Charlottesville City Council Retreat Agenda January 18, 2018, 2:00 p.m. Morven Farms – Meeting Barn All Councilors present. Maurice Jones, Mike Murphy, Lisa Robertson, Paige Rice also present. (Leslie Beauregard coming @ 3pm.) Allison Linney facilitating. Ms. Linney gave Council and staff an opportunity to create ground rules. Bellamy: cut back on awards, roll awards / recognitions / announcements on the screen Proposed the following format for Council meetings: 6pm – 7:15pm Town Hall @ City Space / (Walker recommended Chambers) 7:15pm – 8:15pm Closed Session 8:30pm Regular Business @ Chambers Hill: 6:30 is a reasonable start time for residents Walker: asked for clarification on Town Halls Galvin: recommended City Space for a monthly Town Hall meeting Linney: Walker seeking a more conversational exchange in Chambers during Council meetings. Bellamy: supports allowing for conversation between speakers Hill: agreed Signer: delete D3 from current Procedures to accomplish this Allowing for responses to each speaker, not wait for “Council Response”, per se. Revised schedule was proposed: 6-7 Closed Session / Dinner 7-8:30 Pledge & Town Hall @ Chambers (no awards / recognitions) -Councilors use discretion in response, with a preference towards brevity 8:30 – 10:30 Regular Business 10:30 Matters by the Public Council discussed time limits for speakers and settled on the current limit of 3 minutes. Council discussed doing away with joint public hearings with the Planning Commission. -expensive to re-run advertisements -makes Council meetings even longer -sometimes a lot changes between the PC hearing and the CC meeting Revised timing for Council meetings: 5:30/6 – 6:30 Closed Session / Dinner (no 5:30 start time on Tuesdays) 6:30 – 8:00 Call to Order / Pledge & Community Matters @ Chambers (no awards / recognitions) **break** -Councilors use discretion in responses, with a preference towards brevity 8:00 – 10:30 Regular Business @ Chambers 10:30 Matters by the Public -Include an explanation on the agenda that if over a certain number of people show up for public hearings, the time limit may be adjusted accordingly. Our Town meetings – every 2 months Galvin: proposed an additional “Town Hall” monthly meeting @ City Space. Agenda structure will include clarity on what needs action and what does not. Signer – remove F(1)(b) from procedures because it isn’t really enforced Galvin – also expand limits on F(2)(a). Bellamy supported eliminating the time limits. Councilors discussed motions and debate, following Roberts Rules versus not, time limits for debate for Councilors, etc. Each agenda item will have some time limit. Councilors discussed relaxing the time limits for debate per Councilor and reevaluate after a (2 month) trial period. Robertson: someone makes a motion, and it has to be seconded before you can discuss. No one can speak twice before everyone has had a chance to speak once. Presiding officer may guide debate when necessary. Council asked to edit F2a to make it friendlier. Speaker Selection – Currently: 15 total speakers (10 in advance, 5 at the meeting) Proposed: 18 total (9 in advance w/random selection / 9 at the meeting) 3 minutes / speaker, with allowance for up to 2 minutes Council response FINAL: 16 total (8 in advance w/random selection / 8 at the meeting) -evaluate in 2-3 months (add to April Council agenda) Hill: discussed encouraging an environment of mutual respect during Council meetings. Councilors discussed differences in opinion regarding civility. Walker: you have to be able to think on your feet, figure out what the room needs and how you can give it to them, especially in the current climate. Charlottesville City Council Retreat Agenda – Day 2 January 19, 2018, 9:00 a.m. Morven Farms – Main House All Councilors present. Staff: Maurice Jones, Mike Murphy, Leslie Beauregard, Paige Rice, Lisa Robertson. Linney: reviewed the planned agenda for today. Reviewed the new Council agenda format. Recognitions and proclamations will take place quarterly. Announcements will run on the TV banner and will be displayed on the projector screen on the break between Community Matters and the business meeting. Confirmed: elimination of F(1)(b) and D3. Facebook/Social Media during Council meetings: Bellamy: increasing Twitter activity and Facebook postings, particularly during Council meetings Signer: discussed City communications for Council as a whole versus individual Councilors -discussing doing it live during the meetings -new effort to communicate during and after Council meetings (possible Council office employee) -summary videos after Council meetings to convey decisions / information to the public Council discussed civic engagement tools. A more in-depth conversation may be scheduled for an upcoming Council agenda as a work session. -Could become a topic for a Town Hall -Bellamy requested a discussion for the 2nd meeting in February Galvin: Tim Martin, Community Engagement Coordinator @ Roanoke regarding using Facebook as a 3-1-1 / CRM - type system. Hill: make sure we are engaging in a variety of ways, electronic options in addition to Facebook. Hill: requested protocols around use of devices during Council meetings. Can be very distracting for the public. Signer: discussed a no devices policy. Advantage of members of the public who have the cell number of Councilors. Bellamy: not agreeing to this. You