Brentwood City Council Overloads Meeting With Future Agenda Item Requests

On Tuesday, the Brentwood City Council will discuss a series of future agenda items requests from council members.

In total there are 11 future requests to discuss which include creation of 4 new committees, 2 policies, and discuss processes.

In one item, it mimics what the Antioch City Council attempted to achieve several weeks ago with the police chief in changing policy so that the chief would report directly to the city council. While the future agenda item is vague, its requesting they discuss having department directors report to the city council–its unclear if this would take away any authority by the city manager.

If the council does approve all the items, it could add an more than $210k to the city budget.

All the agenda items are requests by councilmembers in which will provide direction to staff to work on before coming back with a formal report and direction. Here is the 11

• I.2.a — Consider a Request from Council Member Pierson for the Creation of an Ethics and Conduct Policy for City CommissionsThe fiscal impact associated with this item is approximately $5,000. This includes staff development and outside legal review that may take several months based on current work capacity. If staff is directed to move forward with consultant assistance, staff will return to City Council for their approval of any necessary General Fund budget adjustments
• I.2.b —  Consider a Request from Council Member Pierson for the Creation of a Race and Equity Committee
  There is no fiscal impact associated with this item establishing the committee. However, the fiscal impact is unknown depending on the recommendation by Council. If staff is directed to move forward with consultant assistance assisting with the committee, staff will return to City Council for their approval of any necessary General Fund budget adjustments.
• I.2.c — Consider a Request from Council Member Pierson for the Creation of a Citywide Racial Equity
  Plan.

  The fiscal impact associated with this item is approximately $50,000. This includes plan development by a consultant who specializes in Diversity Equity and Inclusion as well as staff and outside legal review that will take many months. If staff is directed to move forward with consultant assistance, staff will return to City Council for their approval of any necessary General Fund budget adjustments.

• I.2.d — Consider a Request from Council Member Pierson for the Creation of an Anti-racism and Anti-hate Crime PolicyThe fiscal impact associated with this item is approximately $5,000 and would be the responsibility of the General Fund. This includes staff development and outside legal review over the next few months, aside from any existing policies already in place. If this item moves forward staff will bring a General Fund budget request at a later date.
• I.2.e — Consider a Request from Council Member Pierson regarding a review of Brentwood Municipal Code sections that are no longer enforceableThat the City Council consider and discuss the request from Council Member Pierson regarding a review of Municipal Code section 2.45.020 regarding the powers and duties of the Park and Recreation Commission, and any sections of the Municipal Code that are no longer enforceable.
• I.2.f — Consider a Request from Vice Mayor Meyer regarding an update to the process for Council presentations of proclamations.

• I.2.g — Consider a Request from Vice Mayor Meyer for the Creation of a Committee for Age Friendly Communities
  There is no fiscal impact associated with authorizing the formation of this committee. However, significant staff time, approximately 10-20 hours per month, could be involved in working with the committee and efforts with stakeholders preparing for funding requests related to the effort. If consultant assistance is needed, costs could exceed $50,000 or more.If staff is directed to move forward with consultant assistance, staff will return to City Council for their approval of any necessary General Fund budget adjustments. Further, is this committee is determined to be a standing versus ad-hoc committee, staff time involved would increase.
• I.2.h — Consider a Request from Council Member Mendoza to have Department Directors report to the City Council
  The fiscal impact will come from the time and costs associated with the use of outside legal counsel to explore the legal implications of implementing the underlying proposal, and/or a consultant to assist with looking into the pros and cons of enacting such a proposal and the implementation process.While not an exhaustive list, some areas where outside legal counsel would be utilized include an initial determination of whether the proposed structural change is allowed under State law. If such a change is permitted, then special counsel or an outside consultant could be used to look into the pros and cons of enacting such a proposal and the implementation process.

  If the Council subsequently moves forward with the proposal, then outside legal counsel would assist in revising the City’s Municipal Code and policies pertaining to department directors. In addition, they would assist the City Council in the negotiation of any employment agreements with the department directors, as well as assist the Council with the eight additional performance reviews for which the City Council would be responsible.

  Very preliminary legal cost estimates would be $5,000-$10,000 to determine the Council’s ability to implement the proposal, $10,000-$20,000 to develop a list of the pros and cons/implementation process, $25,000-$40,000 to implement the proposal, and $25,000-$35,000 to assist the City Council with the annual evaluation process.

  These estimates do not include any costs associated with defending the City if the proposal is challenged in court. All these costs would be of the General Fund, and staff will return for City Council approval if necessary.

• I.2.i — Consider a Request from Council Member Mendoza Establishing a Council Design Standards Committee.
  The fiscal impact of this item would depend on how and when the committee meets and the direction it provides to staff. If the committee met in the evening, similar to the Land Use and Development (LUD) committee, the meeting would require staff overtime. Agenda items regarding a complex subject could incur outside consultant costs. Staff time would be paid out of the General Fund.If a consultant or outside legal assistance were required, this would be an additional cost based on the hourly rates of those consultants. These costs could be $1,200 or higher per meeting depending on the number of hours needed. This could also require an increase in the CIP budget for the Objective Design Standards (ODS) project (CIP #337-37258) and an amendment to the consultant’s contract. The General Fund portion of the budget for this CIP project is $140,000.

  Staff will return with a General Fund Budget amendment request, if necessary, based on further direction and clarification received.

• I.2.j —Consider a Request from Council Member Mendoza for an appraisal for the former Davis Camp property & Process Discussion about Rezoning the Site and Developing it, in Part, as a Park
  The fiscal impact of this item would depend on how and when the committee meets and the direction it provides to staff. If the committee met in the evening, similar to the Land Use and Development (LUD) committee, the meeting would require staff overtime. Agenda items regarding a complex subject could incur outside consultant costs. Staff time would be paid out of the General Fund.If a consultant or outside legal assistance were required, this would be an additional cost based on the hourly rates of those consultants. These costs could be $1,200 or higher per meeting depending on the number of hours needed. This could also require an increase in the CIP budget for the Objective Design Standards (ODS) project (CIP #337-37258) and an amendment to the consultant’s contract. The General Fund portion of the budget for this CIP project is $140,000.

  Staff will return with a General Fund Budget amendment request, if necessary, based on further direction and clarification received.

• I.2.k — Consider a Request from Council Member Mendoza establishing a Budget Review CommitteeThere is no fiscal impact associated with this item. The staff time could be approximately 10-15 hours per month preparing for and following up on committee discussions depending on the scope and meeting frequency of the potential committee. Additionally, if determined to be a standing committee versus an ad-hoc committee, staff time would increase.

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