CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: Members of the City Council
FROM: Douglas L. White, Deputy City Attorney
BY: Douglas L. White, Deputy City Attorney
MEETING DATE: September 2, 2026
ITEM NO: ____________
SUBJECT: Selection of Three Councilmembers to Serve on the Rules Committee
RECOMMENDATION
By majority vote, select three eligible members of the City Council to serve as the Rules Committee for purposes of evaluating the pending request to censure the Mayor, in accordance with Chapter 7, Section D of the City Officials' Handbook.
BACKGROUND
Chapter 7, Section D of the City Officials' Handbook provides that City Officials who violate the Handbook, state or federal law, or the Patterson Municipal Code may be subject to disciplinary measures, including admonishment, reprimand, or censure. The Handbook defines censure as a formal resolution reprimanding an individual for misconduct and identifies censure as a disciplinary action.
Under the Handbook, any Councilmember may submit a request to censure another Councilmember. The request is initially submitted to the Rules Committee and should contain specific allegations of conduct that, if true, would violate the applicable standards identified in the Handbook. The Handbook applies the same disciplinary procedures to alleged misconduct by the Mayor.
The Council has received a request seeking censure of the Mayor. Before that request may be evaluated under the Handbook's prescribed process, the Council must select the three-member Rules Committee.
The City Officials' Handbook establishes a Rules Committee as the first level of review for a request to censure a member of the City Council, including the Mayor. The Council must select three Councilmembers to serve on the Committee by majority vote. Because the Mayor is the subject of the pending review, the Mayor is not eligible to serve on the Rules Committee during the evaluation of the alleged violations. This item is limited to selection of the Committee; it does not call for the Council to consider or determine the merits of the allegations.
DISCUSSION
A. Composition and Selection
The Handbook provides that the Council will select three Councilmembers to serve on the Rules Committee through a majority vote. A Councilmember whose conduct is under review may not serve on the Committee during that review and is automatically removed from the Committee for the duration of the review. Accordingly, the Mayor is not eligible for appointment to the Rules Committee for this matter.
The Council may replace members of the Rules Committee at any time by majority vote. If a Committee member is recused, the Handbook provides for appointment of a replacement member to act pro tempore. If more than one Committee member becomes the subject of the review, the matter advances automatically to a five-member ad hoc committee appointed in accordance with the Handbook.
B. Committee's Initial Role
After the Rules Committee is selected, the censure request must be personally served on the Mayor at least 72 hours before the Committee meeting at which the request will be evaluated. The Mayor must also receive notice of the meeting's date, time, and place, as well as notice of the right to submit oral or written evidence.
At the Committee meeting, the Mayor must be provided an opportunity to respond to the allegations. Following that meeting, the Committee must determine either that (1) the matter should be investigated further, or (2) no further investigation is required and the matter should be dismissed, with a final report forwarded to the City Council for consideration. The Committee must serve its report on the Mayor and the Council within ten days of the meeting.
If the Committee recommends further investigation, because the Mayor is the accused official, the Council—not the Mayor—must appoint the five-member ad hoc committee that will conduct the further investigation. That later appointment, any investigation, and any ultimate public hearing on censure are outside the scope of the present agenda item.
C. Scope of Present Action
The action requested at this meeting is procedural and limited to establishing the Rules Committee.
Selection of a Councilmember to serve on the Committee does not indicate that the
Councilmember has reached any conclusion regarding the allegations. Committee members will evaluate the request and the Mayor's response in accordance with the process established by the Handbook.
FISCAL IMPACT
The selection of the Rules Committee has no direct fiscal impact. Staff and City Attorney time associated with noticing, advising, and supporting the Committee will be absorbed within existing appropriations. Additional costs may arise if the Committee recommends further investigation, depending on the scope of that investigation and the resources required.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed action is not a project subject to the California Environmental Quality Act because it is an organizational and administrative activity that will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines, § 15378(b)(5).)
RECOMMENDED ACTION
By majority vote, select three eligible members of the City Council to serve as the Rules Committee for purposes of evaluating the pending request to censure the Mayor, in accordance with Chapter 7, Section D of the City Officials' Handbook.