cannot control how people want to communicate. Galvin: heard from the public that this is a respect issue. Walker: hasn’t seen in her observation that the public does not feel respected. Asked if there has been feedback to staff. Staff said there have been a couple of complaints. Hill: wants public to feel that we have their undivided attention when Council is in an active session. Signer: concerned about individual privileges when public has a Councilor’s phone number. Galvin: seems everyone has a different interpretation of what it means to be fully engaged with the community during Council meetings. Linney: you’ve achieved the goal of letting each other know your thinking on this. Consider it when going forward with your actions during Council meetings. Signer: what are others doing? Asked staff to check with VML. Robertson: provided legal perspective, including first amendment issues, FOIA records regarding social media, etc. She offered to provide a written brief on the matter. Walker: spoke to cultural and generational differences regarding use of devices and social media. Council tabled the discussion about Council role / Mayor role / City Manager role. Council asked the Communications Office to investigate options for expanding accessibility for agendas and materials. Staff can come back to Council with a package, including costs. Discussed electronic communication between Councilors: -how often / in what cases may group email exchanges take place? -Robertson reviewed legal advice Council Agenda development process: -discuss granting public access / community weighing in on draft agendas -discussed circulating draft agendas for 3 meetings in advance Town Hall meetings / reimagining physical space Hill: flexibility for taking Council meetings on the road Signer: lower the dais, or find another space that is larger and more airy. Galvin: A-school class w/Professor Elgin Cleckley is holding a redesign class for Chambers Walker: needs to see CIP priorities, such as housing, etc. before assessing the importance of redesign Live broadcasts: ask staff for cost summary for televising meetings outside of Council Chambers, other options for recording / live-streaming meetings outside of Council Chambers. Community Engagement / Policy Town Hall Galvin: monthly, same place / same time, dinner + childcare provided, after working hours, focus on helping set Council agendas and deep dives on specific agenda items that are important to the community. Signer: not sold on the Town Hall format, and we may not need more. Would rather focus more on other community engagement platforms. Hill: wants more opportunities for community members to get to know each other and Councilors as people. Walker: still have a race and class issue with holding monthly meetings at City Space. More work to do to engage the broader community. Increase engagement of who shows up. Galvin: focus Our Town meetings on policy matters that are “hot topics” / of interest to the community. Hill: technologies to track Our Town issues Signer: asked staff for an update on the CRM system. Murphy: on target to show Council a demo in March. Discussed Our Town format options. Community Policy Roundtables – add to Council agenda for discussion / public feedback -this would be in addition to Our Town meetings, not instead of. -smaller meetings with 1-2 Councilors, 2 staff members, topic-specific, within neighborhoods -YouTube topic-specific FYI videos -must have flexibility Rice: working on Council task tracker tool Galvin: Seattle community engagement tool, provides ratings on whether you are culturally destructive or culturally proficient. Bellamy: add local government through a racial equity lens to March Council agenda, queue up for decision in April. “Racial Equity and Transforming Government” -tied to Comprehensive Plan / community engagement Linney: recommended calling back as a body in 2-3 months to evaluate changes. BREAK FOR LUNCH Budget Work Session Beauregard presenting. Council discussed adding an education piece to engage people about what the effects of certain budget adjustments would be. -adding an option to collect demographic information -focus on educating community on why particular expenditures are important Reviewed Strategic Plan spending priorities for FY19 budget: -Affordable Housing -Race and Equity -Workforce Development -Economic Development -Safety and Security Bellamy: on board with these five priorities Walker: clarification on what safety and security means. Jones: public safety, discussed cameras, bollards, etc. on the Downtown Mall. Beauregard: employee safety in City buildings as well. Walker: concerned about moving towards a police state. Beauregard: staff must assess the balance. Hill: importance of capturing our dedication to being responsive Galvin: re: economic development, we need to acknowledge the need for community-sensitive redevelopment. Add “community policing” to safety and security. Walker: discuss gun violence with the community Beauregard: we will discuss these further in February Walker: affordable housing – setting the priority to AMI is important. Beauregard: asked Council to identify measures they want to see, look at adjusting original measures of the Strategic Plan if necessary. Hill: what is the real estate revenue breakout between assessments and new construction? Signer: how can we break out the