CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
1/13/2025
1 SUBJECT:
Process for Annual Mayor and Mayor pro Tem selection and Section 7, Deliberations and Voting, and Section 8, Motions, of City Council Rules and Code of Ethics.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Discuss the process for annual Mayor and Mayor pro Tem selection and the City Council Rules and Code of Ethics Sections 7 and 8 pertaining to Deliberations, Motions, and Voting and provide direction to the City Manager regarding next steps on this matter.
STAFF CONTACT:
Kevin Woodhouse, City Manager
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
Following the City Council Reorganization meeting on December 9, 2024, at which Sue Beckmeyer was voted in as Mayor and Mary Bier as Mayor pro Tem, Councilmember Boles requested that an item be agendized for Council discussion regarding the process for annual Mayor and Mayor pro Tem selection and Section 7, Deliberations and Voting, and Section 8, Motions, of the City Council Rules and Code of Ethics.
The City Council Rules and Code of Ethics, Section 11, Administrative Matters, Item 4, states:
An individual Councilmember may agendize an item for a City Council meeting by contacting the City Manager. Items that may require less than two hours of staff time to prepare for Council consideration can be agendized for Council consideration and decision. Items that may require more than two hours of staff time to prepare for Council consideration will first be agendized for discussion and Council direction on next steps.
Requests from Councilmembers to place an item on the agenda shall be made to the City Manager a minimum of ten (10) days before the next City Council meeting, except for items where the Mayor and City Manager have determined a time urgency exists.
Analysis of this issue would require more than two hours of staff work. Therefore, the City Manager has prepared this brief staff report with minimal staff analysis, for Council to initially discuss and provide direction regarding next steps.
The City Council Rules and Code of Ethics underwent significant revisions in 2022. Two Councilmembers were appointed to an ad hoc committee to make recommendations on revisions to the Council Rules and Code of Ethics. The revisions were partially discussed at the meeting on September 12, 2022 and were finally adopted on January 23, 2023. The City Council Rules and Code of Ethics is provided as Attachment A. The City Council Rules and Code of Ethics does not include any special considerations or guidelines for the selection of the Mayor and Mayor pro Tem but does include other provisions on deliberations and voting, as well as specific guidance on certain specified motions.
For the selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, the only consistent practice is that the City Council votes on Mayor and Mayor pro Tem annually from the dais following a nomination and a second. Prior to establishing district-based elections, various data points may have loosely guided the Council’s nominations, such as number of votes received in the at-large election or Pacifica City Council 2
January 13, 2025
seniority of years on Council. However, such data points have not been always considered; according to City records, there have been 6 Councilmembers who have served a four-year term without being voted in as Mayor during that term. In 2018, Pacifica adopted an ordinance to transition to district-based elections. Councilmembers in Districts 1 and 4 were elected to office in 2020 with Councilmembers in Districts 2, 3 and 5 being elected in 2022. This transition to district-based elections makes the consideration of votes received as a data point potentially less relevant.
Some cities have chosen to adopt a specific policy with guidelines regarding the annual rotation of Mayor and Mayor pro Tem. A selection of such policies from several other cities are provided in Attachment B, for the City Council’s reference.
Councilmember Boles has also requested to discuss broadly Section 7, Deliberations and Voting, and Section 8, Motions, as they may pertain to appointments of Commission and Committee members too.
The City Manager is seeking direction from the City Council whether the Council is interested in considering a specific policy with guidelines regarding the annual selection of Mayor and Mayor pro Tem. In addition, the City Manager is seeking direction from the City Council whether the Council is interested in reviewing and revising any parts of Sections 7 or 8 of the City Council Rules and Code of Ethics. Once direction is received and next steps identified, the City Manager will assess the level of staff work and time necessary to prepare for further Council deliberation on this matter, and what impact, if any, there may be to other Strategic Plan workplan items, since this policy review/development work item would be a new addition to the workplan.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
The City Council requested to discuss and provide direction regarding next steps regarding this matter; therefore, alternative actions are at the discretion of a majority of the Council.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL STRATEGIC PLAN:
Review of this issue is not part of the FY 2024-25 workplan and does not directly relate to the City Council 2023-2030 Strategic Plan.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact related to the recommendation for Council’s initial discussion of this topic.
ORIGINATED BY:
City Manager's Office
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A: City Council Rules and Code of Ethics (PDF) Attachment B: Annual Rotation of Mayor and Mayor pro Tem from Other Cities (PDF)