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RESOLUTION NO. ____
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING
PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF APPOINTMENTS
TO CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, AND
PROCEDURES FOR MAKING APPOINTMENTS THERETO,
AND RESCINDING RESOLUTION NO. 18804
WHEREAS, on April 3, 1996, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 18804, establishing requisite procedures for considering appointments to City Boards and Commissions; and
WHEREAS, Section 602 of the Palm Springs City Charter requires that members of each City Board or Commission be appointed by motion of the City Council, adopted by at least three (3) affirmative votes, and that nominations for appointment to a City board or commission shall be made by any member of the City Council at a public meeting; and WHEREAS, Palm Springs Municipal Code Section 2.06.010 outlines general rules regarding appointments, terms, and vacancies for appointed Boards and Commissions; and WHEREAS, for 30 years, the City Council has opted for an alternative process in which the requirements set forth in Resolution No. 18804 are waived annually; the alternative method employed is used to enhance the efficiency of the appointment process, and is known as the City Council’s past practice and preference; and WHEREAS, the City Council seeks to formally update and document the process that accurately reflects the Council's established practices and procedures; and to rescind Resolution No. 18804.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, DOES RESOLVE, DECLARE, DETERMINE AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. General:
(a) The City's boards and commissions perform a critical role in the governance of the City and in the relationship between the City Council, the governmental organization, and the citizens of Palm Springs. The boards and commissions serve to assist in making policy, perform administrative functions, are a reservoir of experience and judgment, and assist in the two-way communications between the City and its citizens. To this end, it is the goal of the City Council that the process for recruiting board and commission members be as open as possible and designed to bring forward those persons best suited by interest, character, and experience to assist in these objectives, and who will, at the same time, represent the diverse interests in the community.
(b) Any reference herein to “commission” shall be deemed to apply to all internal boards, commissions, or committees unless otherwise stated. This policy is not intended to apply to City Council appointments to external boards, commissions, or committees, nor to 55575.18115\44838230.1
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City Council sub-committees.
SECTION 2. Criteria for Selection: The City Council shall follow the guidelines within the Palm Springs Municipal Code Chapter 2.06 Boards and Commission – General Provisions and Article VI Appointive Boards and Commissions, in addition to the following requisites for selecting commission members:
(a) Experience / Education: The City Council is seeking applicants who demonstrate that, by their background, experience, and education, will be enthusiastic and knowledgeable commissioners who will exercise sound judgement. (b) Attendance: Attendance at prior commission meetings will be an important indicator of the applicant's interest in the activities of the commission and will allow the Council during the interview to determine the applicant's understanding of the function of the commission.
(c) Conflicts: Commissioners shall comply with applicable provisions of State and local law relative to disclosure of financial interests. It shall be the policy of the City Council not to appoint or approve the appointment of any person to a commission who would have continually recurring conflicts of interest to the extent of impairing their effectiveness as a commissioner.
SECTION 3. Schedule: It shall be the goal of the City Council to undertake the appointment process in accordance with this schedule. The availability of positions shall be noticed annually by March 1, with applications due by April 30 – this period shall be known as the “Annual Recruitment of the City’s Boards and Commissions”. During the first week of May, the Office of the City Clerk shall distribute applications to the City Council and the City Council Boards and Commissions Ad Hoc Subcommittee for screening during the month of May, with Council appointments made by or before June.
(a) Full City Council Interviews: The City Council, as a whole, conducts interviews and appoints candidates to the Historic Site Preservation Board, Human Rights Commission, Measure “J” Oversight Commission, and the Planning Commission during a designated City Council meeting scheduled in mid-to-late May or early June. (b) City Council Boards and Commissions Ad Hoc Subcommittee: The City Council appoints a two-member subcommittee annually, consisting of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, to screen applications and interview applicants who applied to serve on commissions not requiring full Council interviews. After screening and interviewing applicants, the ad hoc subcommittee will recommend qualified applicants to the City Council so that appointments can be made in mid-to-late May or early June.
SECTION 4. Notice of Availability/Recruitment:
(a) Pursuant to Government Code Section 54972, on or before December 31 of each year, the City Clerk is hereby directed to prepare a Local Appointments List (Maddy Act) of all regular and ongoing boards, commissions, and committees that are appointed by the City Council, which list shall contain the information required in said 55575.18115\44838230.1
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section. The Local Appointments List will be posted on the City’s website. The Library Center is hereby designated as the Library to receive the Appointment List required by Section 54973 of said Code. In the event the Library Center is unavailable, the Welwood Memorial Library shall be the designated library.
(b) All efforts will be made to provide timely public information relative to vacancies prior to the time for appointment. To ensure that members reflect a broad cross-section of the community, a strategic recruitment shall be undertaken, at least annually, which may include, but not be limited to the following:
(1) Use of local consumer media such as radio, television, and/or newspaper; press releases, webpage advertisements, social media, and notices;
(2) Preparation of flyers for distribution in the community; and through Community organizations and contact persons.
(3) Community e-mail blasts, webpage notices, news items, press releases, via community partners and outreach.