revenue drivers so that we can attribute increases/decreases to definitive causes? Jones: work with business community to engage in market research. Walker: explore tax relief programs / CHAP increase Signer: where are we with cigarette tax compared to other localities? Staff: high end, but it does not generate much revenue. Beauregard: schools’ request is $2.7 million Signer: Council should see the breakdown before the work session next week. Bellamy: Jackson Via does not have a cafeteria. What’s the process for exploring addressing this? Beauregard: this request would have to come from the schools. Bellamy: “Black Youth Achievement Coordinator” should be “Youth Opportunity Coordinator” Hill: asked for an update on the NDS deliverable from the Efficiency Study before she can make decisions. Jones: staff is working on follow-up with Novak. Council request to review efficiency study recommendations, status, cost savings, what’s moved off the list, etc. Galvin: Capital Improvement Plan – NDS study to help inform this. We do not have the zoning ordinance the City needs. Robertson: current zoning ordinance not serving us well; we need an update to it, as well as to the comprehensive plan. Bellamy: asked if we can discuss parkland acquisition allocation, potentially using those monies elsewhere. -CRHA redevelopment / Council discussed CRHA, housing authority structure, land bank, private bonds, etc. Walker: asked about City’s options for building or buying existing housing for affordable housing. Robertson: working with Stacy Pethia to draft options. -2 cents on real estate for a land bank; purchase land and build affordable housing, etc. -increase CIP contingency in FY19 Galvin: asked about housing metrics in the Strategic Plan (e.g., inventory of housing); need to check in about the progress of those. LB reviewed FY19 new requests. Galvin: BID district – is this off the table? Staff: historically, attempts have failed, but there’s always a conversation. Signer: wants to make sure Council position can be used for one Councilor with the support of at least one colleague Galvin: requested refresh on 2014 info that was done on the Downtown Mall in preparation for the BID. Include charts and tables staff member Jason Ness recently sent to Galvin. Galvin: policy support greatly needed. Signer: agreed. Hill: needs to be more representative of the bodies rather than individuals. Bellamy: believes these positions would have a very big benefit for Council. Hill: and the community. LB: have to discuss how they would interact with Communications Director Bellamy: refer to Clerk to manage. Walker: asked for overview of $300k request from Downtown Business Association. Beauregard: gave an overview; this will be discussed as a Council later in more detail, followed by a decision. Galvin: governance change at the CACVB. The City funds this organization, but elected officials have no say in where this money is going. Participatory Budgeting – Bellamy: floated the idea of $110k ($50,000 CIP + $55,000 Operating Budget Projects + $5,000 for admin costs, such as community engagement, etc.) or $100k each, depending on how Council wants to work the process. Council discussed how this could work. Walker: goal is for citizens to have a significant impact in the overall budget. Beauregard: this is an example of citizen budget review. How do we increase community engagement with the budget? General support – staff will work out the details. Community engagement strategies – Staff can go through the list of proposals that have come up and come back to Council with some ideas. Living wage and compression issues – 2% COLA / min. wage was adjusted to $13.79 in FY18 / staff recommends holding here, otherwise compression issues will be compounded. Jones: recommended looking at this every 2 years. Galvin: 80% of the people who work for the City do not live in the City. Look into an employee housing assistance program. May be a longer term policy discussion. Walker: recommended moving to a minimum of $15 and then dealing with the compression issues over time. Jones: going to $15 immediately would be a significant increase. Some places are using $15 as a target. Bellamy: can we target $15 by 2021? Staff: this will help spread out the compression cost issues. Hill: what would doing it all at once cost? Beauregard: about half a million. $1.6m to go to $15 immediately and deal with compression. Staff will prepare information for what it would be to move to $15/hr and deal with compression now, versus 2021, and implications of doing this outside of monetary implications (salary structure, etc.) School Funding Requests – Galvin: we have to talk about when we can address deteriorating school buildings. CIP Affordability – Beauregard: Capacity study alone would blow this out of the water. Choices to be made, and we can come back to this at a later time. Off-Budget Cycle Funding Process – -mechanism to make this more dynamic Beauregard: issues with circumventing the regular budget process Galvin: change #8 to say “may receive an expedited review, if necessary, per the direction of City Council,” and eliminate the 2 week specific language. Walker: asked staff to explore increased pay for summer youth internship program participants to make it more enticing to applicants. Murphy and Misty Graves will get a report to Council. May be tax implications. Adjourned.