Fremont City Council Meeting: 06/02/26 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 # 5736) DOC ID: 5736
Updated: 5/29/2026 7:48 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 1 First Public Hearing of City Charter Consideration - Conduct a First 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 March 3, 2026, the City Council approved a Charter Work Plan and established a Charter Advisory Committee (”Committee”) tasked with developing a recommendation on a potential charter for the City of Fremont. The City of Fremont’s Charter Advisory Committee held six public meetings from March 23, 2026, to April 27, 2026, during which it developed recommendations on topics outlined in a City Council-approved charter work plan. The City Council will now hold two public hearings to review and consider these recommendations, including a draft city charter. At a third City Council meeting, the Council will decide whether to submit a Charter to the November 2026 ballot for consideration by Fremont voters.
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. Additionally, the City Council’s approval of the Vice Mayor’s referral established a seven-member, Mayor-appointed Charter Advisory Committee (“Committee”), tasked with providing recommendations responsive to a Council-approved work plan.
During the City Council’s regular meeting on March 3, 2026, City staff presented a draft work plan to facilitate the development of a new City Charter within the City Council’s prescribed timeline. Following the presentation, the City Council approved a work plan that included the following topics for the Committee's consideration:
Council Staff Report (ID # 5736) Meeting of June 2, 2026 Updated: 5/29/2026 7:48 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 2 • Governance models;
• Hiring authority;
• Meeting structures;
• Principles of accountability, transparency, and non-interference; • Term limits options;
• Council compensation considerations; and
• City Council staffing options
Subsequently, the City Council held a special meeting on March 20, 2026, to approve Mayor Raj Salwan’s appointment of seven members to the Committee. The Committee scheduled six public meetings from March 23, 2026, to April 27, 2026, to achieve its responsibilities specified in the City Council-approved referral and work plan and to facilitate public review and input into the charter deliberation process.
The Charter Advisory Committee held six public meetings during March and April of 2026. City staff facilitated the meetings and provided information and analysis on each of the City Council's workplan topics before the Committee made final recommendations at its last meeting. Attachment A provides a summary of the Committee Meetings and final recommendations.
Discussion/Analysis:
Below is a summary of data relevant to the Work Plan topics established by the City Council. Similar data was provided to the Charter Advisory Committee and served as the basis for its recommendations.
A. DATA ON CHARTER CITIES
Government Structure
According to data published by the California State Controller’s Office, there are currently 357 general law cities and 125 charter cities in California.
Currently, the City of Fremont is a general law city under the laws of the State of California. The City of Fremont voters considered and rejected a city charter proposal in 1998.
California cities operate under three primary forms of government: Council- Manager, Mayor-Council, or Strong Mayor. In a survey of statewide comparative data from both Bay Area cities and other major cities, as shown in Attachment B, the vast majority of cities operate under the Council- Manager form of government.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5736) Meeting of June 2, 2026 Updated: 5/29/2026 7:48 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 3
• Council-Manager Government: This is the most common model in California and is currently used by the City of Fremont. In this structure, the City Council sets policy and appoints a professional city manager to act as the city’s chief executive officer, responsible for drafting budgets, typically appointing department heads, and overseeing day-to-day operations. This model emphasizes nonpartisan professionalism, technical proficiency, clear role separation, and operational stability. It is often viewed as the model that best supports administrative expertise and reduces political interference in city management.
• Strong Mayor Government: This form of government centralizes political and administrative authority in an elected mayor who functions as a full-time chief executive. A strong mayor may: appoint some department heads, propose the city budget, manage daily operations, and possess veto power over council legislation. This model is used in only two California cities (San Diego and San Francisco). While proponents argue it can streamline decision-making and strengthen executive leadership, risks can include increased partisanship, concentration of authority, and potential imbalance amongst elected officials and in legislative-executive power.
• Mayor-Council Government: This form of government represents a shared-power model in which authority is distributed between the mayor and the city council. The mayor remains the chief executive but requires council confirmation for many key appointments and shares responsibility for legislation and budgeting. Unlike the fully centralized strong-mayor system, this model blends political leadership with checks and balances, aiming to preserve accountability while enabling a more politically responsive executive branch. The Cities of Oakland, Los Angeles, and Fresno are examples of how appointment authority, administrative oversight, and legislative powers are divided under this model. This model distributes operational decision-making more equally between all of the elected officials while de-emphasizing the role of the City Manager.
Greater political influence over operational issues under a strong mayor or Mayor-Council form of government may impact the stability of a city organization. As a local example, since 2000, when Oakland transitioned to a Council Staff Report (ID # 5736) Meeting of June 2, 2026 Updated: 5/29/2026 7:48 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 4 Mayor-Council form of government, the City has had 9 permanent City Administrators and 5 interim (temporary) City Administrators.
