T-2522/1908650
TO:
HONORABLE MAYOR AND
CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
NORA V. FRIMANN,
City Attorney
SUBJECT:
Civil Service Commission
Appointment; Thomas Cochran,
Applicant
DATE:
April 8, 2022
BACKGROUND
This Office routinely reviews applications for appointment t o City boards and commissions. The applications generally do not provide complete information; however, they do occasionally disclose potential conflicts of interest or incompatible offices. The purpose of this memorandum is to highlight major areas of k nown potential conflicts that are disclosed by the applications.
COMMISSION DUTIES
Established by the City Charter and authorized by the Municipal Code and Policy 0-4, the Civil Service Commission acts as an appellate body for certain personnel decisions affecting City employees and applicants for City employment. The Commission also makes recommendations to the Council and the City Manager and may conduct investigations concerning the administration of personnel in the Classified Service, reviews and recommends changes to Civil Service Rules, and appoints members of the City Council Salary Setting Commission.
COMMISSION COMPOSITION
The Civil Service Commission consists of five members. City Charter section 1001(a) requires that one member must be an attor ney who has practiced l aw in the State of California for at least five years and that the Civil Service Commission may not have more than four members of the same sex. In addition, City Charter Section 1001(b) requires that one m ember must be nominated by full-time officer s and employees, excluding members of the Council and Commissions. Council poli cy also states that a Commissioner may not be a present, former, or retired C ity employee. [Policy 0-4, §I(B)(1), (3).]
Honorable Mayor and City Council
Civil Service Commission Applicants
April 8, 2022
T-2522\1908650
Of the five position s, there is curr ently one vacancy for the at-large position. The current Commission includes the attorney -at-law position and at least one male an d female member. The current applicant is for an at -large position which may be filled without considering profession or the gender of the applicant.
San Jose Munic ipal Code section 2.08.150( a) provides that the Charter controls the term for the Charter commissions. For the Civil Service Commission, the Charter provides that the term of office is four years, but it is silent on term lim its. [Charter, §1001(b).] Thus, unlike other non-Charter Commissions, here, Commissioners may be reappointed for more than two terms.
LEGAL CONFLICTS THAT MAY PRECLUDE VOTE OR PARTICIPATION Certain pos itions may preclude a commi ssioner from p articipating in a commission discussion or from voting if a matter involving the entity comes before the commission.
While this list is not complete, these types of conflicts generally fall within one o r more of the following situations:
• An application s hows entities that are “sour ces of incom e” to a potential commissioner within the 12 months preceding the start of the commission term, as defined under the Political Reform Act.
• An application shows sources of income to a Spouse or Domestic Partner of a potential commissioner within the 12 months preceding the start of the commission term.
• An applicant or the Spouse or Domestic Partner of an applicant is an Officer or Board Member of an entity and it is foreseeable that the entity could be involved in a matter coming before the commission.
APPEARANCE OF BIAS
There may be facts which would not amount to a legal conflict of interest requiring a commissioner to recuse him or herself from a commission vote or discussion, but the relationship could c reate an appearance o f bias on the par t of the com missioner. City Council policy requires commissions to be free from bias in their decision making and may require a commissioner to recuse him or herself if the facts could reasonably lead one to conclude that the applicant would be biased for or against an entity or entities.
Honorable Mayor and City Council
Civil Service Commission Applicants
April 8, 2022
T-2522\1908650
APPLICANT TO BE INTERVIEWED
Thomas C ochran – Mr. Cochran’s application indicates he is a Vice President and Financial Advisor for the Bank of the West. The application does not list a sp ouse and does not disclose any current or past City employment. H e previously served ei ght years on the City ’s S alary Setting Commission, but this volunteer work do es not disqualify his application. Mr. Cochr an’s a pplication discloses neither incompatibl e offices nor apparent conflicts of interest.
CONCLUSION
The applicant does not appear to h old any incompatible office nor have any apparent conflicts that would prevent him from serving on the Civil Service Commission. The Council may wish to consider the above comments in making i ts appointments to the Commission.
NORA FRIMANN,
City Attorney
By:
Colleen D. Winchester
Senior Deputy City Attorney