September 3, 2024
TO: City Council
REQUESTED BY: Craig Hayes,
APPROVED BY: Robert A. Johnson, City Manager
SUBJECT: Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem Rotation Policy Options RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council review and discuss the mayoral rotation policy options in this staff report and provide direction to staff to either:
· Make amendments to the City’s mayoral rotation policy and adopt at a later date a resolution to memorialize the amendment;
· Keep the current selection process; or
· Bring this item back at a later date for further discussion.
DISCUSSION:
1. Options and Procedures for Selecting the Mayor
A. State Law.
Government Code Section 36801 grants the City Council the authority to select the mayor:
“[t]he city council shall meet at the meeting at which the declaration of the election results for a general municipal election is made…and, following the declaration of the election results and the installation of elected officials, choose one of its number as mayor, and one of its number as mayor pro tempore.”
State law does not prescribe a particular method that the City Council must use to select a mayor and mayor pro tempore. Rather, the City Council may select the mayor and mayor pro tempore in the manner it chooses.
B. Current Selection Process.
Section 3.1 of the City of San Jacinto Council Orientation and Procedure Handbook (the “Handbook”) provides the current procedures for selecting the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem. Per the Handbook, the City Council appoints a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem through nomination by any member of the City Council. Following these nominations, each nomination must be confirmed by three (3) or more affirmative votes. In the event that no person receives three (3) or more votes for either one of the offices, the process must be repeated, with the two people receiving the highest number of votes previously being the only nominees for that office seeking to be filled. If, after repeating the selection process, no person receives three (3) affirmative votes for the office, the City Council has the option to either repeat the selection process until the officer has been duly selected or continue the selection to the next regular meeting of the City Council.
The pertinent sections of Section 3.1 of the Handbook are set forth below.
3.1 Presiding Officer.
(b) The Council shall reorganize each year. In even-numbered years, the Council shall reorganize itself by selecting the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem from its members at the first regular meeting following the official canvass of results of the election but no later than the fourth Tuesday following the date of said general and municipal election.
In odd-numbered years, at the first meeting in December, the Council shall reorganize by choosing one of its members as Mayor and another of its members as Mayor Pro Tem.
In the event the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem cannot fulfill their term, the Council may choose a Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem to serve the remainder of the current term at any meeting of the City Council.
(d) Nomination for the office of Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem may be made by any member of the Council. Each selection shall by three (3) or more affirmative votes. In the event that no person receives three or more votes in the selection process for one or both offices, the selection process shall be repeated immediately provided, however, that the two persons receiving the highest number of votes in the preceding selection process shall be the only nominees for the office to be filled. If, upon repeating the selection process for Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem, no person has yet received three affirmative votes for such office, the Council may either repeat the selection process until the officer has been duly selected or may continue the selection to the next regular meeting of the Council.
(e) Voting in the selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem shall be by voice vote administered by the City Clerk.
C. Alternative Methods for Selecting a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem.
Instead of the foregoing, the following are options for the City Council to consider as it pertains to the selection process for the offices of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem. In some of the options below, the City Council would have to decide who to appoint as Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem before defaulting to a standard rotating system where the individuals are automatically appointed based on pre-established procedures.
1. Appoint the current Mayor Pro Tem as Mayor and the Most Senior Member of the City Council as Mayor Pro Tem
The first option would allow, following the next election, the City Council to appoint the current Mayor Pro Tem as Mayor, and the most senior City Council member as Mayor Pro Tem.
Following these appointments, the selection process would then default to a rotational system where, after each election, the current Mayor Pro Tem would become the Mayor, and the most senior member of the City Council would be appointed as Mayor Pro Tem. The two City Council members in those positions previously would move to the end of the line of succession, until all members of the City Council have served in both roles.
2. Appoint the Most Senior Member of the City Council as Mayor and the Second Most Senior Member of the City Council as Mayor Pro Tem The second option would allow, following the next election, the City Council to appoint the most senior member of the City Council as Mayor and the second most senior member of the City Council as Mayor Pro Tem, regardless of who held the positions prior to the election.
Following these appointments, the selection process would then default to a rotational system where, after each election, the current Mayor Pro Tem would become the Mayor, and the most senior member of the City Council would be appointed as Mayor Pro Tem. The two City Council members in those positions previously would move to the end of the line of succession, until all members of the City Council have served in both roles.
3. Nominate and Appoint a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem Regardless of Seniority The third option would allow, following the next election, the City Council to appoint two members of the City Council as Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, regardless of seniority.
Following these appointments, the selection process would then default to a rotational system where, after each election, the current Mayor Pro Tem would become the Mayor, and the most senior member of the City Council would be appointed as Mayor Pro Tem. The two City Council members in those positions previously would move to the end of the line of succession, until all members of the City Council have served in both roles.
4. Make No Changes to the Current Selection Process and Continue Following the Procedures Currently in Place
The last option would make no changes to the City’s current selection process for the offices of both Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, and the City Council would continue following the procedures in Section 3.1 of the Handbook. As discussed in the section above, this process would involve a nomination for Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem by any member of the City Council, and each nomination being confirmed by three (3) or more affirmative votes.
D. Possible Tiebreakers in the Event of a Tie:
In the event that the City Council were to adopt the first choice above, whereby, following the election, the City Council appoints the current Mayor Pro Tem as Mayor and the most senior member of the City Council as Mayor Pro Tem or the second choice above, whereby the City Council appoints the most senior member of the City Council as Mayor and second most senior member of the City Council as Mayor Pro Tem, and if there is a tie in seniority between two members of the City Council, the tie can be broken by one of two ways:
• Base the selection on the number of general election votes that each member obtained during the most recent election.
• If the two members were not elected during the same election, the tie would be broken through a randomized means of selection, such as placing the names of the two City Council members on pieces of paper and drawing one at random, or “drawing straws,” whereby the City Council member that draws the shortest straw is chosen to fill the position.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No Fiscal Impact.