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CC 2013-10-08_11.b. Process for Filling Council VacancyMEMORANDUM TO: CITY COUNCIL FROM: TIMOTHY J. CARMEL, CITY ATTORNEY STEVEN ADAMS, CITY MANAGER KELLY WETMORE, LEGISLATIVE AND INFORMATION SERVICES DIRECTOR/CITY CLERK SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF A PROCESS FOR FILLING CITY COUNCIL VACANCY DATE: OCTOBER 8, 2013 RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended the City Council consider options for the procedures to use to fill a vacancy on the City Council and direct staff accordingly. IMPACT ON FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES: There is no cost impact from filling the vacancy by appointment, other than nominal costs associated with any advertising of the vacancy that the City Council determines would be appropriate. Should the Council call for a Special Election to fill the vacancy, the estimated cost is $35,000-$40,000. BACKGROUND: On October 3, 2013, Governor Brown appointed Council Member Ray to fill the vacant Fourth District Supervisorial seat. On October 4, 2013, Council Member Ray resigned from her Council seat and was sworn in as a County of San Luis Obispo Supervisor. ANALYSIS OF ISSUES: California Government Code Section 36512 provides the methods by which a vacancy on a City Council may be filled. Specifically, this section provides that the "…the council shall, within 60 days from the commencement of the vacancy, either fill the vacancy by appointment or call a special election to fill the vacancy. The special election shall be held on the next regularly established election date not less than 114 days from the call of the special election. A person appointed or elected to fill a vacancy holds office for the unexpired term of the former incumbent." If the Council chooses to fill the vacancy by calling a Special Election, that election would take place on June 3, 2014 at the Consolidated Statewide Primary Election. The County Elections Official estimates the cost of a special election at $35,000-$40,000. The Council would continue to operate with four (4) members for approximately nine (9) months. Item 11.b. - Page 1 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF PROCESS FOR FILLING CITY COUNCIL VACANCY OCTOBER 8, 2013 PAGE 2 State law does not identify any specific appointment procedure that must be followed in filling a vacancy on a City Council. Therefore, the City Council has considerable discretion in determining what procedure to utilize, with the only significant constraint being the sixty (60) day statutory time frame within which to act, which means the Council must take action prior to December 3, 2013. There are a wide range of options available in selecting someone to fill the vacancy. On one end of the spectrum, the appointment can be placed on the Agenda and the Council can simply take nominations and vote until a nominee obtains three (3) votes. At the other end of the spectrum, a notice of the vacancy can be published and posted, applications required, workshops or public forums scheduled, interviews informally held by an ad hoc committee of two Council Members or formally by the full Council at a duly noticed meeting, and ultimately nominations made, and action taken to fill the vacancy. At the outset there is the question of how to publicize the vacancy. The City Council could direct that notice of the vacancy be posted and perhaps advertised in a local newspaper, and can also direct preparation of a news release indicating that applicants for the vacancy are being sought. The next issue to consider is what to require as submittals from interested persons. The City Council can choose to require interested persons to fill out and submit one or more of the following: a formal application, letter of interest, resume, other supporting documents and/or letters of recommendation. It can list criteria that applicants need to address in their application or letter of interest, such as history of community involvement, what they view as important issues facing the City and how they would like to see them addressed or resolved, or similar matters and concerns. Any combination of the options can be required, with the goal of eliciting sufficient information for the City Council to make an informed decision regarding the people who apply. Also, since Government Code Section 36512 provides a 60 day time period in which to act, consideration needs to be given to establishing a deadline for submittal of applications or letters of interest, as well as the date at which the applicants will be considered and an appointment made. Finally, there is the question of the actual selection process. The Brown Act does contain an exception for ad hoc subcommittees consisting solely of less than a quorum of Council Members. Therefore, such an ad hoc subcommittee could be formed to review applications and make recommendations to the City Council. Also, the City Council should consider whether it would like to give applicants for the vacancy an opportunity to make a short presentation, or respond to questions as part of a public interview process. In 2010, when a vacancy was created by the resignation of a Council Member, the Council chose to fill the vacancy by appointment due primarily to time and financial considerations. The Council considered a variety of options and agreed on the following process: Item 11.b. - Page 2 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF PROCESS FOR FILLING CITY COUNCIL VACANCY OCTOBER 8, 2013 PAGE 2 The City Council vacancy would be filled by City Council appointment. An Application and Notice of Vacancy forms were approved (see Attachments 1 and 2) and a deadline to submit applications was established. An applicant public forum was scheduled to provide public involvement in the process, and the League of Women Voters moderated the forum. Staff formally noticed the applicant forum as a Special Council Meeting in order to avoid any Brown Act problems, so that all Council Members could be present to view the proceedings. (The cost for the League of Women Voters to facilitate the activity in 2010 was $200. If Council would like to pursue this process, staff suggests contacting the League of Women Voters as soon as possible to determine availability and dates). Three (3) City Council questions were developed by the Council for applicants to respond to at the forum, along with questions that would be submitted by the public. (The questions were: 1) What do you consider two or three important issues facing the City that you would like to help solve?; 2) Name two or three things you like about Arroyo Grande that should be protected; and 3) What do you think are the three most important financial priorities for the City?) The appointment was scheduled to take place at a subsequent Regular City Council Meeting. Following an