DATE:
January 17, 2023
TO:
Adam Politzer, Interim City Manager
FROM:
April Richardson, City Clerk
SUBJECT:
City Council Vacancy – Discussion Of Options For Process To Fill Vacancy And Direction To Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council consider the options for filling the vacancy created by the resignation of Councilmember Ally Medina, effective January 15, 2023, and provide direction to staff to pursue one of the options.
Background
At the December 20, 2022, City Council meeting, Council Member Ally Medina resigned her position effective January 15, 2023. Her seat will thus be vacated as of that date. Mayor Bauters requested, and received majority support for, a report providing an overview of the process for filling a City Council vacancy at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting. discussion
General Vacancy Procedures
Government Code section 36512 governs Emeryville City Council vacancies. It requires that, upon the occurrence of a vacancy, the Council must, within 60 days, do one of the following:
Call a special election to be held at the next regular election 114 days or more from the call of the special election, or Appoint someone to fill the vacancy.
Special Election Option
The timing of the special election for this vacancy would occur on the next established election date per the Elections Code, which is November 7, 2023.
There are generally significant costs associated with a special election. The Alameda County Registrar of Voters provides cost estimates for elections on its website. For a stand-alone special election, the costs are estimated at $19-$21 per voter. For Emeryville the cost would range from $138,358 to $152,922 based on 7,282 registered voters. The City called a special election in November 2021 to fill a Council Member vacancy due to resignation. The cost for that special election was $157,145.18.
If the Council decides to hold a special election, the person elected would hold office for the remainder of the vacated seat's term, which would be until December 2024.
Appointment Option
The Council could also fill the vacant seat by appointment. The law does not provide specific parameters for the process, but requires that an appointment must occur within 60 days of the commencement of the vacancy (i.e. by March 16, 2023). As with the special election process, the appointee would hold office until the expiration of the vacant seat’s term (i.e., December 2024). The appointment process will be directed by Council, but staff recommends that it involve the following:
An established application period.
An application similar to the Advisory Body Committee application.
Application Period and Application Content
There is no prescribed number of days for the application period. In August 2022, a City Clerk Listserv was shared regarding Council Member vacancies. Clerks were asked to self-report best practices, policies, and procedures for filling a Council vacancy. Twelve cities of varying size responded, and their application periods were open 6-37 days. Based on the need for expediency to meet the March 16, 2023, appointment deadline, staff recommends a 15-day application period, January 27, 2023 - February 10, 2023. If Council chooses to interview these applicants on a regular meeting date, they will have the opportunity to do so at the meetings on February 21 or March 7, 2023. This timeline (further described below) would also allow time to call one or more special meetings on different dates to ensure that the appointment is made by the March 16, 2023, appointment deadline. Because state law mandates this deadline, failure to appoint someone by the deadline will result in a violation of state law, and the City would be at risk for a lawsuit mandating compliance, including one forcing a special election Staff is also recommending the use of the Advisory Body application as a template for this process. In the personal information section, all references to advisory bodies would be removed, in the residency/business section all business information would be removed (except occupation), and the final section would include a 300-word limit section describing the applicant’s experience, education, and preparation for public office (similar to a candidate statement).
If the Council chooses the appointment option, staff recommends that the Council provide additional direction as to the type of questions desired for the interview process Draft Timeline
This timeline is based on the adopted City Council meeting schedule. Regular meeting dates are bolded:
January 17, 2023 – Establish application period and finalize application.
January 27, 2023 – Application period opens.
February 7, 2023 – Council discusses and decides on interview format (presentations, interview questions), time limits for applicants, other procedures, etc.
February 10, 2023 – Application period closes.
February 13 - 16, 2023 – Staff redacts personal information from applications and republishes 2/21 agenda with application materials.
February 21, 2023 – Council interviews (or other predetermined method) with applicants.
March 7, 2023 – Continued interviews/Appointment for Council Member vacancy.
March 8-15, 2023 – Special meeting for appointment if necessary. fiscal impact
The cost of a special election has not been budgeted. It is estimated to cost $157,000 based on the cost of the 2021 special election.
Conflict of Interest
There is no conflict of interest related to this item.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council consider the options for filling the vacancy created by resignation of Councilmember Medina, effective January 15, 2023, and provide direction to staff to pursue either the special election or appointment process.
PREPARED BY: April Richardson, City Clerk
Approved and Forwarded to the
City Council of the City of Emeryville:
Adam Politzer, Interim City Manager
City Council Vacancy – Discussion of Options for Process to Fill Vacancy and Direction to Staff City Council Meeting | January 17, 2023
City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM