1 CITIZENS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
Purpose:
Pursuant to the Ordinance adopted by San Pablo voters for the Measure Q Sales Tax Measure on June 5, 2012 (passed by a 73% vote of the people) and Measure K EMS Funding Measure on June 3, 2014 (passed by 70.8% vote of the people) , the City will recruit residents and representatives of San Pablo businesses to serve on the Citizens Oversight Committee (Committee) for Measures Q and K. Copies of the Ordinance 2012- 005 and Ordinance 2014-007 are attached.
The pur pose of the Committee would be to review and report on all revenues and expenditures received by the City and to ensure such revenues are spent by the City in the manner consistent with the voter -approved measure. The measure calls for the creation of a c ommittee of at least five (5) members who shall either be San Pablo residents or representatives of San Pablo businesses.
Selection of Members:
Members of the Committee shall be appointed by majority vote of the city council. The committee shall consist of five members. The Committee members shall not be current city of San Pablo employees, officials or contractors of the city. Past employees, officials or vendors shall be eligible to serve on the committee, provided that such service would not be a violation of law, as determined by the city attorney.
Of the members of the Committee first appointed, three shall be appointed for terms of four years and two for terms of three years. Their successors shall be appointed for terms of four years. No member may serve more than two consecutive four-year terms.
The city council shall solicit committee members through an open application process that is promoted through the city's normal recruiting process. Any San Pablo resident or a representative of a San Pablo business is eligible to apply for committee membership, subject to the limitations specified above. All applications will be reviewed by the city council, which will have the authority to make all final decisions on committee representation, subject to these guidelines.
2 Purpose and Jurisdiction:
The Committee shall review expenditures of revenue collected only to determine whether such funds are expended for the purposes specified in San Pablo Municipal Code Chapter 3.25, and issuing reports on their findings to the city council and public at least annually. The Committee may also review the annual financial or performance audits performed by an independent auditor. The committee shall confine its oversight specifically to revenues generated under Chapter 3.25 of the San Pablo Municipal Code.
The Committee is not charged with decision-making on spending priorities, schedules, project details, funding source decisions (e.g., leveraged funds, developer fees, etc.), financing plans, or tax rate assumptions. The Committee shall serve in an advisory-only role to the City Council. The Committee shall have no jurisdiction other than that delegated to it by the people pursuant to SPMC 3.25. The failure of the committee to carry out any of its duties under this section shall not affect the validity of any of the provisions of Chapter 3.25.
The City of San Pablo city manager, or his or her designee, shall provide any reasonable administrative or technical assistance required by the committee to fulfill its responsibilities or publicize its findings.
Meetings:
The Committee shall meet semi-annually with specific meeting dates to be determined by the committee. Committee meetings are subject to the requirements of the Ralph M.
Brown Act (Government Code Section 54950 et seq., as may be amended from time to time). Meetings must be noticed and open to the public. Additional meetings may be scheduled by the committee as necessary. All committee members shall attend a training and orientation session upon commencing their duties.
Attendance - Committee members are expected to attend all regular meetings:
At the first meeting of each calendar year, the Committee will select members to serve as chair and vice chair of the Committee. A city staff person will be appointed by the city manager or his or her designee to serve as secretary. The secretary will be responsible for preparing, posting and distributing agendas and taking minutes at each meeting.
Approved minutes shall be made available to the public. Committee decisions, positions, findings and procedures shall require a simple majority of those members voting.
Vacancies:
In the event of removal, resignation, or death, the city council shall appoint a person to fill the vacant seat.