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About
the City Government
General Law City
Brentwood is a general law city, restricted to the exercise of powers
specifically outlined in the State Government Code.
This is in contrast with a charter city whose broad range of powers
are locally set by an original charter voted by the city's electorate.
City Council - City Manager
Form of Government
The City of Brentwood has a
City Council-City Manager form of government.
Under this form of government, the Brentwood City Council is the
legislative body responsible for setting City policy and adopting the
City budget. The Brentwood electorate elects the
Mayor who serves a two-year term and
four members of the City Council who serves four-year terms at-large.
Elections are held in November of even-numbered years.
The City Council members also serve as the Brentwood Redevelopment
Agency.
The City Council appoints the
City Manager, who is the administrative head of the city government
and serves as the Executive Director of the Redevelopment Agency.
The City Manager advises and makes recommendations to the City
Council concerning any conditions or situations that require Council direction
or policy determination and prepares the recommended budget for consideration
and approval by the City Council.
Redevelopment Agency
The Brentwood Redevelopment
Agency is the governmental body responsible for directing and overseeing
the goals and objectives of the City's Redevelopment Plans.
In accordance with California Community Redevelopment Law, the
objectives of the Redevelopment Plans are to eliminate economic, social,
physical, and visual blight, provide for economic revitalization, preserve
and improve existing residential areas, establish a more beneficial mix
of land uses and restore the public infrastructure. To further these objectives,
the Agency implements programs to improve the quality of existing housing,
build new low and moderate income housing and support the redevelopment
of vacant and underutilized or deteriorated properties within the Redevelopment
Project Areas.
Understanding the City Council Agenda
Consent Calendar:
All matters listed under this section are considered to be routine and
will be acted upon by one motion.
There is no discussion of individual items on the Consent Calendar
unless requested by a member of the Council or the public prior to the
Council vote on this section of the agenda.
Citizen Comments:
This is a point in the Council meeting where anyone in the audience may
communicate with the Council about matters that are not on the agenda. Persons
addressing the City Council are required to limit their remarks to five
(5) minutes. You should file
your name and address with the Mayor on the form provided at the podium.
Speakers desiring answers to questions should direct it to the Council and,
if relevant, the Council may direct it to the appropriate staff member.
As it is not legal for the Council to discuss any matter not on the
agenda, any issue brought up under Citizen’s Comments will typically
be referred to staff or an advisory body and come back to the Council as
a regular agenda item.
Appeals:
Appeals to the City Council of decisions made by advisory boards and commissions
must be submitted in writing to the City Clerk within ten days of the
board commission action.
Public Hearings:
Persons who wish to speak on matters set for public hearing will be heard
when the Mayor calls for comments from the audience in support or opposition
to an issue. Persons addressing the Council are asked to file their name
and address with the Mayor on the form provided at the podium. The Council
may adopt reasonable regulations at the onset of the public hearing to
facilitate public testimony. These regulations may include time limits.
In the absence of such regulations, the public hearing shall follow the
protocol for Citizen Comments. After all interested parties
have spoken, the hearing will be closed and the matter will be discussed
and acted upon by the Council. No further comment is permitted from
the audience at this time, unless invited by the Council.
Matters Initiated
by Council: Issues related to Council projects or priorities are
handled under this section of the agenda. Typically, items appearing
in this section are reviewed and discussed by the Council and the appropriate
action taken.
Redevelopment Agency:
The Redevelopment Agency is a separate body of the City of Brentwood,
but is comprised of the City Council members. The Agency Board oversees
redevelopment activities. Agency business appears on the Redevelopment
Agency agenda and Agency meetings are usually convened immediately after
adjournment of City Council meetings.
Meeting Procedures
Quorum:
At least three Council members must be present in order to conduct a City
Council meeting.
Ordinance:
An ordinance is a legislative act, a local law. It normally requires
two readings at separate Council meetings and becomes effective thirty
days after Council approves the second reading. It may be repealed
only by another ordinance.
Resolution:
The Council adopts resolutions to approve a policy or direct certain action.
Only one reading is required and it can be changed by a subsequent resolution.
Motion:
A motion is used to signify majority approval of procedural action or
to authorize action on routine items of business. A motion may also
direct City staff regarding administrative matters.
Referral:
If the Council thinks more information is needed on any item, it may refer
that item to City staff or an advisory commission, board or committee
for review and recommendation.
Workshop:
At workshops, the Council conducts informal and typically more in-depth
discussion of specific issues. Workshops are public meetings; however,
no official action may be taken by the Council at a workshop.
Closed Session:
The Council may hold a closed session to discuss specific litigation or
personnel matters. These are the only sessions that may be closed
to the public and press for confidentiality reasons.
Participating in Council
Meetings
Citizens may speak
on items of public interest that are within the jurisdiction of the City
Council, after being recognized by the Mayor. If comments related
to matters that appear on the agenda, those comments should be made when
that item is discussed. For non-agenda items, comments should be
made under “Citizen Comments.” Remarks made under “Citizen
Comments” are limited to five (5) minutes. To address the City
Council, the speaker must step up to the podium, state his/her name and
address and speak into the microphone. If a group wishes to address
the Council, the Mayor may request that a spokesperson be chosen by that
group.
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