[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6592202,"mediaKeyId","2905210-160f16ce23afa9b525fd8710ea298c7f","parentId",2905210,"title","Council committee adopts new thresholds for boards and commissions interview selection","audioSeconds",637,"startMs",10123000,"endMs",10760000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2905210-160f16ce23afa9b525fd8710ea298c7f&start=10123&end=10760","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2905210-160f16ce23afa9b525fd8710ea298c7f/thumbnail_10123000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6592202/Palo-Alto/Santa-Clara-County/California/Council-committee-adopts-new-thresholds-for-boards-and-commissions-interview-selection","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6592202-66353aab413a3afc49ccc8169a1b40d0/orig.mp4?Expires=1771207344&Signature=EpwJ0tXEPqwJIB1zuHjUSIjVYwbKMqq26wfp-HLGGSpxnA-Jo~aVGWEXhh2C00VEQtDLY3und6uNSKiAahj3L93u3cAfo96IsRu-W~NqX04J2DCa7r05fgLBZotkTwPtP~r-dsc2UecXN8JXanGA5Gp2WDbUyTpx-a6WfNgKtW0NgOS3vYFkuJ0TkMJngPOv-pVqbFVg5uLyiSKF7hIrfgAY1HChVt9a3oQ19KkNVYIDu~Kr9F80TYu6lRubQSF8zttMfj7hQV46CMb-PBJp2V6W9Dxu0VGTVITONV5a5JVqOGk3SU86L7LjL0LpSHntmRwmJgjGts2A-0UOh~LLtA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Palo Alto","date","2025-04-09T04:27:00.513Z","article","The Policy & Services Committee on April 8 approved a new, more-prescriptive process for selecting which applicants will be invited to interviews for city boards, commissions and committees.

Deputy City Clerk Francesca Reyes presented four options and supplemental methods for the committee to consider and noted staff proposed a fail-safe that would allow the mayor to adjust the method for anomalies or special recruitments. The goal, Reyes said, was to provide predictability for applicants and reduce ad-hoc variations in practice.

After discussion, committee members agreed on a hybrid approach to balance applicant volume and staff/council time. The method the committee adopted (staff to finalize precise wording) can be summarized as:

- If there are six or fewer applicants for a vacancy or set of vacancies, staff will invite all applicants with a complete application to interview.
- If there are more than six applicants, council members will cast votes to identify candidates to interview. The committee agreed on a scaling cap (for example: up to 6 interviewees when there are 1\u0000\u0000or 2 vacancies, up to 8\u0000\u0000or 9 for 3 vacancies, up to 10\u0000\u0000or 12 for 4 vacancies); staff will finalize the exact caps and implement a simple top-vote-winners rule.

Council Member Lou said the objective should be a replicable, nonpolitical, time-efficient and simple process; Council Member Stone emphasized the importance of having a policy the council follows so applicants are treated consistently. Several members stressed that the committee should consider the overall composition of a commission (skills and diversity) when making final selections, though the selection-threshold policy addresses only the interview invitation step.

The committee adopted the approach by voice/roll-call vote; the record shows: Council Member Liu, yes; Chair Vinkar, yes; Council Member Stone, yes. Staff will return with cleaned, actionable language and a final procedure for Council adoption.

