HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 11a - Rotation for Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore
DATE: October 4, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dominic Lazzaretto, City Manager
By: Michael Maurer, Assistant City Attorney
Dr. Jennifer Brutus, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION NO. 7463 ESTABLISHING THE ROTATION FOR
THE MAYOR AND MAYOR PRO TEMPORE
Recommendation: Adopt
SUMMARY
The City of Arcadia (“City”) will hold a General Municipal Election on Tuesday, November
8, 2022, in which voters will consider an amendment to the City Charter. One of the
proposed amendments to the City Charter entails creating a rotation of the Mayor and
Mayor Pro Tempore positions every 9.5 months to allow all Council Members to serve
during their term. If Measure CA passes by a majority vote, the new Charter would direct
the City Council to adopt a policy for handling the Mayoral Rotation. Adopting the policy
now will ensure that everything is in place when the new City Council is seated in
December. Therefore, it is recommended that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 7463
at this time to establish the rotation for the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore positions
should the Charter amendments be approved.
BACKGROUND
According to the City’s current Charter (Section 404), the City Council is required to select
a Mayor and Mayor Tempore annually by majority vote of the City Council. While this
process has typically been without incident, occasionally the transition has caused
political tensions that divided the community. In addition, the public and Council Members
expressed concerns that the annualized rotation meant that, with five Council Members,
not everyone could serve as Mayor in a four-year term.
The City Council adopted Resolution No. 7451 to propose a variety of amendments to the
current City Charter, which voters may adopt by approving Measure CA at the November
8, 2022, General Municipal Election. Included in these proposed amendments is a
modification to the Mayoral rotation.
Specifically, if Measure CA is adopted by the voters, the Charter Amendment will modify
Section 404 of the Charter to require that the offices of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore
Resolution No. 7463 - Mayoral Rotation
October 4, 2022
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shall be filled automatically by rotation among the Council Members with each serving a
term of approximately nine and one-half (9.5) months. The amendment to Section 404
will also direct the City Council to establish implementing procedures to enable an
automatic rotation of offices.
DISCUSSION
In anticipation of the voters potentially approving Measure CA, it is recommended that the
City Council establish procedures now to implement the revised Section 404 so that the
Mayoral rotation will be in place when the new City Council is seated.
It is recommended that the Office of the Mayor rotate automatically among the five City
Council Districts in the following order:
Electoral District Mayoral Rotation
District 4
December 2022
District 1
September 2023
District ___
July 2024
District ___
April 2025
District ___
February 2026
The current Mayor Pro Tempore who serves District 4 would logically be first in line for
the Mayor’s rotation in December 2022, followed by District 1. This would enable both
incumbents to serve as Mayor before the end of their current terms. As result of the 2022
General Municipal Election, there will be three newly-elected City Council Members who
will fill vacancies in Districts 2, 3, and 5. While there are a variety of ways the rotation
could be established for these remaining Districts, it is recommended that the City Council
randomly select the order for these three Districts. City staff will have supplies on hand to
conduct such a random selection at the dais on the evening when this item is discussed.
Reorganization of the City Council would take place at a regular City Council meeting in
the respective months noted above. Unless the City Council takes action to modify the
rotation, the rotation in future years would be in the same order for each subsequent four-
year cycle.
The City Council Member representing the District that is next in line to be Mayor would
serve as Mayor Pro Tempore. Using the recommendations above, the District 1 Council
Member would serve as Mayor Pro Tempore in December 2022.
The proposed Resolution No. 7463 also addresses resignations and vacancies so that
these occurrences do not disrupt the established rotation. If a City Council Member
declines to take the office of Mayor or resigns from the office of Mayor, or if there is a
Resolution No. 7463 - Mayoral Rotation
October 4, 2022
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vacancy in the District that is to serve as Mayor (e.g. removal from office, death, ceasing
to be a resident of the District in which they serve, etc.), then the City Council would select
one of its members to serve as Mayor for the remaining portion of that Mayoral term. The
policy would allow for the Mayor selected by the City Council to continue to hold office for
the remainder of the 9.5 month term regardless of whether a new Council Member is
appointed or elected to fill the vacancy. If the City Council cannot reach a majority vote
on selecting a Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tempore shall serve as Mayor. This same
resignation/vacancy policy would also apply to the office of the Mayor Pro Tempore.
Lastly, the revised Charter does not address provisions for removing a Council Member
from the office of Mayor but charges the City Council with establishing rules for the
rotation. Under the proposed policy, if a City Council Member serving as Mayor or Mayor
Pro Tempore fails or refuses to perform the duties of office, or receives a formal censure
from the City Council, then a four-fifths (4/5) supermajority of the City Council may
remove the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tempore from the respective office and select a different
member to serve for the remainder of that mayoral term. This rule would enable the other
four members to unanimously act to remove a Mayor where there is a basis for removal.
In the future, if the City Council wishes to modify the implementing policies set forth in
Resolution No. 7463, it could do so by resolution. Therefore, it is recommended that the
City Council adopt Resolution No. 7463 to establish the rotation for the Mayor and Mayor
Pro Tempore positions.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The proposed action does not constitute a project under the California Environmental
Quality Act (“CEQA”), as it can be seen with certainty that it will have no impact on the
environment. Thus, this matter is exempt under CEQA under Sections 15060(c)(2) and
15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines.
FISCAL IMPACT
Each Mayoral rotation involves ordering new business cards and a City Council
reorganization reception. With a more frequent rotation, these costs will be slightly higher
each year. The costs for the 2022 Mayoral rotation have been included in the Fiscal Year
2022-23 Operating Budget; if Measure CA is approved by the voters, the related costs for
future years will be budgeted in future Operating Budgets.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council determine that this action is exempt under CEQA
and adopt Resolution No. 7463 establishing the rotation for the Mayor and Mayor Pro
Tempore.
Attachment: Resolution No. 7463