City Administrator Haglund. Commissioner Esposito offered to give the presentation and the Commission discussed the presentation content including the accomplishments of the Commission, the current issues before the appellate courts regarding public records, and any potential recommendations coming out of the evening’s meeting. There were no public comments Motion on Item VI.B. Motion was made by Commissioner Bracco, seconded by Commissioner Glines to appoint Commissioner Esposito to present the report as dis cussed. C. Proposed Format of a New Open Government Ordinance Training Video The item was introduced by City Administrator Haglund. City Clerk Freels shared the proposed new formatting of the training video explaining that the new training would be broken up into 5-10 minute segments and focused on fitting the types of users who would be taking the training - Staff and Board, Commission and Council Members. She explained that the vision was to identify and reinforce the key topic areas of the ordinance, with a questions and answers segment at the end of each segment. There were no public comments. The Commissioners agreed to the proposed new format as presented. D. Update on Appeal of Superior Court Ruling, etc., Smith v City of San Jose, City Councilmembers, et al The staff report was presented by City Attorney Callon. There were no public comments The City Attorney was asked to keep the Commission abreast of the court case. E. Costs to Establish Email Accounts for all City Board, Commission and Committee Members for City Related Email The staff report was presented by City Administrator Haglund. There were no public comments The Commission gave direction to staff to research the issue with other cities and the Open Government Commission Meeting Minutes 9-3-2013 -4- League of California Cities to see how cities were addressing the issue with the goal of providing the research to Commissioner Esposito for the October 7 th Commission presentation. The Commission specifically asked for research for the cities of Milpitas, Berkeley and San Francisco. F. Staff Suggestions of Potential Enhancements to the Open Government Ordinance City Administrator Haglund shared the concerns raised by staff, explaining that the most prevalent issues related to meeting time lines with regards to publishing minutes and responding to records requests. City Clerk Freels shared potential areas for amendment including the response time provisions and conflicting sections for retention of audio and video records. The Commission asked staff to provide suggested changes to the Commission at their next meeting. G. Review Open Government Ordinance as Originally Proposed Chairperson Woodward presented the Commission with his originally proposed ordinance highlighting those areas that the Commission may want to address as they continued into the next year. There was a discussion of the naming conventions within the content of the city’s index of records, and a further discussion regarding requiring closed session video. There was a discussion of requiring that the names of requestors be required within the quarterly log of records requests. Chairperson Woodward stated that he would be asking the Council to agendize the discussion of creating email accounts for all Boards and Commissions following the October 7th presentation to the Council. City Clerk Freels shared the sections with regards to immediacy of response that could be clearer within the ordinance. Chairperson Woodward then asked staff to return at the next meeting with their recommended amendments to the ordinance to allow the Commission to review the m. Commissioner Glines requested that the City Attorney research the ability t o amend response times for those requesters who were “trolling” for information for business purposes. VII. CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORTS Open Government Commission Meeting Minutes 9-3-2013 -5- There was no report. VIII. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORTS There was no report. IX. CITY CLERK’S REPORTS There was no report. X. REPORTS OF COMMISSION MEMBERS There was no report. XI. FUTURE COMMISSION INITIATED AGENDA ITEMS – SCHEDULE NEXT QUARTERLY MEETING – November 5, 2013 XII. ADJOURNMENT The Commission adjourned at 7:50 p.m. /s/ SHAWNA FREELS, MMC City Clerk