Ending: Reyes said staff will prepare final ordinance/administrative language and the mayoral fail-safe language, and return the item to Council once the draft procedure is polished.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Policy and Services Committee Meeting - April 8, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Policy & Services adopted a selection process standardizing how many applicants are invited to interviews: if 6 or fewer applicants, interview all; if more, council members will vote and the top candidates up to a set cap (6/8/10 depending on vacancies) will be invited; motion passed unanimously.","taxTitle","Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, California","taxId",3867,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6592205,"Committee reviews staff——positions on housing, Brown Act, energy and tourism taxes; asks for clearer process",1183,5717000,6900000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2905210-160f16ce23afa9b525fd8710ea298c7f&start=5717&end=6900","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2905210-160f16ce23afa9b525fd8710ea298c7f/thumbnail_5717000.jpg","/articles/6592205/Palo-Alto/Santa-Clara-County/California/Committee-reviews-staffpositions-on-housing-Brown-Act-energy-and-tourism-taxes-asks-for-clearer-process","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6592205-19876ec81555e2e6c4c28c6151b5a80c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771207344&Signature=UKvfJOSHBxQLZNH1dUJ0F9mY4lnnDPldJ5sigNl2EKyD1ytE6MbicIXWibNfhcUYfXFRRKkruHxYeFdcy3dml4-x2mT-elGS7PvmFJxJTINx8~3G0M0wpQfIWKpd6CS2rV1rG1JmVLQByYrbE-4pH8GLfU11VCnE~kt06m6QezqOm1leIzGpRZotGBQmoQjZ00wQwF-WcWp8BqaOosVn5qdO-rLVrq7iCdSFMciVoSXDMPc2zz~97bGKYaBNsOAm1RNuU6k1pTQ3ndVuFUjcgBFJ0YRIshBQC2iSYf77W9qYKPuVSukx9DRXFWTDwmo6kQM69qkHGlLu2-otL6DLPQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City staff and the city's Sacramento lobby team briefed the Policy & Services Committee on April 8 about recommended positions on several state bills and on broader monitoring and advocacy priorities.

Carly Shelby, senior associate at Townsend Public Affairs, reviewed a set of bills the city is tracking and staff-recommended positions that align with the Council's legislative guidelines. Shelby said staff recommended early support for a muralist licensing exemption to keep artists out of state contractor licensing rules (Senate Bill 45056), and said the city endorsed Brown Act teleconferencing flexibility measures that would preserve or extend remote participation options for councils and advisory bodies. She also flagged a local-transient-occupancy-tax enforcement bill to require short-term-rental platform reporting of listing identifiers to cities and grant audit authority; staff recommended support for that measure.

Shelby and staff recommended opposing AB 306, a proposal that would impose a statewide moratorium from June 1, 2025 to June 1, 2031 on adoption of new state and local residential building standards in many cases; staff said the measure would constrain local reach codes and local climate and energy standards and therefore recommended an oppose position.

Public commenters addressed related issues. Debbie Meitels, a local advocate with Fossil Free Buildings of Silicon Valley, thanked the committee for opposing AB 306 and urged the city to press for amendments that would provide incentives or expedited permitting to encourage all-electric rebuilds in areas recovering from wildfire. Resident John Melenchuk urged the city's lobby team to help expedite local quiet-zone paperwork for the rail corridor. Jennifer (last name not stated) urged greater transparency about committee/subcommittee outcomes and suggested that federal lobbying could address airport noise and Airport Improvement Program policy.

Committee members asked staff for additional organization and transparency. Chair Vinkar and members said the packet contained many tracked bills but not an easily searchable list of items staff recommended the committee consider; they asked staff to return with a succinct list of proposed positions and to confirm coordination with other municipal partners and associations (for example on energy/ISO-related bills). Several council members requested a deeper briefing on a subset of climate- and energy-related bills (staff suggested that a narrower follow-up at Policy & Services or the Climate & Environment Committee could be scheduled).

The committee voted to ask staff to update and return with the city's advocacy process manual; the motion passed unanimously (Council Member Stone, yes; Council Member Liu, yes; Chair Vinkar, yes).

