Joint Rules and Open Government Committee Meeting - May 14, 2025: Agenda Review, Pay-for-Performance Vote, and Public Comment
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Joint Meeting of the Rules and Open Government Committee and Committee of the Whole - May 14, 2025
The joint committee convened at 2:00 PM on May 14, 2025, to review the May 20, 2025 City Council agenda, approve consent calendar items, and consider a proposed Pay for Performance ordinance. After discussion, the committee voted 3-2 to forward the Pay for Performance item to the full City Council for its June 10, 2025, meeting. The meeting adjourned at 2:24 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Public Record for May 1–May 8, 2025 – Received and filed. (Agenda Item B.1)
- Amendment to Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee Work Plan – Approved dropping the “Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention Strategies Annual Status Report” from the June 12, 2025, PSFSS meeting. (Agenda Item B.2)
- Eritrean Flag Raising – Approved as a City Council–sponsored special event on May 19, 2025, including expenditure of funds and acceptance of donations; placed on the May 20, 2025, Council agenda. (Agenda Item B.3)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Blair Beekman – Commented on the public record, noting 18 requests to return to teleconferencing/Zoom for public meetings. He argued that restoring remote access would improve democratic participation and communication, and urged the committee to address hate speech issues constructively. He also praised the Pay for Performance proposal as a form of accountability similar to former Councilmember Deb Davis’s and Mayor Liccardo’s efforts, and suggested that a straight 5% salary cut for elected officials could simplify the process.
- James – Criticized the city’s approach to homelessness, stating that resources are misallocated and that unhoused individuals’ privacy and rights are being violated (e.g., encampment walk-ins). He expressed disappointment in Mayor Matt Mahan’s responses at a recent town hall and demanded equal protections for all residents.
Discussion Items
- Review of May 20, 2025 Final Agenda – Chair Cohen reviewed the agenda items, noting the 8:30 AM start, 11:00 AM regular session, and 3:00 PM study session on wildfire planning. Vice Mayor Foley questioned why a $8.9 million street resurfacing bid contract (Item 5.1) was not on the consent calendar; Assistant City Manager Wilcox explained that contracts over $5 million are required to be on the regular agenda, but the city manager is considering raising the threshold. Foley also asked why land use Item 10.2 (supergraphic sign ordinance) was not scheduled before 1:30 PM; Wilcox replied it was noticed before the early start time was decided. Foley then moved to adopt the agenda, clarifying that Item 10.2 would be heard first after 1:30 PM. The motion carried 5-0.
- Pay for Performance Ordinance (Item C.1) – Vice Mayor Foley, co-author with the Mayor, presented the memo. The proposed ordinance would withhold 5% of the Mayor’s and Councilmembers’ salaries annually and disburse them proportionally based on achievement of predetermined performance metrics tied to the City Council Focus Area Scorecards. The Salary Setting Commission would remain unaffected. The item was scheduled for the June 10, 2025 Council meeting alongside the budget. Councilmember Kamei asked whether it could be brought earlier (e.g., first week of June), but staff indicated the timeline was too tight due to sunshine requirements and budget workload. Councilmember Doan stated he would vote no in principle but agreed the item should move forward. Councilmember Cohen expressed concern about the heavy June 10 agenda (budget hearing, Responsible Shelter, and this item), warning against rushing important policy decisions. Kamei noted the possibility of delaying the item to a later date, but no change was made. After discussion, the committee voted 3-2 to forward the memo to the full Council.
Key Outcomes
- May 20, 2025 Final Agenda – Approved unanimously (5-0) with the understanding that land use Item 10.2 would be heard after 1:30 PM.
- Consent Calendar Items – All three items approved unanimously (5-0).
- Pay for Performance Ordinance – Forwarded to the June 10, 2025, City Council meeting by a vote of 3-2. Councilmembers Foley, Cohen, and Kamei voted in favor; Councilmembers Doan and Candelas voted against.
- Next Meeting – No agenda for May 27, 2025 (cancelled).
- Adjournment – Meeting adjourned at 2:24 PM.
Meeting Transcript
All right, it's two o'clock, so we're gonna call today's meeting of the rules and open government committee to order. Let's start with role, please. Candelas here. Duane. Here. Foley. Kameh. Here. Cohen? We have a quorum. All right, thank you. We have one agenda to review today. It's for our uh meeting on Tuesday, May 20th, scheduled to have a 9 30 closed session and 11 o'clock a.m. early start for regular session with an afternoon study session at 3 o'clock on San Jose wildfire planning. Consent starts on page five and continues on pages six seven eight nine. And ends on page ten. And section three, we have city council policy for seamless transition of elected offices. The community led solutions to domestic violence, but that will be moved to section four, as is shown on the draft agenda. Section five, we have bids and contracts for a major street resurfacing. And section eight, we have an amendment to Muni Code for an entertainment zone related to sporting events in 2026. We also have uh two items on land use consent to be heard immediately after regular consent, and one uh land use item, which will also be heard immediately after consent. Do we have any public comment? No public comment. All right, back to the committee, and I see Vice Mayor Foley's hand is up. Thank you. I have a couple questions about the agenda, actually. Um item number five point one, which is a report on bids and contracts. Is there any reason why we cannot move that to consent? This seems like something we approve on a regular basis, and it's under oh it's eight point eight point nine million. Yeah, that's why that's why. Yeah, it is over the threshold. I know our city manager we're trying to think through right now and possibly issue a manager's budget addendum where we do look at some of these thresholds. Okay, um, specific to the manager as well as the city attorney and possibly bring new thresholds forward so some of this can go on consent, or the city attorney has more flexibility and settlement. Uh frankly, when I when I suggested you saw the number eight ninety. I saw the 897 and I thought, why is that here? But now I see it's 8.9. We yes, so we currently have a practice of if it is uh five million and over, it's on the regular agenda. Um but there are there are definitely issues like this, or as well as some of our energy purchasing, which is gonna be well over this, but is somewhat routine in nature, absolutely. Okay, I'm I'm uh alternatively perhaps there's a procedure by which we could pre-approve the concept of certain spending for roads if we know that there's regular contracts, and then those can get put on consent when the contracts come through. Just on the think about okay, just as something to think about in the future. The other question I had is on uh the land use item 10.2, which is the uh supergraphic sign ordinance. Our agenda appears like it might move fairly quickly. Why is this scheduled not to be heard before 1.30 if council starting at 11? I believe that's when it was noticed, and because it's a land use item, we needed to keep it there. It was noticed before we decided to do an 11 a.m. start time. Okay, all right. Uh given that, then I will move the approval of the agenda. Well, I do have a question on that. Thank you for the motion and second.
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