Governmental Process Committee seeks feedback to boost quorum and streamline commissions

City staff presented a request from the Governmental Process Committee (GPC) for feedback from all city boards and commissions on how to improve engagement and reduce cancelled meetings due to lack of quorum. Staff described the GPC as a council‑level committee that examines municipal governance processes and asked the Commission on the Deaf to submit recommendations.

The GPC’s guiding questions — summarized by staff from the meeting packet — included whether the number and scope of boards and commissions is appropriate, whether membership sizes are optimized for functionality, whether there are opportunities to consolidate overlapping work, and whether a standard governance framework should be created. The packet asked commissioners to consider overlap with other bodies (for example, the Human Relations Commission) and to think about representation by ward.

Staff said the process is informational and not a voteable item for this meeting. Commissioners were told they could provide written feedback by email to the staff liaison (Daisy) and were invited to attend the GPC meetings, which meet monthly. The packet included a deadline for submission of recommendations (noted elsewhere in the meeting packet as 5 p.m. Friday, June 6, for certain items). The commission discussed practical options for off‑line brainstorming that would not violate the Brown Act, and staff advised commissioners that small groups (five members or fewer) may meet for discussion as long as they do not achieve quorum.

No formal action was taken; staff will compile feedback for the GPC.