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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-09-28 Special Agenda PacketIN-PERSON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: Members of the public are welcome to attend City Council meetings in person. Alternate ways to view meetings live or on -demand include: livestreamed on HBTV Channel 3 (replayed on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. and Thursday at 6:00 p.m.); live and archived meetings for on-demand viewing accessed from https://huntingtonbeach.legistar.com/calendar , https://bit.ly/SurfCityTV, or the City's YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/cityofhb , or from any Roku, Fire TV or Apple device by downloading the Cablecast Screenweave App and searching for the City of Huntington Beach channel. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Individuals wishing to provide a comment on agendized or non -agendized items including Study Session, Closed Session, and Public Hearing, may do so in person in the City Council Chambers by completing a Request to Speak form delivered to the City Clerk. SUPPLEMENTAL COMMUNICATION: Members of the public unable to personally participate in the meeting but interested in communicating with the City Council on agenda -related items are encouraged to submit a written (supplemental) communication to the Council via email at SupplementalComm@Surfcity-hb.org . Supplemental Communications are public record, and if received by 9:00 AM on the day of the meeting, will be distributed to the City Council prior to consideration of agenda -related items, posted to the City website, and announced, but not read, at the meeting. Communications received after the 9:00 AM deadline will be incorporated into the administrative record. Members of the public are also welcome to communicate with the City Council (and staff supporting Council) at City.Council@surfcity-hb.org . MEETING ASSISTANCE NOTICE: In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, services are available to members of our community who require special assistance to participate in public meetings. If you require special assistance, 48-hour prior notification will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements for an assisted listening device (ALD) for the hearing impaired, American Sign Language interpreters, a reader during the meeting and /or large print agendas. Please contact the City Clerk's Office at (714) 536-5227 for more information. AGENDA City Council/Public Financing Authority Thursday, September 28, 2023 Special Meeting Council Chambers 2000 Main Street Huntington Beach, CA 92648MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL TONY STRICKLAND, Mayor GRACEY VAN DER MARK, Mayor Pro Tem RHONDA BOLTON, Councilmember PAT BURNS, Councilmember DAN KALMICK, Councilmember CASEY McKEON, Councilmember NATALIE MOSER, Councilmember STAFF AL ZELINKA, City Manager MICHAEL E. GATES, City Attorney ROBIN ESTANISLAU, City Clerk ALISA BACKSTROM, City Treasurer AGENDA September 28, 2023City Council/Public Financing Authority 6:00 PM – COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL Kalmick, Moser, Van Der Mark, Strickland, McKeon, Bolton, Burns PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE INVOCATION In permitting a nonsectarian invocation, the City does not intend to proselytize or advance any faith or belief. Neither the City nor the City Council endorses any particular religious belief or form of invocation. 23-8141.Huntington Beach Fire and Police Chaplain Roger Wing ANNOUNCEMENT OF SUPPLEMENTAL COMMUNICATIONS (Received After Agenda Distribution) PUBLIC COMMENTS (90-Second Time Limit) At this time, the City Council will receive comments from members of the public regarding the discussion of potential charter amendments for the March 5, 2024, Statewide Primary Election . Individuals wishing to provide a comment may do so in person by filling out a Request to Speak form delivered to the City Clerk. All speakers are encouraged, but not required to identify themselves by name. Each speaker may have up to 90 seconds unless the volume of speakers warrants reducing the time allowance. Please note that the Brown Act does not allow discussion or action on topics that are not on the agenda. Members of the public who would like to speak directly with a Councilmember on an item not on the agenda may consider scheduling an appointment by contacting the City Council's Administrative Assistant at (714) 536-5553 or emailing the entire City Council at city.council@surfcity-hb.org. While the City Council welcomes public involvement and supports and defends free speech, the City Council rejects comments from anyone that are discriminatory, defamatory or otherwise not protected free speech. Those comments will not inform nor be considered by the City Council and may be cause for the Mayor to interrupt the public speaker. Such public comments will not be consented to or otherwise adopted by the City Council in its discussions and findings for any matter tonight. