TABLE: EXAMPLES OF PROTOCOLS FROM VARIOUS CALIFORNIA CITIES/Seating Selection Option
1 Seating of Mayor:
Mayor shall be seated in the center of the dais.
Seating of Councilmembers:
Immediately following the meeting at which the declaration of the municipal election results is made and the City Council has chosen one of its members as Mayor, the newly selected Mayor shall solicit input from the remaining Council Members as to seating preferences.
Prior to the next regular City Council meeting, the Mayor shall provide the City Council with the new seating arrangements. 2 Seating of Mayor
The Mayor shall be seated in the center seat. Should the Mayor be absent, the Vice Mayor will assume the Mayor’s seat.
Seating of the Vice Mayor
The Vice Mayor shall be seated to either side of the Mayor, with the vice Mayor receiving preference for obtaining the seat.
Councilmember Seating
Seating arrangements will be determined as the last item of business at a meeting during which a mayor and/or vice mayor is selected.
Councilmembers shall select where they wish to sit on the basis of length of continuous time of service on the City Council. The selection process shall be in the order of most senior to least senior. When two or more Councilmembers have equivalent time of service, those Councilmembers shall be given priority in seat selection by the highest number of votes in his/her most recent election. 3 Seating preferences on the dais shall be made by the Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and then by seniority of the rest of the members, in that order. If two members have equal seniority based on year elected, then the member with the higher vote count in their most recent election is considered to have higher seniority.
4 After the meeting at which selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor took place, the newly elected Mayor shall be seated in the middle position the dais.
The Vice Mayor shall be seated to the Mayor's right, and the Immediate Past Mayor shall be seated to the Mayor's left.
The remaining Councilmembers shall be seated according to their seniority with the next most senior member sitting to the Vice Mayor's right, second most senior member sitting to the Immediate Past Mayor's left and so on. 5 After the meeting at which selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor took place, the newly elected Mayor shall be seated in the middle position the dais.
The Vice Mayor shall be seated to the Mayor's right, and the Immediate Past Mayor shall be seated to the Mayor's left.
The remaining Councilmembers shall be seated alphabetically (starting with A-Z) starting from the far left to the far right or vice versa) 6 The City Council hereby establishes a policy concerning City Council seat location. Currently, when facing the dais, the seats from left to right are as follows:
Mayor, Vice Mayor, City Council member by order or seniority; and if equal seniority to be established by highest vote count at most recent Municipal General Election. The Mayor seat shall always be to the farthest left while facing the dais as to be closest to City Manager, City Clerk and City Attorney.
Each year, at the next meeting following the election of the Vice Mayor, the Council Member in seniority shall move to seat next to Vice Mayor, followed by seniority as indicated above. The Council Member appointed as Vice Mayor shall take the Vice Mayor seat and the former Mayor (if still on Council) shall take the seat farthest to the right. In the event that a Council Member has a disability that would prevent that Council Member from sitting in a particular seat, such accommodation shall be considered by the Council at the same meeting where the appointment of the Vice Mayor occurs.
ATTACHMENT 3 TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 12: TABLE: SURVEY OF CITIES/SEATING SELECTION Page 1 of 2 TABLE: EXAMPLES OF PROTOCOLS FROM VARIOUS CALIFORNIA CITIES/Seating Selection 7 The Mayor shall have the prerogative to designate the seating order for the Council dais. Otherwise, the seating order shall be organized by seniority, with the Mayor Pro Tem seated to the right of the Mayor, most senior Council Member on the far right side of the Mayor Pro Tem and the least senior to the far left of the Mayor.
8 In the absence of a consensus by Council Members at the time of the Council reorganization, the Mayor shall have the prerogative to designate the seating order for the Council dais. This seating arrangement can be overruled by a majority of the Council. 9 At the time of the Council change in membership, the Mayor shall have the prerogative to designate the seating order for the Council dais. Otherwise, the seating order shall be organized by seniority, with the Vice Mayor seated to the right of the Mayor, most senior Council Member on the right side of the Vice Mayor and the least senior to the far left of the Mayor.
Councilmember Vice Mayor Mayor Immediate Past Mayor Councilmember 10 Following the City Council election, the City Clerk shall designate the seating order for the Council dais. The Mayor Pro Tem is generally seated to the right of the Mayor.
ATTACHMENT 3 TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 12: TABLE: SURVEY OF CITIES/SEATING SELECTION Page 2 of 2