City of Sunnyvale

The Study Issue Process is designed to assist City Council with setting priorities for the coming calendar year. Study Issues are issues proposed for future study that have been generated by Council, Boards and Commissions or staff. Throughout the calendar year each proposed issue is submitted through established procedures from department, to City Manager, to related Boards and Commissions and finally, to Council for review and ranking. Each department then plans its workload for the coming year based on how the Council ranks the issues that have been brought forward at the annual December Study Issues Workshop.

The Study Issue Process is continual, with City departments submitting study issue papers to the City Clerk, after review by the City Attorney and Finance, throughout the entire year, with the majority of the activities occurring in the fall.

In November, a public hearing is held to gather public comment and is an opportunity for the Boards and Commissions to address the Council on their issues. The Council at this time can introduce new issues based on public comment and also request that issue papers be revised.

In December, Council holds the Study Issues Workshop. At the workshop, the Directors present the issues and the Council has the option to drop, defer or rank the issues. Based on these rankings, a Tentative Council Meeting Agenda Calendar is prepared for the next calendar year and is presented for Council approval in mid-January.

This Calendar includes all of the new issues and continued issues that were not completed during the previous year, as well as events that affect the Council's schedule, such as Council meetings, the State of the City, National Night Out, conferences, routine/mandatory items, cancelled meetings, etc.

Below is information and direction specific to issues based on how the Study Issues arise.

When a Councilmember sponsors an issue: The responsible department has two weeks to prepare the Study Issue paper in conjunction with the City Attorney and Finance, and submit it to the City Clerk, who submits it to the City Manager for approval. After the City Manager has approved and signed it, the respective Board or Commission will review the issue paper(s) together if it falls under their purview in order to rank them. These rankings are included in the documentation that Council reviews at the December workshop.

When a Board or Commission sponsors an issue: Staff liaison should annually provide an overview of the Study Issue process to the Board/Commission. As potential Study Issues arise throughout the year from the Board/Commission, staff should prepare a Study Issue paper for review by the City Attorney and Finance and submission to the City Clerk, who submits it to the City Manager for approval prior to bringing the issue paper to the Board/Commission. As scheduled in the individual Board/Commission workplans, Study Issue papers signed by the City Manager will be revisited by the Board/Commission for voting and ranking by the end of October. Only Study Issues that have received formal approval by majority vote of the Board/Commission should be submitted to Council for ranking. All approved Study Issue papers and final rankings shall be included in the Workshop binder used for the November public hearing and December workshop.

When staff sponsors an issue: Staff submits the Study Issue document after review by the City Attorney and Finance to the City Clerk, who submits it to the City Manager for approval. In all Study Issue papers, staff notes its recommendation to be considered in the Council reviews at the December workshop.