1 PROPOSED
CHARTER AMENDMENTS
City Council
June 21, 2022
Sue Gallagher, City Attorney
Introduction
Last August, the Council directed the establishment of a Charter Review Committee to initiate the City’s
decennial review of the provisions of its Charter.
Highly engaged, the Committee worked over seven
months, reviewing and making key recommendations
on possible Charter amendments.
Committee’s Final Report and Recommendations were
presented to the Council at a study session on May
24 th.
2 Recommendations
Committee recommended three measures for
presentation to the voters on the November 2022 ballot:
Ballot measure to increase Council compensation, tying Mayor and Council member compensation to a percentage of Area Median Income (AMI)
Ballot measure to align the Charter with the City’s district-based election of Council members.
Ballot measure to update and modernize the City Charter, including provisions to remove ambiguities, to provide
additional flexibility in City operations, and to ensure gender and citizenship neutrality.
3 Additional Issues Considered
Expansion of voting rights to noncitizens.
The Committee, on unanimous vote, urges the Council to move forward with consideration of expansion of voting rights to noncitizens in City elections as soon as practicable.
Directly Elected Mayor
The Committee recommended, on a 10 - 7 vote, against
moving forward with a proposed transition to a directly elected Mayor at this time.
Ranked Choice Voting
The Committee recommended, on a 17 – 3 vote, against
moving forward with a proposed transition to ranked choice voting at this time.
4 Proposed Charter Amendments
5 I.
Ballot Measure to Increase
Council Compensation
6 Council Compensation
Council members currently receive $800 per month
salary, the Mayor $1200 per month
There has been no increase since 2005
Charter Review Committee heard of the workload of the Mayor and Council members and recognized the
difficulties of balancing private employment, childcare, family and the responsibilities of Council membership
Committee also received information on Council
compensation in other Northern California cities.
7 Council Compensation
Committee unanimously agreed that Council
compensation should be increased
Increase in compensation would:
Enable a greater diversity of Council membership
Ensure continued strong commitment and
professionalism
Reflect fairness and respect for the extensive work
performed by members of the Council
8 Council Compensation
Recommendation:
Set Mayor’s salary at Area Median Income for a three- person household
Set Council members’ salary at 2/3 of Area Median
Income for a three-person household
Permanently tie Mayor’s and Council members’ salaries to Area Median Income for a three-person household
Consider establishing a penalty or reduction in salary for unexcused absences, to parallel a city-wide salary
reduction or as otherwise determined by Council
9 Council Compensation
Alternatives:
A strong minority recommended a higher level of
compensation at 140% of AMI for Mayor, 100% AMI for
Council members
At least two Committee members recommended Council
utilize existing authority under Charter and state law to increase Council compensation
Other options included tying Council salaries to (a) salary of County Supervisors, (b) average or lowest paid City
employee, or (c) average of Council compensation in Santa Rosa’s comparable cities
10 Council Compensation
Existing authority:
Charter Section 4 ties Council compensation to state law State law provides a schedule of compensation based on population of city
For city the size of Santa Rosa, compensation is set at $800 per month. Voters may approve higher rate.
Council, by ordinance, may increase by 5% per year (not compounded), and increases may accumulate
No change since 2005, so for 17 yr accumulation. 5% ($40 per month) x 17 yrs = $680 allowable monthly increase
11 Council Compensation
Dollar figures for options (highest to lowest):
Tie to Supervisors: Approximately $161,000
Tie to Average City Salary: Approximately $95,000,
140% AMI: Mayor $130,130, Council member $92,950
100% AMI: Mayor $92,950, Council member $61.347
Average of Comparable Cities: approximately $31,000 for Mayor, $20,150 for Council member
Existing Authority: Mayor $26,640, Council member
$17,760
Tie to Lowest City Wage: $15.85 per hour 12
2. Ballot Measure to Align with
District-Based Election of
Council Members
13 District‐based Elections
California Voting Rights Act prohibits at-large election of Council members, if a city experiences racially polarized voting
In 2018, an independent analysis of multiple prior City elections revealed racially polarized voting
In 2018, under threat of litigation, the Council adopted an ordinance to begin the transition to district-based elections 14 District‐based Elections
Recommendation: Revise Section 4 to provide:
District-based election of Councilmembers
District boundaries set by ordinance
Decennial review of District boundaries following
federal census in accordance with federal and state
law
Additional review of District boundaries as required
by law
Revision will ensure compliance with state law
15 3.
Ballot Measure to Provide for
Charter Update and Modernization
16 Frequency of Charter Amendments
Section 12: Charter Review
Current wording: the Charter “shall be reviewed in
the year 2002 and not less than every ten years
thereafter . . .”
Revise: “Charter shall be reviewed in the year 2002
and every ten years thereafter . . .”
Add: “Nothing in this section precludes additional
amendments placed on the ballot by voter initiative
or by Council ordinance at such other times as
deemed necessary”
17 Responsibility for
Emergency Management
City Code currently designates the City Manager as the Director of Emergency Services
Charter creates some ambiguity
Recommendation: To avoid ambiguity, confirm
responsibility of City Manager and Public Safety for
leadership in times of emergency
Amendments to four sections: Section 15 (Mayor),
18 (City Manager), 21 (Police Chief), 22 (Fire Chief)
18 Flexibility for City Operations
Section 25: Board of Public Utilities
Clarify that BPU’s responsibility may, at Council’s
discretion, include stormwater and “dry” utilities,
including electricity, broadband and others
Section 28: Budget
Clarify that City Manager may propose a single year or multi-year budget, retaining all procedural provisions
19 Clarification of Ambiguities
Section 19: City Attorney
Clarify that required three years of California practice need not be immediately preceding appointment
Section 32: Council Member Recall
Clarify that a vacancy created by recall will be filled as any other vacancy, in accordance with Section 31
Section 37: Deputy Officials
Clarify that officers appointed by Council have the
power to appoint their own deputies without need for
confirmation by Council
20 Gender and Citizenship Neutrality
Recommendation by unanimous vote to revise Charter
to ensure gender neutral language throughout
Recommendation by unanimous vote to revise Charter
to substitute “resident” for “citizen” throughout
21 Questions?
22