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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 Page 2 of 3 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 Page 3 of 3 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