Opinion: Who Is In-Charge at the Irvine Commissions, Commissioners or Staff?
Control of Commission Agendas
Does anyone have any insight into how Irvine commission agendas were handled in the past and how they are handled now?
My impression is that in the past Irvine Commissioners were in charge of what goes on the commission agendas and what would not make an agenda. However, my current impression is that Irvine Staff controls what goes on an agenda and what gets left behind. In addition, Staff seems to often ignore the Commissioners when the Commissioners say that they want items to go on upcoming agendas. Although I do think that Staff works hard, Staff currently seems dismissive of the Commissioners and what they want on an agendas. In addition, I have heard the term arrogant used when describing the way Staff treats the Commissioners.
Cases in Point
Following are some example of Staff being non-responsive to Commissioners:
June 8, 2023
At the June 8, 2023 Commission Services Commission meeting (starting at ~21:20), Commissioner Kelly Rogers (former Treseder appointee) and Commissioner Naz Hamid (Kim appointee) asked that Staff schedule a report on artificial turf use in Irvine for an upcoming Community Services meeting. In fact, a staff member also suggested this. However, to date, Staff has not delivered a report on this to the Community Services Commission.
In addition, City Manager Chi said a while back at a Green Ribbon Committee meeting (currently the Irvine Sustainability Commission) that such a report would be made available. To date, no such information has come back to the Green Ribbon Committee or the Irvine Sustainability Commission.
Note: At different times, various Irvine staff members have said that they are waiting to get results from studies that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) are working on. However, Staff has also stated that these reports will provide data only, not an analysis of the data. That being the case, the data is out there and Staff could have obtained it without waiting on these other government organizations. This is particularly relevant since it has been a couple of years now that different Irvine staff members have said that this information on artificial turf would be presented to various Irvine commissions. Also, Staff has been advancing various artificial turf projects without waiting for any EPA and OEHHA reports.
July 19, 2023
At the July 19, 2023 Community Services Commission meeting (at ~2:21:00 to 2:25:50) , Commissioner Soha Vazirnia (Khan appointee), commented on Staff’s lack of coordination with the Commissioners on agenda items. She also commented that Staff did not bring back items to the commission meetings in a timely way. These items included Commissioner Vazirnia requests for updates on the following projects:
- Sweet Shade Park
“We would like more solid information on that…. It’s been awhile.”— Commissioner Vazirnia - Shade Structure at Bill Barber
“We would like to know the status on that.”— Commissioner Vazirnia - Heritage Community Center
“I haven’ heard back anything on that.”— Commissioner Vazirnia - Gas-Lawn Equipment Ordinance
Paraphrase of Commissioner Vazirnia’s comment: I know that there was supposed to be a presentation on this, but Staff cancelled this without consultation with Commissioners. The Community Services Commission has discussed this with the Green Ribbon Environmental Committee in 2020. I wanted to bring up items related to this, but Staff removed these items without my knowledge. Staff has cancelled presentations and removed items.
February 4, 2024
On February 4, 23024, Sustainability Commissioner Allison (Kim appointee) told Staff that he would like to see an update on a project at a Great Park in which Staff plans on using artificial turf for landscaping. In addition, this topic was brought up in November 2023, but it is unclear to me if the any of the Sustainability Commissioners directly asked Staff to put this on the agenda at that time. To date, Staff has not brought this back to the Sustainability Commission.
April 3, 2024
At the April 3, 2024 Community Services Commission meeting (starting at ~ 1:01:00), Commissioner Soha Vazirnia (Khan appointee) asked staff for an update on Irvine’s new lawn equipment ordinance. At that time, Vazirnia said to Staff. “I have been asking for this for several months.”
Irvine City Council Members Should Backup Their Commissioners
The Irvine City Council members should make it clear to Staff that it is the Council Members who have ultimate control on what goes on a city council agenda, and, by extension, commission agendas should be controlled by the City Council appointed Commissioners. Of course, Council Members and Commissioners should coordinate with Staff, but in the end the Council Members/Commissioner should have the final say.
This would mean that the when Commissioners say that they want something on an agenda, Staff must put it on the agenda. Again, the Commissioners should coordinate with Staff, but in the end the Commissioners should have the final say. The Mayor has the most responsibility to see that this happens. However, all Council Members have a responsibility to back up their Commissioners on this issue. Again, ultimately the Staff answers to the Irvine council members. Staff should also be answering to Commissioners, not the other way around.
Where Are the Due Dates?
Currently, Staff rarely gives a commitment date to bring back items that the Commissioners say they want brought back. Instead, Staff usually gives a vague answer along the lines of: We will bring it back in a timely manner. However, the examples above suggest that this is often not the case.
Commissioners should ask for a due date from Staff for each item Commissioners want to come back to their commission. If Staff says they cannot give a due date at that time for whatever reason, the Commissioner should ask Staff for the date that Staff will provide a due date. A date-for-a-date is a shortcut term that is sometimes used to refer to this. Then the Commissioners should be sure to follow up on that date to get a firm due date. I have seen this used in the business as an effective way to hold those involved accountable.
In any case, items that are suppose to come back to the Commissions need firm due dates. Also, Council Members should back up their Commissioners on this by insisting Staff comply with Commissioners agenda choices.
Summing Up What is Needed Going Forward
- Commissioners not Staff are in charge of what goes on commission agendas. Of course, Staff can negotiate agenda items with Commissioners, but Commissioners have the final say.
- Staff provides the commissions with due dates for items that Commissioners say that they want to return to that commission.
- City Council Members support their Commissioners by insisting that their Commissioners have ultimate say on what goes on commission agendas.
- Staff attaches reports to each item on each agenda item.