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 23-8352.City Council discussion and consideration of potential amendments to the Charter; conduct straw votes to place certain amendments on Page 1 of 2 AGENDA September 28, 2023City Council/Public Financing Authority the March 5, 2024 Special Election ballot A) Discuss potential amendments to the Charter; and B) Conduct straw votes on Charter amendments that may be placed on the March 5, 2024 Special Election ballot. Recommended Action: COUNCILMEMBER ITEMS 23-8373.Submitted by Councilmembers Kalmick and Moser - Seek an opinion from the California Attorney General on eligibility for the primary ballot for Charter amendments involving City Clerk, City Attorney, and investigations of elected officials Direct the City Manager to work with the City Attorney to seek an opinion from the California Attorney General on the question of SB311 (2013 Padilla), portions of which were chaptered as Election Code Section 1415, applying to the proposed charter amendments making changes to the roles of the City Clerk, City Attorney, City Council and City Manager, HR Department Head and/or Police Chief. Recommended Action: PUBLIC COMMENTS (90-Second Time Limit) At this time, the City Council will receive comments from members of the public regarding the discussion of potential charter amendments for the March 5, 2024, Statewide Primary Election . Individuals wishing to provide a comment may do so in person by filling out a Request to Speak form delivered to the City Clerk. All speakers are encouraged, but not required to identify themselves by name. Each speaker may have up to 90 seconds unless the volume of speakers warrants reducing the time allowance. ADJOURNMENT The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Huntington Beach City Council/Public Financing Authority is Tuesday, October 3, 2023, in the Civic Center Council Chambers, 2000 Main Street, Huntington Beach, California. INTERNET ACCESS TO CITY COUNCIL/PUBLIC FINANCING AUTHORITY AGENDA AND STAFF REPORT MATERIAL IS AVAILABLE PRIOR TO CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS AT http://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov Page 2 of 2 City of Huntington Beach 2000 Main Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 File #:23-814 MEETING DATE:9/28/2023 Huntington Beach Fire and Police Chaplain Roger Wing City of Huntington Beach Printed on 9/27/2023Page 1 of 1 powered by Legistar™ City of Huntington Beach 2000 Main Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 File #:23-835 MEETING DATE:9/28/2023 REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION SUBMITTED TO:Honorable Mayor and City Council Members SUBMITTED BY:Al Zelinka, City Manager VIA:Travis K. Hopkins, Assistant City Manager PREPARED BY:Catherine Jun, Deputy City Manager Subject: City Council discussion and consideration of potential amendments to the Charter; conduct straw votes to place certain amendments on the March 5, 2024 Special Election ballot Statement of Issue: Note: A PDF version of this report is attached, in the event that the tables and images do not display properly on the reader's screen. On September 5, 2023, City Council authorized Special Meetings on September 14, 21, 28 and October 5 to gather public feedback and consider potential amendments to the Charter. On September 21, Council Members deliberated on several amendments that were previously proposed, while adding new amendments and requesting impact analyses on each. The analyses are detailed in this report. Following deliberation on all amendments tonight, City Council may consider conducting straw votes to identify those that could be placed on the March 5, 2023 Special Election ballot for voter approval. Financial Impact: There are no fiscal impacts at this time. Recommended Action: A)Discuss potential amendments to the Charter; and B) Conduct straw votes on Charter amendments that may be placed on the March 5, 2024 Special Election ballot. Alternative Action(s): Do not approve one or more recommended action; direct staff accordingly. Analysis: During the September 21 Special Meeting, City Council discussed potential Charter amendments and requested impact analyses for consideration. Included in the analyses below are possible amendment language to be used as examples only. If an amendment is approved via straw vote tonight, the Attorney’s Office will provide legal review and official charter amendment language for consideration on October 5. City of Huntington Beach Printed on 9/27/2023Page 1 of 10 powered by Legistar™ File #:23-835 MEETING DATE:9/28/2023 Section 300. Recommended by Council Member Bolton (The following language was based on a similar amendment considered by the 2021-22 Charter Revision Committee and is provided as an example only.