Fremont City Council Meeting: 07/07/26 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: City Attorney's Office
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Plans, Policies and Studies
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5764) DOC ID: 5764
Updated: 6/30/2026 1:17 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 1 Second Public Hearing of City Charter Consideration - Conduct a Second Public Hearing (Published Notice) to Consider the Charter Work Plan Recommendations by the Charter Advisory Committee.
Contact Persons:
Name: Rafael Alvarado Christina Briggs
Title: City Attorney Assistant City Manager
Div/Dept: City Attorney's Office City Manager's Office
Phone: 510-284-4030 510-284-4022
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: On June 2, 2026, the City Council held the first of two required public hearings to discuss the Charter Advisory Committee recommendations and to consider a draft City charter. Staff has incorporated amendments to the draft charter as directed by City Council, and a modified draft charter is being presented at the second public hearing for Council consideration. At a third City Council meeting, the Council will decide whether to submit the charter to Fremont voters at the November 2026 election.
Background: At the City Council’s regular meeting on February 17, 2026, Vice Mayor Yajing Zhang presented a referral to consider transforming the City of Fremont from a general law city to a charter city and to do so in time to place a new Charter on the ballot for voter consideration in the November 2026 election. The City Council directed staff to develop a work plan and resolution to target the placement of a potential charter on the November 2026 ballot. The City Council established a seven-member, Mayor-appointed Charter Advisory Committee (“Committee”), tasked with providing recommendations responsive to the Council-approved work plan. The work plan included the following topics for the Committee’s consideration:
• Government Structure;
• Executive Roles/Appointment Authority;
• Council Compensation and Staffing; and
• Term Limits.
The Committee held a total of six public meetings during the months of March and April 2026 and made final recommendations at its last meeting, which are summarized in Attachment A.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5764) Meeting of July 7, 2026 Updated: 6/30/2026 1:17 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 2 Discussion/Analysis: On June 2, 2026, the City Council held the first of two public hearings to receive a staff presentation regarding the Work Plan topics, the Committee’s recommendations, and a draft City Charter for consideration. Attachment B is the staff report from the June 2, 2026, hearing.
To summarize, the draft charter included language to authorize the following provisions, based on the Committee’s recommendations:
• Maintain a Council-Manager form of government;
• Maintain City Manager appointment authority of City Department Heads (except the City Attorney), subject to confirmation by the City Council;
• Match the Health Benefit Allowance (HBA) of elected officials to that of the City’s full-time represented employees*;
• Maintain the current part-time status of the Mayor and City Council; • Allocate 1.5 employees to directly support the Mayor and City Council; and
• Increase the term limit for both Mayor and City Councilmembers to three consecutive four-year terms.
*Staff clarified for the City Council that under state law, the HBA for a part- time elected official may only be increased commensurate with the equivalent part-time employee HBA rate.
After conducting a public hearing and deliberating, the City Council accepted the Committee recommendations above (with the clarification regarding the HBA adjustment) and directed staff to revise the draft Charter to include additional language addressing the following topics:
• The ability for the Mayor to independently add items to City Council meeting agendas;
• Clarification that the Mayor and City Council can participate in hiring (or terminating) any allocated direct staff;
• Development of a process for filling any future vacant Council seats with the individual who received the next highest number of votes; and
• Authority for the City Attorney to appoint and remove employees of the City Attorney's Office.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5764) Meeting of July 7, 2026 Updated: 6/30/2026 1:17 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 3 Most of the topics listed can be implemented through the adoption of ordinances or other administrative actions under existing authority, without requiring a Charter. The exceptions are additional compensation (if not restricted to health benefits) and appointment authority for the City Attorney’s Office.
In addition to the items above, the City Council’s discussion at the first public hearing emphasized certain high-level objectives with this initiative.
They included:
• The principles of transparency and accountability as a primary motivation for pursuing a City Charter;
• Clarification that this current City Charter does not authorize a real property transfer tax; and
• Clarification for the public that, if adopted, any future amendments to a City Charter would also require voter approval during an election.
Fiscal Impact:
Description Cost
The estimated cost to place a proposed City
Charter on the November 2026 ballot
$610,690 - $854,966
(one-time)
Total annual cost (estimate) of total
compensation for the Mayor and
Councilmembers, reflecting a half-time HBA
scenario
$364,672 per year
Total annual cost (estimate) of 1.5 employees
directly supporting the Mayor and
Councilmembers
$253,655 per year
The net increase to the City’s annual ongoing General Fund expenditures resulting from potential increases to the Mayor’s and Councilmembers’ compensation, and from the allocation of 1.5 employees to staff the Mayor and Councilmembers, is estimated to be $328,214. Should the City Council decide to place a charter on the November 2026 ballot for consideration by Fremont voters, there may also be unknown additional costs associated with implementing the charter.
The expense for placing a measure on the ballot is calculated by the City’s total registered voters multiplied by the County Registrar of Voters' election Council Staff Report (ID # 5764) Meeting of July 7, 2026 Updated: 6/30/2026 1:17 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 4 cost per registered voter. The Registrar of Voters estimates that the election cost per voter for the November 3, 2026, general election will cost between $5 to $7 per voter. The City currently has 122,138 registered voters. An estimate of the one-time cost of placing the measure on the 2026 ballot ranges from $610,690 to $854,966.
Environmental Review: Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Attachment A
• Attachment B
• Draft City of Fremont Charter (Clean)
• Draft City of Fremont Charter (Redlines)
• Staff Presentation
Recommendation:
1. Receive the staff report.
2. Conduct a second public hearing.
3. Provide direction to staff on the proposed city charter language, including whether the City Council approves the proposed city charter language for the November 2026 ballot.