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HomeMy WebLinkAboutD-3 Staff Report - Discussion Re Rotational Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem PolicySCHEDULED ITEM D-3 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL VIA: SERGIO GONZALEZ, CITY MANAGER FROM: MARCO A. MARTINEZ, CITY ATTORNEY DATE: JUNE 17, 2024 SUBJECT: DISCUSSION & DIRECTION REGARDING POLICY FOR ANNUAL SELECTION OF MAYOR AND MAYOR PRO TEM BACKGROUND: Early this year, the City Council adopted Resolutions and Ordinances to transition from its current at-large electoral system to a by-district electoral system. The district system that was selected included 5 voting districts spread out through the City and eliminates the position of a directly- elected Mayor. The first election under that system will occur in November of this year. As a result, the City Council directed that we bring back an item discussing the implementation of a rotational Mayor system that provides each councilmember an opportunity to serve as Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem. The purpose of this agenda item is to seek direction from the City Council concerning the rotational Mayor/Mayor Pro Tem policy it wishes to adopt. RECOMMENDATIONS: It is recommended the City Council review the City’s existing Mayor Pro Tem selection policy and additional sample policies from other cities and provide direction concerning a proposed Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem Selection Policy to be adopted by Resolution at a future meeting. DISCUSSION: Resolution No. 2023-C07 provides instructions for the current selection of the Mayor Pro Tem (attached). It provides, in part, as follows: “Selection Criteria. Annually, at the City Council meeting on the third Monday in January, the mayor pro tem shall be that council member with the greatest seniority, which has not previously served as mayor pro tem. However, if such council member does not accept the nomination for mayor pro tem, then the next most senior council member, which has not Approved City Council June 17, 2024 Discussion: Rotational Mayor June 17, 2024 Page 2 yet served as mayor pro tem, shall be offered the position of mayor pro tem. However, if two or more councilmembers qualify for the position of mayor pro tem by virtue of having equal seniority, then that council member who received the highest number of votes in the November General City Election shall be the mayor pro tern. Selection Criteria in the Event All Have Served. If all council members have previously served as mayor pro tem, then the mayor pro tem shall be that councilmember with the greatest seniority. If such councilmember does not accept the nomination for mayor pro tem, then the next most senior councilmember shall be offered the position of mayor pro tem. However, if two or more council members qualify for the position of mayor pro tem by virtue of having equal seniority, then that council member who received the highest number of votes in the November General City Election shall be the mayor pro tem.” Thus, one option for the Council is to simply adopt a policy that implements this same approach for both the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem. We researched the rotational mayor policies of other cities and provide these for comparison. For example, the policy adopted by the City of Murrieta is similar to Azusa’s but requires the Mayor to have served for at least two (2) years on the City Council and one (1) year as Mayor Pro Tem. The Mayor Pro Tem is required to have served at least one (1) year on the City Council. The policy adopted by the City of Saratoga requires the establishment of a mayoral (and vice mayoral) queue of no more than four (4) members based on the number of votes received in the most recent election. Other policies we reviewed use some variation of both tenure and votes received. Finally, we have included a copy of the current Council Protocols and Procedures (Resolution No. 2022-C09) as it will likely be necessary to amend the provisions to remain consistent with the new policies. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact. Prepared by: Reviewed by: Marco A. Martinez Sergio Gonzalez City Attorney City Manager Attachments: 1. Azusa Resolution No. 2023-C07 2. Sample Policies: City of Murrieta and City of Saratoga RESOLUTION NO. 2023-C07 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING AND RESTATING RESOLUTION NO. 10- C20 CONCERNING THE SELECTION CRITERIA AND TERM OF THE MAYOR PRO TEM. BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Azusa as follows: SECTION 1. That the City Council of the City of Azusa hereby amends Resolution No. 10-C20 in its entirety and adopts the following mayor pro tern selection criteria and term of office. (1) Intent. The primary intent of this Resolution is to ensure that the city's mayor pro tern is selected on objective criteria. Criteria such as seniority and public support as expressed in the number of votes received in an election are to be used as the basis for selecting the mayor pro tern. It is the Council's intent to ensure that each council member serving on the Council receives the opportunity to serve as mayor pro tern at least once during his or her four-year term as a council member. (2) Selection Criteria. Annually, at the City Council meeting on the third Monday in January, the mayor pro tern shall be that council member with the greatest seniority, which has not previously served as mayor pro tern. However, if such council member does not accept the nomination for mayor pro tern, then the next most senior council member, which has not yet served as mayor pro tern, shall be offered the position of mayor pro tern. However, if two or more councilmembers qualify for the position of mayor pro tern by virtue of having equal seniority, then that council member who received the highest number of votes in the November General City Election shall be the mayor pro tern. (3) Selection Criteria in the Event All Have Served. If all council members have previously served as mayor pro tern, then the mayor pro tern shall be that councilmember with the greatest seniority. If such councilmember does not accept the nomination for mayor pro tern, then the next most senior councilmember shall be offered the position of mayor pro tern. However, if two or more council members qualify for the position of mayor pro tern by virtue of having equal seniority, then that council member who received the highest number of votes in the November General City Election shall be the mayor pro tern. (4) Term. Mayors Pro Tern shall serve from January until January of each year succeeding year. A new successor shall be selected on the third Monday in January of every year. Notwithstanding this section, the mayor pro tern shall continue to serve until his or her successor takes office. SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution. Attachment 1 PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 6^’’ day of February, 2023. £> Roberf^Gonz^fe Mayor ATTEST: ity Clerk STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES CITY OF AZUSA ) ) ss. ) I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution No. 2023-C07 was duly adopted by the City Council, at a regular meeting of said Agency held on the day of February 2023, by the following vote of the Council: COUNCILMEMBERS: GONZALES, ALVAREZ, AVILA, MENDEZ, BECKWITH COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE AYES: NOES: ABSENT: C ornejo, Jr. y / APPROVED AS TO FORM: IBest, BesK& Krieger, L(LP City Attorney RESOLUTION NO. 16- 3517 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MURRIETA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 14-3301, RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, REGARDING ROTATION OF PRESIDING OFFICERS AND CEREMONIAL TRANSITION OF OFFICERS WHEREAS, Section 2.04.040 of the Municipal Code requires that the City Council adopt Rules of Procedure (the "Rules") to govern the conduct of its meetings and any of its other functions and activities, and regulations pertaining thereto; and WHEREAS, Resolution No. 10-2571, adopted on August 3, 2010, amended Resolution No. 07- 1778, related to the process for selection of presiding officers to insure experience of the meeting chair, to provide continuity for City Council, and to equitably share the burden and responsibility of the position of meeting chair; and WHEREAS, Resolution No. 13-3052, adopted on February 19, 2013, re-established the Rules in their entirety; with improved meeting efficiency by consolidating Governing Body Announcements with Governing Body Actions/Comments near the end of the meeting; moving Department/Commission Announcements to follow Governing Body Announcements/Actions/Comments near the end of the meeting; and moving Consent Calendar to follow the public comments, rather than at a time specific, potentially allowing public hearings to be heard earlier. It also repealed Resolutions Nos. 07-1778, 08-1922, 08-1975, 08-2116, and 10-2571; and WHEREAS, Resolution No. 13-3167, adopted on November 5, 2013, amended the rules of procedure with revisions to sections 3.14, 4.6, 4.8, 5.1, 5.6, 6.1, and 8.1 regarding closed sessions/workshops, public participation, required votes, and Brown Act updates; and WHEREAS, Resolution No. 14-3202, adopted on March 20, 2014, amended the rules of procedure with revisions to section 2.8 by eliminating one (individual research/report) of three options for City Council Members to place an item on the agenda; and WHEREAS, Resolution No. 14-3301, adopted on October 21, 2014, amended the rules of procedure to include Department Reports toward the beginning of the agenda and re- established the rules in their entirety; and WHEREAS, on January 19, 2016, the City Council provided direction to amend the rules of procedure by eliminating Section 3.1.3.3 regarding placing members elected in 2010 and thereafter at the end of the rotational queue and providing for ceremonial transition of officers at the meeting following their selection. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Murrieta that Resolution No. 14-3301, Adopting Rules of Procedure for City Council Meetings, and particularly Section 3 Presiding Officers, be amended to read as follows: 3. PRESIDING OFFICERS 3.1. PRESIDING OFFICERS: Attachment 2 The Mayor shall be the Presiding Officer at all meetings of the Council. In the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tern shall preside. In the absence of both the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tern, the Council shall elect a temporary Presiding Officer until the arrival of the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tern or until adjournment. In accordance with Elections Code Section 10411 and 15400, the Council shall meet following receipt of the statement of election results and declare those nominated or elected to office and the results of any measures. Annually, at the first regular meeting in December, the 'Council shall choose one of its Members as Mayor and one as Mayor Pro Tern. The ceremony for the transition of officers shall occur at the regular meeting following the selection of officers (typically the second meeting in December). The Mayor and Mayor Pro tam shall be determined according to the following: 3.1.1. Qualifications for Presiding Officers 3.1.1.1. The Mayor shall have served •at least two years on the City Council. 3.1.1.2. The Mayor shall have served as Mayor Pro Tern at some time prior to serving as Mayor, with normal progression being from Mayor Pro Tern to Mayor. 3.1.1.3. The Mayor Pro Tern shall have served at least one year on the City Council. 3.1.2. Term of Position as Presiding Officers 3.1.2.1. The term of office of Mayor shall be one year. 3.1.2.2. The term of office of Mayor Pro Tern shall be one year. 3.1.3. Rotation into Presiding Officer Positions 3.1.3.1. The Mayor shall be the most senior City Council Member who has not served as Mayor, or if all City Council Members have served as Mayor, the City Council Member who has not served as Mayor for the longest period of time, • providing the Qualifications for Presiding Officers have been met. 3.1.3.2. The Mayor Pro Tern shall be the most senior City Council Member who has not served as Mayor Pro Tem, or if all City Council Members have served as Mayor Pro Tern, the City Council Member who has not served as Mayor Pro Tern for the longest period of time, providing the Qualifications for Presiding Officers have been met. 3.1.3.3. Omitted. 