It’s also worth noting that a change in the form of government may not result in higher performance across a range of important indicators. When comparing Fremont with the cities listed in the comparative analysis from Attachment B across key indicators such as crime rate, poverty rate, and unemployment, Fremont performs in the 90th percentile or higher. (American Community Survey, US Census Bureau). This performance supports Fremont’s consistent ranking as ‘Happiest City’ and one of the best cities to raise a family in national surveys.
Term Limits
State law does not set minimum or maximum term limits for city councils or prohibit city councils from lowering or raising term limits. Sections 2.05.100 and 2.05.110 of the Fremont Municipal Code (FMC) provide that Fremont City Councilmembers and the Mayor may serve up to two consecutive four- year terms, respectively.
City Council Staff Support
An analysis of surveyed cities revealed that fewer than half of the surveyed cities budget any direct staff for the City Council. A wide variability in staffing levels exists for those that do, ranging from a single administrative role in smaller cities to dozens of aides, analysts, and assistants in larger cities like Oakland and San José. Significant compensation disparities exist as well, ranging from $80k to over $270k for a given position, depending on the role (administrative, analytical, executive).
In the City of Fremont, for positions that would be most appropriate to support the City Council, total ongoing compensation ranges from $122,162 to $235,604 annually. The administrative analyst position that has previously supported the City Council has an ongoing total compensation of $169,103 annually.
City Council Compensation
Salary for the Mayor and City Council is governed by state law and the FMC.
California Government Code Section 36516 authorizes city councils to enact an ordinance providing that each member of the city council receives a salary depending on the population of the city. Section 36516.1 authorizes a city council to provide a mayor with compensation in addition to that which he or she receives as a council member.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5736) Meeting of June 2, 2026 Updated: 5/29/2026 7:48 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 5
State law permits adjustments to city council salaries (a) by an amount not exceeding the greater of either 5 percent for each calendar year from the operative date of the last adjustment of the salary or (b) by an amount up to inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index, which shall not exceed 10 percent for each calendar year. Under the FMC, City Council compensation increases are reviewed during each budget cycle and are considered commensurate with the Consumer Price Index in an amount not to exceed 4 percent.
In Fremont, the Mayor and City Council are compensated commensurate with a ‘part-time’ role. Relative to other surveyed charter cities with part- time mayors and city councils in Fremont’s compensation market, Fremont’s elected officials currently receive total compensation amounts lower than the median, with the mayor earning $60,949 and councilmembers earning $36,694 annually. These figures are 87% and 70% of the market median, respectively.
A key reason for lower total compensation levels is the allocation of health benefit allowance (HBA), which is currently set at $455/month. For the current half-time (50%) regular City represented employees, the HBA is $1,450/month. Increasing the HBA for Mayor and City Council to this same level would add an additional $17,400 to annual total compensation amounts and result in total compensation of $72,886 (106% of market median) and $48,631 (93% of market median), respectively.
The HBA amount for full-time represented employees is $2,900 per month.
Increasing the HBA for the Mayor and City Council to this level would result in total compensation of $90,286 and $66,031, respectively. Note, under State law, the HBA for a part-time elected official may only be increased commensurate with the equivalent part-time employee HBA rate. However, the City Council may define ‘part-time’ as a percentage and recommend an HBA increase to match that percentage (i.e., if part-time is defined as 75%, an HBA equal to 75% of the full-time employee rate is permitted).
Council Staff Report (ID # 5736) Meeting of June 2, 2026 Updated: 5/29/2026 7:48 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 6 Executive Roles and Appointment Authority
Across the surveyed cities, the mayor in a council-manager form of government is a voting member of the city council, with no designated veto powers or authority to cast tie-breaking votes. Veto power is often present in a strong mayor or mayor-council form of government, where the mayor is not a voting member of the legislative body.
While mayoral and council authorities were structurally similar across surveyed cities with a council-manager form of government, there were some variations, mostly in Southern California charter cities. For example, in the cities of Long Beach and San Bernardino, the mayor is not a voting member of the legislative body but does hold veto power on council items.
In the City of Alameda, its charter authorizes the mayor to take command of the city police and fire departments and govern the city by proclamation during an emergency. In the City of Fremont’s current organization, the City Manager directs the operations of the Emergency Operations staff in the event of an emergency.
Regarding appointment authority, in most council-manager cities, including the City of Fremont, the city council appoints the city manager/administrator and the city attorney. In this model, the city manager/administrator serves as the city’s chief executive officer and is responsible for the appointment of department heads and other city employees. In the staff’s survey of charter cities with a Council-Manager form of government:
• 38% appoint the City Manager and City Attorney (similar to Fremont). • 20% also appoint City Clerk.
• 28% also appoint a City Treasurer/Auditor.
• One City authorizes appointment of all department heads (Piedmont).
Beyond this, a small number of surveyed charter cities authorize their city councils to confirm additional staff members, such as the city clerk or other specific executive positions.