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: The current Charter does not impose any term limits for its three elected Charter officer positions. To understand how other communities with elected officers manage terms, staff conducted a survey (below): Elected Charter Officer Terms City Attorney Currently, 9 other California charter cities elect their Attorneys:·2 impose a two consecutive term limit (San Diego, Chula Vista)·1 imposes a two term limit (Los Angeles)·6 do not impose term limits City Clerk Currently, 13 other California charter cities elect their Clerk. None impose term limits. City Treasurer Currently, 14 other California charter cities elect their Treasurer. None impose term limits. At this time, term limits are typically not imposed for elected City Clerk and Treasurer positions, while there are some exceptions for the City Attorney position. There may be some concerns that the turnover stemming from term limits may reduce the pool of qualified candidates, as these roles (including the ones in City of Huntington Beach Printed on 9/27/2023Page 2 of 10 powered by Legistar™ File #:23-835 MEETING DATE:9/28/2023 Huntington Beach) are skilled department head positions that would exercise significant managerial duties. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. Section 300. Recommended by Council Member Kalmick (The following language was based on a similar amendment considered by the 2021-22 Charter Revision Committee and is provided below as an example only.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: The Huntington Beach City Attorney was first identified as an appointed position in 1909. Records remain unclear but the City Attorney converted to an elected position in 1950 or 1966. Over the years, the roles and duties, as well as the election process for this position have been examined and/or reconsidered multiple times; Charter amendments to convert the position to an appointed role were placed on ballot measures in 1973 and 1978, but were defeated. Today, Huntington Beach is one of 10 California charter cities with an elected City Attorney. The Huntington Beach City Clerk and Treasurer have historically been elected, since the first Charter was established. Over the years, the role and duties, as well as the election process for these positions have been examined and/or reconsidered multiple times; Charter amendments to convert both to appointed roles were placed on ballot and/or placed on a ballot measures in 1973, 1978, and 1984, but were defeated. Today, City of Huntington Beach Printed on 9/27/2023Page 3 of 10 powered by Legistar™ File #:23-835 MEETING DATE:9/28/2023 Huntington Beach is one of 14 California Charter cities with elected City Clerks and one of 15 with elected City Treasurers. All three positions operate as Department Heads at this time. Converting them into appointed roles is not anticipated to affect their roles and duties and should not result in significant operational impacts. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. Section 302. Recommended by Council Member Kalmick (Proposed revisions are not available at this time and are pending Council discussion. Below is the current Charter section as is.) Preliminary Fiscal and Operational Analysis: Per the Charter, the City Council receives: 1.A monthly salary of $175, a static amount that does not change from year to year. 2.A monthly expense allowance for other routine and ordinary expenses, losses and costs imposed upon them by virtue of their serving as City Councilpersons. The current monthly allowance is approximately $1,765 (per Council Member) and $2,470 (per Mayor at 40% higher due to his/her additional responsibilities); both amounts are updated based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from year to year. This allowance is authorized under Ordinance No. 4044. 3.An annual budget for authorized travel/conferences when on official duty. In FY2023-24, each Council Member can expend up to $5,810; the Mayor up to $6,973. The annual compensation range of City Councils in Huntington Beach, Orange County charter cities and two comparably-sized cities in LA County are below and include items 1-2 above. (Compensation does not include indirect forms of compensation such as pension costs or insurance benefits, since they are elective and not all City Council members have opted in.) Orange County Charter Cities Population City Council Annual Compensation Average Annual Compensation per 1,000 residents Seal Beach 24,647 $7,200 $292 Cypress 49,818 $8,864 - $13,284 $222 Buena Park 83,517 $19,153 - $28,768 $287 Newport Beach 83,411 $11,187 - $20,683 $191 Huntington Beach 195,714 $19,705- $27,245 $120 Irvine 303,051 $29,700 $98 Santa Ana 299,630 $18,450 - $30,808 $82 Anaheim 328,580 $10,877 - $26,400 $57 Los Angeles County Charter Cities Population City Council Annual Compensation Average Annual Compensation per 1,000 residents Pasadena 136,988 $20,069 - $30,619 $185 Glendale 191,284 $11,759 - $28,058 $104 City of Huntington Beach Printed on 9/27/2023Page 4 of 10 powered by Legistar™ File #:23-835 MEETING