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If you are new to I-SEARCH we recommend you begin by reviewing our Setup Guidelines.

About the I-SEARCH Document Collection
About Keyword Searching
Document Search Results
Optimal Settings for your Computer PDF

Agenda Packets
Agenda Reports (Formerly called Staff Reports)
Minutes of a Meeting
Ordinances, Resolutions, Policies

Introductory Video Tutorial     – a segment from City Focus on video (8 min)

ABOUT THE I-SEARCH DOCUMENT COLLECTION

The type and amount of documents available for you to search is growing daily. Please refer to the I-SEARCH-able Content Summary to find out what is available right now and to learn about future content.

ABOUT KEYWORD SEARCHING

As outlined below, when you want to search for more than one word, you need to use special syntax to tell the search engine how to process your search. If you don’t get the results you expected, consult our Trouble Shooting Guide. If you still have questions, please email ecm211@ci.monterey.ca.us describing precisely what you entered and what you expected to see.

If you are interested in finding content with ANY of the words you list, you need to separate your search keywords with the special word OR.
Example – to find items which contain any one or more of the three different words (water, fire, ice) you would enter:

To find content with ALL of these words [in no particular order], you need to separate your search keywords with the word AND.
Example:

To find an exact phrase or title which consists of multiple words in a specific order, you need to enclose that list of words in double quotes ( " " ).In some cases, you might get the same results without the quote marks; but you can not depend on that; search engines link this one or Google try to figure out what you mean if you are not explicit, and my give you unexpected results. Exact match searching is also helpful when searching for specific number combinations (e.g., search for a resolution number, like "97-202").
Example:

To find various forms or spelling of a word you can use a wildcard asterisk ( * ). For example, to find items containing finance or financial or financing and so forth, enter:

Another way to find various forms or spelling of a word is to use a single character wildcard ( ? ). A single character wildcard is different than the asterisk ( * ) in that the single character wildcard replaces only one character. You can use it in the middle or end of a word, and will return documents that match on all the other letters in the word as entered. In this example, appl? will return apply, or apple, not applied, which a regular wildcard would.

To find grammatical variations of a word, you can use stemming ( ~ ). Stemming extends a search to cover grammatical variations of a word. For example, to find variations of apply, like applying, applies and applied, enter:

To narrow down your search to only documents containing a specific word, but not another one, you can use AND NOT. For example, there may be several documents containing Lighthouse and McClellan, but you may only want to see documents that just contain Lighthouse, with no words containing McClellan in the same document.

 

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SEARCH RESULTS

Document search results are returned in reverse chronological order by meeting date. The maximum number of items listed for each type of document is 100. If your results show "100", it is recommended that you refine your search so that you are sure you are retrieving all related documents.

AGENDA PACKETS

• Click on the "Meetings" tab at the top of the I-SEARCH page.
• Select the individual Meeting Type(s) or Select All if applicable. Click on Search.
• When results come up, find your meeting date and click on "Meeting Details” under the Links section. Click the “Agenda Packet-Compiled” PDF icon for the entire Agenda Packet. For just the Agenda itself, click on the “Agenda-Compiled” PDF icon, or select individual supporting materials (agenda reports & attachments).
• To search for a specific Agenda Packet, you can type in a "Keyword(s)", and/or select a "Date Range" for the meeting, and then click on the "Search" button and the results will be displayed.
• "Keyword(s)" searches will bring up specific line items in relevant Agenda Packets. Click on the “+” sign to the left of the Meeting to expand and show individual documents contained within the meeting. The keyword you searched on will be highlighted in the title.

AGENDA REPORTS (Formerly called STAFF REPORTS)

• Click on the "Meetings" tab at the top of the I-SEARCH page. Select the Meeting Type to search for. You may select a specific meeting type or “Select All” and click on Search. When results appear, find your meeting date and click on "Agenda" under the Links section. The Meeting Agenda opens for viewing. Specific items on the Agenda appear as “hotlinks”. Clicking on these “hotlinks” will open the Agenda Report and related attachments.
• To search for a specific Agenda Packet, you can additionally type in "Keyword(s)", and/or select a "Date Range" for the meeting, and then click on the "Search" button and the results will be displayed.
•  "Keyword(s)" searches will bring up specific line items in relevant Agenda Packets. Click on the “+” sign to the left of the Meeting to expand and show individual documents contained within the meeting. The keyword you searched on will be highlighted in the title.

MINUTES OF A MEETING

•  Click on the "Documents" tab at the top of the I-SEARCH page and enter the subject in the "Keyword Search" box, then click on the "Search" button. Results are displayed grouped by document type, showing “All” as a default. To select just Minutes, click on the “View” drop down box, and select “Minutes”.

ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, POLICIES

• Click on the "Documents" tab at the top of the I-SEARCH page and enter a keyword(s) or a number(s) for the Ordinance, Resolution, or Policy in the "Keyword Search" box, then click on the "Search" button. Results are displayed grouped by document type, showing “All” as a default. To select a specific document type, i.e. ordinance or resolution, click on the “View” drop down box, and make the appropriate selection.
• The Monterey City Code (M.C.C.) can be viewed and searched in its entirety by clicking here.

 

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