(c) Government Code Section 54974 provides that whenever an unscheduled vacancy occurs in any board, commission, or committee for which the City Council has the appointing power, a special vacancy notice shall be posted in the Office of the City Clerk, on either the local agency’s Internet Web site or at the library designated pursuant to Section 54973, and in other places as directed by the City Council, not earlier than twenty (20) days before or not later than twenty (20) days after the vacancy occurs. Final appointment to the board, commission, or committee shall not be made by the City Council for at least ten (10) working days after the posting of the notice in the City Clerk’s office, except in emergencies. Notwithstanding such provisions, the City Council shall endeavor to fill vacancies on City boards and commissions within forty-five (45) days from the date the vacancy occurs.
SECTION 5. Any person desiring to be considered for appointment to any City commission, including incumbent commission members, shall complete an application stating the applicant's name, address, telephone number, the appointment desired, and any other pertinent facts on an application form to be provided by the City Clerk. No person may be appointed who has not timely submitted such an application.
SECTION 6. Applicants may select alternate commissions of interest on their application; however, applicants may not serve on more than one commission at any given time.
SECTION 7. It shall be the policy of the City Council that the following basic procedures shall apply in making appointments to commissions created by the City Council:
(a) The application shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1) The number of commission meetings attended by the applicant in the 55575.18115\44838230.1
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preceding six (6) months;
(2) An outline of the selection criteria as stipulated in Section 2 of this Policy;
(3) The applicant's relevant experience and qualifications for the position;
(4) The applicant's educational background;
(5) The applicant's ideas and goals for the commission; (6) The applicant’s alternate commission of interest (if any); (7) The applicant’s qualifying category (reside, work, or attend school within the City).
(b) The Office of the City Clerk shall compile all applications and distribute application materials to the City Council and/or the City Council Boards and Commissions Ad Hoc Subcommittee.
(c) Full City Council Interviews:
(1) The City Clerk shall establish a full City Council interview schedule of applicants who applied to serve on the Historic Site Preservation Board, Human Rights Commission, Measure “J” Oversight
Commission, and the Planning Commission
(2) During a designated open and public meeting, the City Council shall conduct interviews and make appointments of qualified candidates applying to serve on the Historic Site Preservation Board, Human Rights Commission, Measure "J" Oversight Commission, and the Planning Commission.
(d) City Council Boards and Commissions Ad Hoc Subcommittee:
(1) The City Council annually appoints from its members a two-member Boards and Commissions Ad Hoc Subcommittee, comprised of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, to screen applications and interview applicants who applied to serve on commissions not requiring full Council interviews, to determine qualified applicants.
(2) The City Council Boards and Commissions Ad Hoc Subcommittee shall submit to the City Clerk a list of recommended qualified applicants for full City Council consideration and appointment. (3) The Office of the City Clerk shall draft a staff report to the City Council to facilitate the appointment of applicants recommended by the subcommittee.
(e) Members of each City board, commission, or committee shall be appointed by motion of the City Council, adopted by at least three (3) affirmative votes. 55575.18115\44838230.1
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SECTION 8. Alternate Members:
(a) The City Council has made provisions for two types of members: "alternate" members, who are eligible to vote when other voting members are unavailable, and "non- voting" members, who can participate in commission meetings but do not have voting rights on any matters.
(1) Non-voting members shall be limited to one three-year term, which shall not count towards City term limits.
(2) Non-voting members shall not be counted toward quorum requirements, nor toward required vote counts.
(3) Non-voting members shall not have the opportunity for reappointment as a non-voting member, nor will appointment as a non-voting member guarantee appointment as a full member of a commission.
(b) In the event of a voting member’s vacancy, an alternate member who wishes to become a voting member may request to advance into the vacant voting member’s position by filing a new commission application, following the publication of a notice of recruitment for the vacant voting member’s position. (c) If appointed to advance, the alternate member assumes the voting member role; thereby, creating a vacancy in the alternate position. (d) Terms:
(1) Newly Advanced Voting Member: A transition would allow a newly advanced voting member to retain their original term’s expiration date, thereby ensuring that the member’s seven (7) year term limit is not affected. The member would retain its original term schedule (referred to as Term A in the example provided below).
(2) Vacant Alternate Position: The vacant term for the alternate position, created as a result of the transition, shall follow the term schedule that was in effect prior to the transition (referred to as Term B in the example provided below).
Term Example:
Alternate Member’s Term (expiration) = Term A
Term for newly advanced voting member = Term A
Vacant Voting Member’s Term (expiration) = Term B
Term for vacant alternate position created by transition = Term B SECTION 9. Appointments to commissions shall be made at a regular, adjourned regular, or special meeting of the City Council.
SECTION 10. Resolution No. 18804 is hereby rescinded and replaced. 55575.18115\44838230.1
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ADOPTED THIS 22ND DAY OF APRIL 2026.
Scott C. Stiles, City Manager
ATTEST:
Brenda Pree, MMC, CERA
City Clerk
CERTIFICATION
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss.
CITY OF PALM SPRINGS )
I, BRENDA PREE, City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs, hereby certify that Resolution No. _____ is a full, true, and correct copy, and was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Springs on the 22 nd day of April 2026, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Palm Springs, California, this ______ day of April 2026.
Brenda Pree, MMC, CERA
City Clerk