October 15, 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 either:
. Make amendments to the City’s mayoral rotation policy by adopting either Option No. 1 or Option No. 2 discussed in this staff report by resolution to memorialize the amendment; or
. Keep the current selection process (Option No. 3); or . Provide direction to staff and bring this item back at a later date for further discussion (Option No. 4).
DISCUSSION:
At September 3, 2024, City Council meeting, the City Council discussed changing the mayoral rotation policy. After discussing different possible options, the City Council voted 3-2 (with Councilmembers Ruiz and Ledezma and Mayor Pro Tem Vandever voting in favor and Mayor Ayala and Councilmember Hawkins voting against) to keep the current selection process and revisit the item after the upcoming election. At the September 18, 2024, City Council Meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Vandever requested that this item be brought before the City Council for further discussion.
Based on the discussion of the different options at the September 3, 2024, City Council meeting, the City Attorney’s office prepared two draft resolutions that reflect those discussions of two possible options that appeared to be desired by members of the City Council (Option No. 1 and Option No. 2 below). If the City Council desires to make amendments to the City’s mayoral rotation policy based on either Option No. 1 or Option No. 2, the City Council may adopt either of the resolutions at tonight’s meeting.
No resolution is needed if the City Council desires to keep the current selection process (Option No. 3) or provide direction to staff and bring this item back at a later date for further discussion (Option No. 4).
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 persons 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 member as Mayor and another 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 be 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 – Option No. 1 and Option No. 2.
Instead of the foregoing, the following are two (2) options for the City Council to consider as it pertains to the selection process for the offices of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem. The options are based on feedback from members of the City Council at the September 3, 2024, City Council meeting. The City Attorney’s office has prepared resolutions attached to this staff report if the City Council desires to adopt one of these options tonight.
1. Option No. 1 - After the 2024 election, appoint the current Mayor Pro Tem as Mayor and the most senior member of the City Council as Mayor Pro Tem, and then the selection process would default to a rotational system.
Option No. 1 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 Councilmember at the top of the rotation list would become Mayor Pro Tem.
Highlights of the rotational system include the following:
• The position of Mayor is filled by the current Mayor Pro Tem. • The Councilmember at the top of the rotation list would become Mayor Pro Tem. • The senior incumbent Councilmember would be at the top of the rotation list, followed by other incumbent Councilmembers in order of seniority. • In a non-election year, the previous Mayor shall be placed in the rotation below other Councilmembers, even if the previous Mayor is more senior than the other Councilmembers.
• Upon the election or appointment of a new Councilmember, the new individual shall be placed at the bottom of the rotation list. In the event of an election of more than one new individual to the City Council, the ranking of order of the new Councilmember(s) shall be in relation to the number of votes received at the election.
• Following an election, the previous incumbent Mayor shall be placed in the rotation above the newly elected Councilmember(s) and below other incumbent Councilmembers, including incumbent Councilmembers who are reelected.
2. Option No. 2 - After the 2024 election, appoint the current Mayor Pro Tem as Mayor and the most senior member of the City Council who has never served as Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem as Mayor Pro Tem. Then the selection process would default to a rotational system.
Option No. 2 would allow, following the next election, the City Council to appoint the current Mayor Pro Tem as Mayor, and the most senior City Councilmember, who has never served as Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem, 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 Councilmember at the top of the rotation list would become Mayor Pro Tem.
Highlights of the rotational system include the following:
• The position of Mayor is filled by the current Mayor Pro Tem. • The Councilmember at the top of the rotation list would become Mayor Pro Tem. • The senior incumbent Councilmember would be at the top of the rotation list, followed by other incumbent Council members in order of seniority. • In a non-election year, the previous Mayor shall be placed in the rotation below other Councilmembers, even if the previous Mayor is more senior than the other Councilmembers.
• Upon the election or appointment of a new Councilmember, the new individual shall be placed at the bottom of the rotation list. In the event of an election of more than one new individual to the City Council, the ranking of order of the new Councilmember(s) shall be in relation to the number of votes received at the election.
• Following an election, the previous incumbent Mayor shall be placed in the rotation above the newly elected Councilmember(s) and below other incumbent Councilmembers, including incumbent Councilmembers who are reelected.
D. Option No. 3 - Make No Changes to the Current Selection Process and Continue Following the Procedures Currently in Place
Option No. 3 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.
E. Option No. 4 - Provide direction to staff and bring this item back at a later date for further discussion
Option No. 4 would have the City Council provide direction to staff and bring this item back at a later date for further discussion.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No Fiscal Impact.
ATTACHMENTS:
Resolution No. 4042 - Option #1
Resolution No. 4042 - Option #2