Ending: Staff said they will continue to monitor Sacramento and Washington activities, advised the committee there is uncertainty in the budget outlook affecting grant funding, and outlined next steps to produce a shorter list of bills for committee review and to follow up on climate-related measures and CEQA/permitting bills.","Staff outlined recommended positions on a slate of state bills (support for muralist exemption and Brown Act flexibility, oppose AB 306 moratorium on building-standard changes); committee asked staff to return with a clearer advocacy-process manual and to brief climate-related bills in greater depth.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6592206,"Committee extends audit task-order deadlines to finish work begun in FY24–FY25",514,5241000,5755000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2905210-160f16ce23afa9b525fd8710ea298c7f&start=5241&end=5755","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2905210-160f16ce23afa9b525fd8710ea298c7f/thumbnail_5241000.jpg","/articles/6592206/Palo-Alto/Santa-Clara-County/California/Committee-extends-audit-task-order-deadlines-to-finish-work-begun-in-FY24FY25","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6592206-b32341abcae75624a5a8d83e5c05916b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771207344&Signature=ORQ2vrLPOEY6abd9exv5F2sXL4zYGwUQGmNx4v7A-vQJGKM4KZMBw4bhTmMJW2XnCtKlI85vV3TZHKVdWZPfHbCkGoyJZB9FhORyIlNPy0co8mB-r1O-Pf1FvBZTfmeOVMYaBcjYWDnjwXOnnInzzbmUDsFbUa6oyRjxRFXyxYStA3xCt1Q6LuYWd5cLEKN005p-3iJj9KlFindaMWQ-~pBFIdzdW-rzHP9wffaxWaCmYBWkOyobvHXpnCEU6EKz6Uzymrqu6bASbvBxAaeyyBE-JPbN2uhcUGVteYggTM-9UAAtZ5GrH~EyEC9LU3dCC11PNj93JY~p6vzjRIXFUw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Policy & Services Committee on April 8 approved staff recommendations to extend deadlines for several audit task orders so ongoing audits can be completed.

City Auditor Kate Murdock explained the FY24 task orders technically expired at December 2024 while some work continued afterward; staff proposed extending FY24 task orders to 06/30/2025 and extending FY25 task orders from 06/30/2025 to 10/31/2025 to allow finishing reports and back-and-forth with management.

Murdock said leadership changes in the audit office and compressed timing for FY24 work contributed to schedule pressure: \"we effectively did two years' worth of audits in about one year,\" she explained, adding that FY26 audits will begin in July with a full year to complete them. Deputy City Manager and other staff noted that multiple concurrent audits place a demand on operational departments that must respond to information requests.

The committee approved the extensions on a roll call vote: Council Member Stone, yes; Council Member Liu, yes; Chair Vinkar, yes. Council Member Stone moved the staff recommendation and it was seconded. Committee members asked staff to avoid repeated multi-audit overlaps and said staff will begin FY26 work with a more typical schedule.

Ending: Staff said the extensions have no fiscal impact and are intended to allow the completion and proper review of audits that began under the FY24 and FY25 plans.","Policy & Services approved staff recommendation to extend several FY24 audit task orders through June 30, 2025 and FY25 task orders through October 31, 2025 to allow completion of audits including the wildfire audit.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6592207,"Palo Alto audit finds strong wildfire preparedness but urges clearer outreach, plan updates",772,1456000,2228000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2905210-160f16ce23afa9b525fd8710ea298c7f&start=1456&end=2228","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2905210-160f16ce23afa9b525fd8710ea298c7f/thumbnail_1456000.jpg","/articles/6592207/Palo-Alto/Santa-Clara-County/California/Palo-Alto-audit-finds-strong-wildfire-preparedness-but-urges-clearer-outreach-plan-updates","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6592207-76a4e6fb93183f43003fe14d4f124bf2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771207344&Signature=BPBCosjR36xHtBVDwV1OT-ElzNlrN2TLo5r3vvWV5LEUUlLRPsX~an0nGyVImZSj4ZNNYXQfl8Njsgjj6ca2MHZX-~hzFDybfWkt9XLc7pwYK9iVtpngUOGr~DULF3nJVXsxtmabWVR7mbAt0MSpNgHrQUIr~W18qZ119AO-~56MfCvmmn1qY~GHnXcZKcgsL~WUKXQkEoFvQmuhDpZR9fgNIBIgT-dluPvInTTXi0zvWgSMC76fWuiX~QEjHXgvEbbywmXwAsEcLKR1jHzTr1vuGfqGd~YVNAyhefIAtkH-brXoPnPaZD6mhX28bpOoT1s8SZtUUqyuZzlRLtezZA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Policy & Services Committee on April 8 considered the Office of the City Auditor\u0000\u0000Emergency Preparedness: Wildfire Audit and voted to forward the audit to the full City Council with staff responses.