In some cities, the appointment of the city manager/administrator, department heads, and/or mayoral and city council staff is directly vested in the mayor. For example, in the Cities of San Jose and Stockton, the mayor directly appoints a public information officer. Further, the Cities of Stockton, Sacramento, and Chula Vista, and the City and County of San Francisco are examples in which the mayor appoints direct staff to support the office of the mayor and/or the legislative body.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5736) Meeting of June 2, 2026 Updated: 5/29/2026 7:48 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 7
Interviews with top California public sector executive recruiters offered the following observations regarding how the additional influence of elected officials in the appointment process could affect the ability to recruit or retain top talent:
• Reduces candidate pool because it signals a shift away from Council/Manager form of government, which top candidates generally seek;
• When Council confirmation exists, it functions as ratification of an appointment decision;
• Many cities have informal processes for informing and seeking input from the Mayor/City Council regarding key appointments.
B. COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee’s final recommendations with respect to the City Council- approved charter work plan are as follows:
Topic Recommendations Is Charter
Required?
Government
Structure
Maintain a Council-Manager
form of government (Charter
City).
Yes, if the intent is
to have a charter.
No, if the sole intent
is to maintain the
Council-Manager
form of government.
Term Limits
City Council Term Limits:
Increase to three consecutive
four-year terms.
No.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5736) Meeting of June 2, 2026 Updated: 5/29/2026 7:48 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 8 Mayor Term Limits: Increase
to three consecutive four-year
terms.
No.
Council
Compensation
and Office
Support
Status: The Mayor and City
Council to maintain their
current part-time status.
No.
Council Salary: Match the HBA
of elected officials to that of
the City’s full-time
represented employees.
This
recommendation is
not permissible
under state law,
assuming the City
Council and Mayor
maintain their part-
time status. The
HBA shall be no
greater than that
received by non-
safety employees.
Staffing Options: Allocate 1.5
employees to support the
Mayor and City Council.
No.
Executive Roles
Appointment Authority: City
Manager maintains
appointment authority of City
Department Heads (except
the City Attorney), subject to
confirmation by the City
Council.
No.
The Committee’s recommendations can largely be achieved through existing legislative (e.g., ordinances) or administrative authorities under the City of Fremont’s current general law structure. Other than the creation of a city charter, a charter is not necessary to pursue the Committee’s Council Staff Report (ID # 5736) Meeting of June 2, 2026 Updated: 5/29/2026 7:48 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 9 recommendations. The current provisions of the California Government Code do not prohibit a general law city from (1) increasing city council and mayoral term limits, (2) allocating direct staff to support the city council and mayor, and (3) providing authority for the city council to confirm the city manager’s appointments.
One of the Committee’s recommendations was to raise the Health Benefit Allowance (HBA) of Fremont’s Mayor and City Councilmembers, commensurate with the City’s full-time represented employees, while maintaining their part-time status. Under state law, this recommendation is not allowed regardless of whether a city operates under general law or charter status. The City Council may define ‘part-time’ as a percentage and recommend an HBA increase to match that percentage (i.e., if part-time is defined as 75%, an HBA equal to 75% of the full-time employee rate is permitted).
Community Engagement
City staff have conducted community engagement activities throughout this process, as directed in the charter work plan. Since the City Council’s adoption of the work plan, City staff have published articles and communication pieces on the City’s social media platforms, the printed City News newsletter, the home page of the City website, and the weekly digital city newsletter, Fremont Connection, to inform Fremont residents and communities about the ongoing charter initiative. City staff also developed and published a dedicated webpage on the City website
(fremont.gov/chartercity) and created A-frame boards with a QR code that directs visitors to that webpage, for use and visibility at the City’s community events and the City Hall lobby. Staff also facilitated discussion of the charter process in conjunction with councilmember townhall meetings and various other community meetings.
Fiscal Impact:
Description Cost
The estimated cost to place a proposed City
Charter on the November 2026 ballot
$610,690 - $854,966
(one-time)
Potential annual cost (estimate) of total
compensation for the Mayor and
Councilmembers, ranging from a ’part-time’ to
a ‘full-time’ HBA scenario
$364-672 - $486,472
per year
Council Staff Report (ID # 5736) Meeting of June 2, 2026 Updated: 5/29/2026 7:48 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 10 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 $337,214 to $459,014 (depending on the level of HBA increase). 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 cost per registered voter. The Registrar of Voters estimates that the election cost per voter for the November 3, 2026, general election will range between $5 to $7. 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:
• RecommendationsSummary_CharterAdvisoryCommittee
• Draft City of Fremont Charter
• Attachment B Cities Survey
• First Public Hearing_City Charter Presentation
Recommendation:
1. Receive the staff report,
2. Conduct a first public hearing,
3. Provide direction to staff on the draft city charter, including whether the City Council approves the draft city charter for the November 2026 ballot.