CITY OF SIGNAL HILL
STAFF REPORT
2175 Cherry Avenue • Signal
Hill, California 90755-3799
12/10/2024
AGENDA ITEM
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CARLO TOMAINO
CITY MANAGER
BY: DARITZA GONZALEZ
CITY CLERK
KIMBERLY BOLES
ASSISTANT CITY CLERK
SUBJECT:
CITY COUNCIL REORGANIZATION
Summary:
At the first regular City Council meeting following a general municipal election, newly elected Council Members are sworn and seated. The City Council shall designate one of its members as Mayor and one of its members as Vice Mayor, at the first regular City Council meeting following the anniversary of that date for any year in which no general municipal election is held.
Strategic Plan Goal(s):
Goal No. 5 High-Functioning Government: Strengthen internal communication, recruitment, retention, systems, and processes to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of City services.
Recommendations:
1. Reorganize by selecting a new Mayor and Vice Mayor.
2. The newly appointed Mayor will present a proclamation to outgoing Mayor Woods.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action.
Background and Analysis:
Annually, in December, the City Council reorganizes by selecting a new Mayor and Vice Mayor. The CITY OF SIGNAL HILL Page 1 of 4 Printed on 12/6/2024
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Annually, in December, the City Council reorganizes by selecting a new Mayor and Vice Mayor. The Manual of Procedural Guidelines, last adopted by the City Council at its meeting of November 9, 2021, documents the procedure as follows:
10.2 Appointment of Mayor and Vice Mayor
Pursuant to section 302 of the City Charter, the City Council shall designate one of its members as Mayor and one of its members as Vice Mayor. Due to both the election cycle and the incongruence between a four-year term and five members of the City Council, it is impossible to ensure that every member of the City Council has the opportunity to serve as Mayor and Vice Mayor during their term. However, where possible, that is the goal of the City Council. The following principles shall guide the City Council in performing this annual duty.
(a) All members of the City Council should have an opportunity to serve as Mayor and Vice Mayor during their four-year term of service.
(b) After completing their one-year term, the Vice Mayor will be appointed Mayor. (c) The City Council will follow a five-year rotation where every year, each member of the City Council advances up one step in the rotation until serving as Mayor; with the Mayor, upon completing their service, moving down to the fifth step in the rotation. (d) When new members of the City Council are elected, they will be placed at the end of the rotation. If multiple new members of the City Council are elected, their position in the rotation will be based on vote count, placing the new member of the City Council with the highest vote count higher in the rotation than those with a lower vote count.
The current practice and positions of the Vice Mayor assuming the position of Mayor and the outgoing Mayor moving down to the end of the rotation are listed in the Rotation History (Attachment A). The shaded cells indicate the election years.
Procedure
1. Election of Mayor
The City Clerk presides over the selection of the new Mayor.
City Clerk “Nominations are now in order for the office of Mayor of the City of Signal Hill. Any member of the City Council may nominate any member for the position of Mayor. No second is required for the nomination”.
<<Council Members make nominations.>>
City Clerk “Council Member __________ is nominated. Are there any further nominations for the office of Mayor”?
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<<When it appears that no one else wishes to make a nomination.>> City Clerk “If there are no further nominations for the office of Mayor, I declare nominations are closed”.
“I will now ask each Council Member, in alphabetical order, to cast their vote. When I call your name, please indicate your vote. The nominee receiving the majority vote of the City Council shall be declared the new Mayor”.
<<City Clerk conducts the vote of the City Council alphabetically: Council Member Copeland, Council Member Hansen, Council Member Honeycutt, Council Member Jones, and Council Member Woods.>>
<<If vote fails and a majority is not reached, repeat the vote process until a majority vote is reached.>>
City Clerk “I now declare _____________ as the new Mayor”. <<Newly appointed Mayor is given an opportunity to make any remarks upon entering office.>>
2. Election of Vice Mayor
The newly appointed Mayor presides over the selection of the Vice Mayor.
Mayor “Nominations are now in order for the office of Vice Mayor of the city of Signal Hill. Any member of the City Council may nominate any member for the position of Vice Mayor.
No second is required for the nomination”.
<<Council Members make nominations.>>
Mayor “Council Member __________ is nominated. Are there any further nominations for the office of Vice Mayor”?
<<When it appears that no one else wishes to make a nomination.>> Mayor “If there are no further nominations for the office of Vice Mayor, I declare nominations are closed.
I will now ask each Council Member, in alphabetical order, to cast their vote. When I call your name, please indicate your vote. The nominee receiving the majority vote of the City Council shall be declared the new Vice Mayor”.
<<Mayor conducts the vote of the City Council alphabetically: Council Member Copeland, Council Member Hansen, Council Member Honeycutt, Council Member Jones, and Council Member Woods.>>
Mayor “I now declare __________ as the new Vice Mayor”.
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<<Newly appointed Vice Mayor is given an opportunity to make any remarks upon entering office.>> Mayor “At this time I would like to present the outgoing Mayor with a proclamation on behalf of the city of Signal Hill. We will be recognizing outgoing Mayor Woods immediately following tonight’s meeting. The festivities will be held in front of City Hall.” Attachment:
A. Rotation History
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