The current Legislative Policy on Council Recognition was last revised in 1982. This report discusses the current policy and recommended changes. Staff recommends that this policy be amended to reflect current procedures and costs.

This issue was ranked No. 4 in the list of Office of the City Manager (OCM) new study issues at the December 1999 Study Issues Workshop.

Legislative Policy 7.3.9 (attached) regarding Council Recognition was adopted in 1982 and has not been amended since then.

The current policy provides for recognition in four categories: Boards and Commissions, Staff, City Council, and Official City Souvenirs.

The Boards and Commissions recognition policy contains several statements which are not in conformance with current City practice. The policy directs the hosting of an "appreciation luncheon" where "plaques and certificates" are presented to outgoing Board and Commission members. This event has evolved over the years in order to maximize participation. The City’s current practice is to hold a business-style breakfast meeting for all Board and Commission members as well as citizens serving on special committees. All outgoing members and special committee members are recognized by the City Council with a certificate of appreciation and a small gift bearing the City’s logo. The certificates of appreciation are not signed by the full Council, as is stated in the current policy, but rather by the Mayor. Plaques are not presented to outgoing members. As a point of information, as part of a comprehensive review of the Boards and Commissions Program, OCM staff is preparing a "best practices" report which will be presented to Council later this fall regarding how other communities are working with Boards and Commissions. Recognition and appreciation are among the topics to be covered by the report.

In order to adequately encapsulate current practices and allow for flexibility in how Board and Commission members and special committee members are recognized in the future, it is recommended that Sections 1.A, B, C, and D of Policy 7.3.9 be replaced with the following paragraph:

Staff recognition is currently addressed in the policy; however, staff is recommending that this section be removed from the policy entirely, as it is currently addressed in Chapter III of the Administrative Policy Manual, under Personnel Practices. Staff believes this is an administrative matter and need not be covered by Council policy.

City Council recognition is addressed in the policy with a $200 limit on "plaques and mementos" presented to outgoing Councilmembers and Mayors. While the policy is unclear regarding whether the $200 applies to funds spent on both plaques and mementos, in actual practice, the $200 limit has only applied to mementos, as all outgoing Councilmembers and Mayors receive a plaque as a matter of standard protocol.

Since the policy was adopted 18 years ago, it has not kept current with inflation. The current value of the original $200 would be approximately $350. Staff is recommending that the amount for Councilmember and Mayor mementos increase to $350. Staff is further recommending that this amount be tied to inflation, beginning with Fiscal Year 2000-01. Thus, the following paragraphs are recommended to replace the existing section of Policy 7.3.9 on Council recognition.

Minor revisions to the policy’s section on Official City Souvenirs are being recommended in order to reflect current practice. The proposed revisions to this section clarify that the Office of the City Manager is the central coordinating point for all requests to the City for official city souvenirs. The proposed language is as follows:

In addition, current policy states that the City "will work with the Chamber of Commerce and/or other local non-profit organizations to ensure that the souvenirs are available for purchase at a reasonable cost by the general public." Currently, the Chamber does not carry an inventory of official City souvenirs, but has expressed an interest in obtaining official souvenirs to be sold to the public at cost. Staff will work with the Chamber, and other local non-profit organizations as appropriate, to ensure that official city souvenirs are available to the general public at a reasonable cost.

Increasing the plaque and gift limit for outgoing Councilmembers from $200 to $350 will have a fiscal impact of approximately $150 to $750 per year, depending upon whether it is an election year, and how many incumbents leave office in any given fiscal year.

Public contact was made through posting of the Council agenda in public places, on the City’s web page, and publication of the general business/public hearing items in the San Jose Mercury News.

Staff recommends Alternative No. 1, that Council adopt the amended Legislative Policy on Council Recognition.