DATE:9/28/2023 Orange County Charter Cities Population City Council Annual Compensation Average Annual Compensation per 1,000 residents Seal Beach 24,647 $7,200 $292 Cypress 49,818 $8,864 - $13,284 $222 Buena Park 83,517 $19,153 - $28,768 $287 Newport Beach 83,411 $11,187 - $20,683 $191 Huntington Beach 195,714 $19,705- $27,245 $120 Irvine 303,051 $29,700 $98 Santa Ana 299,630 $18,450 - $30,808 $82 Anaheim 328,580 $10,877 - $26,400 $57 Los Angeles County Charter Cities Population City Council Annual Compensation Average Annual Compensation per 1,000 residents Pasadena 136,988 $20,069 - $30,619 $185 Glendale 191,284 $11,759 - $28,058 $104 (2022 Data, California State Controller website: publicpay.ca.gov) Based on the low and the high end of Huntington Beach’s annual compensation range, the monthly compensation is approximately $1,642-$2,270. In comparison to the compensation formula in SB 329 for General Law cities over 150,000 and up to/including 250,000 residents, General Law City Council Members are compensated $2,550 per month. Section 307 (add new paragraph).Recommended by Council Member Bolton (The following language was provided by Council Member Bolton.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: There are no known operational impacts at this time. This amendment would maintain the City’s current library book policies. Any requests to change the City’s existing or future library collection would continue to be addressed through the existing materials reconsideration process that is available to patrons with concerns about any materials. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. Section 312.Recommended by Mayor Strickland. (The following language was on the November 2022 General Election ballot and serves as an example.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: The proposed amendment adds requirements to fill a City Council vacancy by requiring at least four affirmative votes (and not a simple majority of the seated Council Members at that time). This proposed amendment would establish that such appointees would fill the vacancy only until the next general municipal election, when the local electorate may vote for a candidate to permanently fill the remainder of the unexpired term for that position. If the appointment occurs after the filing deadline for the next general municipal election, the seat is deemed vacant. Upon certification of the general municipal election, the newly seated City Council will be charged with filling the vacancy by appointment or election. This amendment is not expected to result in any significant operational impacts. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: City of Huntington Beach Printed on 9/27/2023Page 5 of 10 powered by Legistar™ File #:23-835 MEETING DATE:9/28/2023 This amendment will yield some additional costs to fill the vacancy via an election. However, it is not anticipated to result in significant financial impacts. Section 313.Recommended by Council Member Bolton (The following language was provided by Council Member Bolton for consideration. The City Attorney’s Office will need to provide final language, following Council discussion.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: A review of regional charter cities, as it relates to the nepotism policies in their charters is below. Orange County Charter Cities Section on Nepotism Anaheim, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Seal Beach Their charter language mirror Huntington Beach’s, with minor variations. Please note - These cities do not have elected department heads; as such, they do not specifically prohibit Council from appointing relatives of elected department heads or other offers with appointive powers. Irvine, Santa Ana Their charters briefly mention a prohibition on nepotism and calls for the use of other governing policies (i.e. personnel rules) to outline the details. Buena Park, Cypress, Placentia No nepotism language in their charters. LA County Charter Cities Section on Nepotism Glendale, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pasadena No nepotism language in their charters. Huntington Beach provides details on its anti-nepotism policy in other authorizing documents (see below). A legal analysis would be required to determine if such a prohibition must also be included in the Charter: Source of Authority Details Personnel Rules 16-2 and 16-3 - Persons related by blood or marriage within the third degree* cannot report to the same supervisor or supervise one another. - Such persons cannot be in positions where one has access to privileged or confidential information that should not be accessible to the other. Administrative Regulation 411 - An appointing authority cannot appoint an immediate family member of the City Manager, Department Head, or Personnel Director to a paid temporary or permanent position. - An employee cannot be moved to a position within the direct line of supervision of a relative; these relatives cannot