2b8b9f7d-34132-45f1-9c175-d75cb10d7483 2 of 3 PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 16 th day of Febru nterim City Clerk 3.1.3.4. In the event two or more members are newly elected at the same election, the rotation shall be based on the member with the highest number of votes received in the municipal election and will continue in descending order of the most votes received. However, Members re-elected to successive terms will remain in the rotation order established with their initial election. 3.1.3.5. Recognizing the responsibility placed on the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, no member shall have the obligation to serve as either Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem should he/she not wish to do so. 3.1.3.6. A member shall not serve successive terms as Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem unless all other members decline to serve. Rand& K. Lane, Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: I, A. Kay Vinson, Interim City Clerk of the City of Murrieta, California, do hereby certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 16 th day of February, 2016, by the following roll call vote: AYES: INGRAM, LONG, AND LANE NOES: GIBBS AND RAMOS - ABSENT: NONE ABSTAIN: NONE 2b8b9f7d-34ba-45f1-9d75-d75cb10d7483 3 of 3 RESOLUTION NO. 10 – RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA IMPLEMENTING A POLICY FOR ROTATION OF MAYOR AND VICE-MAYOR WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 36801 provides that the Mayor and Mayor pro tempore (i.e., Vice-Mayor) of a general law city are chosen by the City Council; and WHEREAS, said Government Code Section does not require nor provide for any particular procedure for selecting the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tempore; and WHEREAS, the Saratoga Municipal Code does not provide a procedure for selecting the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tempore; and WHEREAS, In the City of Saratoga, the Mayor Pro Tempore, by tradition, is known as the Vice-Mayor; and WHEREAS, on December 16, 2009, the Saratoga City Council considered samples of other California general law cities’ policies regarding mayoral selection by rotation; and WHEREAS, on December 16, 2009, the Saratoga City Council voted to implement a mayoral rotation policy that would place the council candidates with the two highest votes in any one election into a queue to rotate into the position of Mayor and Vice-Mayor. In each Saratoga City Council election, the candidate with the most votes would be placed first in the rotation of that group, the candidate with the second highest votes would be placed second; and WHEREAS, on December 16, 2009, the Saratoga City Council directed staff to bring back a resolution incorporating the Council’s newly implemented mayoral rotation policy into the City Council Norms of Operation at the next scheduled regular Council meeting on January 20, 2010. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The Council Norms of Operation adopted January 21, 2004 and last amended May 6, 2009 by Resolution Number 09-24 is hereby amended to replace section 5.B with the text shown below: B.City Council Reorganization – The City Council shall hold a special meeting on the Tuesday immediately preceding the first regular meeting of December. In election years the date of the special meeting may be changed by the City Clerk as necessary to ensure compliance with State election laws. The special meeting shall be held to select a Mayor and Vice-Mayor as follows: PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 2 1. The Mayor and Vice-Mayor shall be chosen by the City Council from among its members by the affirmative vote of three or more of the Council Members to serve a one-year term at the pleasure of the Council; 2. The initial nominee for Mayor shall be the Council member listed first in the mayoral queue (described below) and the initial nominee for Vice-Mayor shall be the Council member listed second in the mayoral queue; 3. The mayoral queue shall be maintained by the City Clerk and available for public inspection and shall be administered as follows: a. The mayoral queue shall consist of no more than four Council members at any time and these shall be the two council candidates with the highest number of votes from each of the two most recent general elections. b. Immediately upon the Council’s declaration of the election returns, the Council member with the highest number of votes shall be placed in the second to last position in the queue and the Council member with the second- highest number of votes shall be placed in the last position in the queue. c. In the event that two or more Council members receive an equal number of votes, their placement in the queue shall be determined by a coin toss administered by the City Clerk. d. Upon a Council member’s selection as Mayor, that person shall be removed from the queue and the remaining queue members shall advance by one position (e.g., the Council member previously in position two shall occupy position one, the Council member previously in position three shall occupy position two, etc.). e. A Council member shall be withdrawn from the queue upon leaving office for any reason or upon filing with the City Clerk a written request for withdrawal. Upon withdrawal by request no Council member may be reinstated in the queue during the term in which the request was made. f. If a Council member is withdrawn from the queue, the remaining members of the queue shall move up one position. The last position in the queue shall be filled by the Council member who received the third-highest number of votes when most recently elected or, if there is no such Council member, a Council member elected in a special election. g. Council members serving on the City Council by virtue of appointment to the City Council are not eligible to be placed in the queue during the term of the appointment. 4. The Mayor and Vice-Mayor shall assume the duties of their respective offices immediately upon election. PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 3 The above and foregoing resolution was passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Saratoga City Council held on the 20th day of January 2010 by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Kathleen M. King, Mayor ATTEST: Ann Sullivan, City Clerk P:\SARATOGA\City Documents\Mayoral Rotation 1a.v4.doc PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com