The audit, presented remotely by City Auditor Kate Murdock, examined whether the city is working to prevent wildfires and is adequately prepared to respond as part of its emergency management plan. Murdock said the audit assessed the city's efforts against guidance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and CAL FIRE.

Murdock said the review found that Palo Alto has \"made significant investments\" in prevention and mitigation, noting work begun in 2021 to underground distribution lines in high-risk Foothills wildland-urban interface areas and investments such as forward-looking infrared cameras and localized weather stations. She said the audit focused on prevention, protection and response and recommended improvements in several areas, including community outreach and follow-up on property inspection violations.

Nut graf: The audit praised existing emergency planning and coordination but identified gaps that could affect residents' ability to receive timely information and for staff to track corrective actions. Recommendations included finalizing urban forest and tree technical manuals, improving tracking and enforcement of property inspection violations, pursuing Firewise USA recognition for foothills neighborhoods, formalizing a multiyear contract with CAL FIRE where feasible, and documenting and coordinating a citywide wildfire education and outreach plan.

Committee discussion emphasized staffing, communication and mutual-aid tracking. Fire Chief Geo Blackshire told the committee that recent large wildfires statewide have shifted professional and public thinking from a discrete \"fire season\" to a year-round \"fire calendar,\" and he said the key lesson is heightened \"community awareness\" and better resident notification. Chief Duker, Emergency Services, said the city controls its Emergency Operations Plan and that plan is being updated along with the Community Wildland Protection Plan; he said some county and regional plan updates were delayed by pandemic-era staffing shortages but are now underway.

Murdock highlighted audit findings on inspections: in 2023, 18 homes initially failed WUI property inspections, only three were reinspected, and 26 homes had outstanding violations at year's end. Management told the committee the city is implementing a new tracking system and working with IT for better reporting.

The audit also found that only an estimated 17% of Palo Alto residents were signed up for the county emergency alerting system in 2024 (up from about 15% in 2023), and recommended continued efforts to increase registrations. Staff described multiple notification pathways, including the county's AlertSCC opt-in system, statewide wireless emergency alerts (WEA), third-party apps and door-to-door or vehicle public-address notification as a last resort.

Management largely agreed with the audit recommendations. Assistant City Manager Kylene Osei told the committee the city had added additional contextual material to the staff report and that continued public engagement and planned council briefings will follow. Management \"agreed\" with the first four prevention recommendations and \"partially agreed\" with the last two (Firewise community and formal CAL FIRE contract), noting operational realities in contracting with CAL FIRE.

The committee moved to approve the audit report. The motion passed by roll call: Council Member Stone, yes; Council Member Liu, yes; Chair Vinkar, yes.

The audit report and supporting plans are available on the city's website; the auditor said the audit's study period ran through December 2024 and that some subsequent events occurred after the audit's snapshot period. The committee asked staff to pursue the audit's outreach and tracking recommendations and to return with updates as the city implements changes.

Ending: Staff and committee members said they expect additional public briefings and future agenda items on wildfire preparedness, including updates to the Emergency Operations Plan and community engagement work to increase alert system sign-ups.","City auditor\u0000\u0000found Palo Alto has robust wildfire prevention and response programs but recommended improvements on outreach, tracking inspections and formalizing agreements; committee approved audit and management largely agreed with recommendations.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Council committee adopts new thresholds for boards and commissions interview selection

Committee reviews staff——positions on housing, Brown Act, energy and tourism taxes; asks for clearer process

Committee extends audit task-order deadlines to finish work begun in FY24–FY25

Palo Alto audit finds strong wildfire preparedness but urges clearer outreach, plan updates