additional opportunity for the public and Council to obtain applicant feedback at the Regular Council Meeting, Council Members ranked all the applicants. The rankings were tabulated and presented by staff, which would then be used by Council to make a motion(s) for appointment. The new Council Member was sworn in and seated at that same meeting. The entire process, from the Council determination to fill the vacancy by appointment to the Council appointment itself, took approximately three (3) weeks. The City received favorable feedback from the public regarding the process (see Attachment 3). It is important to note that in considering applicants for appointment to the vacant office, the City Council may not meet in closed session. While under the Brown Act the City Council may meet in closed session to consider the appointment of a public employee, an elected official is expressly excluded from the definition of an “employee”. (Government Code Section 54957.) In addition the voting process must be open, since the Brown Act prohibits the use of secret ballots (Government Code Section 54953(c)). Based on the above, the Council should consider making an appointment at a Regular Council meeting, or at a subsequent Special Council meeting, if necessary. Item 11.b. - Page 3 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF PROCESS FOR FILLING CITY COUNCIL VACANCY OCTOBER 8, 2013 PAGE 2 ALTERNATIVES: The following alternatives are provided for the Council’s consideration: 1.Utilize the application and appointment process as conducted in 2010; 2.Consider other options for soliciting applicants, including how to publicize the vacancy; 3.Consider the options, in requiring applicants for the vacancy to submit a formal application, letter of interest and/or documents in support of their candidacy for the vacancy; 4.Consider scheduling a public forum; 5.Consider whether an ad hoc subcommittee should be formed to review applicants, and also whether applicants should be subject to a public interview or allowed to make a statement in support of their application; 6.Establish a time-table for publicizing the vacancy, accepting applicants and making the appointment; 7.Do not use the appointment process and call a Special Election; or 8.Provide other appropriate direction to staff. ADVANTAGES: The primary advantage of utilizing the same process as in 2010 is that it will fill the vacancy in a timely manner and minimize costs. Meanwhile, the feedback previously received from the public regarding the process is that it was fair and provided opportunities for public input. The advantage of a special election is that the people choose their representative. DISADVANTAGES: There are no disadvantages identified with the outlined appointment process. The disadvantage of a special election would be the costs and time period the City Council would need to operate without full representation. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: No environmental review is required for this item. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMENTS: The Agenda was posted in front of City Hall on Friday, October 4, 2013. The staff report was posted on the City’s website on Monday, October 7, 2013. Item 11.b. - Page 4 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF PROCESS FOR FILLING CITY COUNCIL VACANCY OCTOBER 8, 2013 PAGE 2 Attachments: 1. Draft Notice of Vacancy 2. Draft Application for City Council Member Vacancy Appointment 3. News articles regarding appointment process Item 11.b. - Page 5 ATTACHMENT 1 Item 11.b. - Page 6 Page 1 of 2 CITY OF ARROYO GRANDE APPLICATION TO FILL COUNCIL VACANCY Applicant must be a resident of the City of Arroyo Grande Application Deadline: ______, _______, 2013 – 5:00 p.m. Return to City Clerk’s Office, 300 E. Branch Street, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420 NAME: ______________________________________________ Last First MI ARE YOU 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER? Yes__ No__ ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE? Yes__ No__ ADDRESS: _____________________________________________ Number Street City Zip DO YOU RESIDE WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF ARROYO GRANDE? Yes___No__ TELEPHONE: Hm ( )_____________ Wk ( )_______________ ARE YOU PLANNING TO RUN IN THE NOVEMBER 2014 ELECTION (please circle one) YES NO UNDECIDED Are you now serving on a City Commission/Committee?_________________________________________ If so, which? ______________________________________________________________________________ Have you previously served on a City Board, Commission, or Committee?__________________________ If yes, which body and dates of service?______________________________________________________ EDUCATION (include professional or vocational licenses or certificates)____________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ CURRENT EMPLOYER:____________________________________________________________________________ EMPLOYER ADDRESS:_______________________________________PHONE:______________________________ POSITION OR TITLE:______________________________________________________________________________ Explain your reason(s) for wanting to serve: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ATTACHMENT 2 Item 11.b. - Page 7 Page 2 of 2 QUALIFICATIONS OR EXPERIENCE: (Applicable to the purpose and subject matter of this appointment) __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT (List organization memberships and committee assignments)____________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ REFERENCES: List three persons, not relatives, who have knowledge of your character, experience, community involvement, and abilities. You may also attach letters of reference and/or a resume (optional). PLEASE OBTAIN PERMISSION FROM INDIVIDUALS BEFORE LISTING THEM AS A REFERENCE. Name Address Phone Occupation I hereby declare that the foregoing information is true and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. ______________________________________________________________________________ Applicant Signature Date Notice to Applicants: 1)Applicants appointed by the City Council are required to take an Oath of Office. 2)State law and the City’s Conflict of Interest Code requires that Council Members file Statements of Economic Interests (Form 700) upon assuming office, annually, and upon leaving office (e.g., sources of income, loans, gifts, investments, interests in real property within the City). 3)This application is a matter of public record and portions thereof are subject to disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act. FOR USE BY CITY CLERK’S OFFICE: (Date Stamp) Received by:_________________________________________ Item 11.b. - Page 8 ATTACHMENT 3 Item 11.b. - Page 9 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Item 11.b. - Page 10