have the same immediate supervisor. City of Huntington Beach Printed on 9/27/2023Page 6 of 10 powered by Legistar™ File #:23-835 MEETING DATE:9/28/2023 Source of Authority Details Personnel Rules 16-2 and 16-3 - Persons related by blood or marriage within the third degree* cannot report to the same supervisor or supervise one another. - Such persons cannot be in positions where one has access to privileged or confidential information that should not be accessible to the other. Administrative Regulation 411 - An appointing authority cannot appoint an immediate family member of the City Manager, Department Head, or Personnel Director to a paid temporary or permanent position. - An employee cannot be moved to a position within the direct line of supervision of a relative; these relatives cannot have the same immediate supervisor. * The term “third degree” is the same as "immediate family” (relative), which includes an individual related by blood, adoption or marriage, e.g. spouse, parent, child, sibling, sibling/children-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, uncle/aunt, nephew/niece, stepparent/child/sibling, half-sibling. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. Charter amendments from Measure L (2022) with exclusions.Recommended by Council Member Kalmick (The language of the proposed amendments are separately listed in Attachment 1, due to their length. Amendments related to Section 612 have been removed as they are being considered by City Council as a separate amendment.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: Measure L proposed both substantive and non-substantive amendments. Amendments to Sections 300, 303, 304, 306, 311, 312, 400, 601, 604, 801 are non-substantive in that they clarify or update language in the Charter regarding outdated phrases, syntax, dates, pronouns and titles. For example, Section 300 updates the election years to be more current and rephrases the term “casting of lots” to a “random drawing” for clarity. Section 303 updates the Charter to allow the use of “current technology” to distribute notices, changes the words “executive session” to “closed session” because closed session is the current vernacular as well as clarify the process of adjourning City Council meetings. 303(c) 312(c) 400(d) and 801(e) replace pronouns “he” or “it” with “person” or the title being referred to and 311(d) 601, 604 replaces “Director of Finance” with the updated title of “Chief Financial Officer” and 306 replaces the title “Mayor Pro Tempore” with “Vice Mayor” to better describe the position. One substantive amendment is in Section 804 which would require City Council to consider a Charter review at least every ten years, starting after the last review conducted by a Committee, Council or staff. This would require additional staffing support to organize but does not pose a significant operating impact. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. Sections 307, 401.Recommended by Council Member Kalmick (Proposed revisions are not available at this time. Below are the current, relevant Charter sections for discussion purposes. The City Attorney’s Office will need to provide final language, following Council City of Huntington Beach Printed on 9/27/2023Page 7 of 10 powered by Legistar™ File #:23-835 MEETING DATE:9/28/2023 discussion.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: Among the five largest Orange County cities - Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, Huntington Beach, and Garden Grove - only Irvine and Anaheim retain paid staff that directly reports to individual City Council Members and provides policy, administrative and field support. The Irvine City Council currently maintains 19 FTE, while Anaheim has approximately 9 FTE. Other cities including Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, and Garden Grove have a dedicated analyst or equivalent who supports the City Council but reports directly to the City Manager. To facilitate staff, Irvine’s charter states: Section 700. - Administrative departments. a. The Council may establish City departments, offices or agencies in addition to those created by this Charter and may prescribe the functions of all departments, offices, and agencies. b. Except as otherwise provided by this Charter, all departments, offices, and agencies under the direction and supervision of the City Manager shall be administered by an officer appointed by and subject to the direction and supervision of the City Manager. With the consent of the Council, the City Manager may serve as the departmental administrator of one or more such departments, offices, or agencies or may appoint one person as the departmental administrator of two or more of them. c. The Council may provide for the number, titles, and compensation of all officers and employees. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: The proposed Charter amendment currently seeks flexibility to add Council-directed staff in the future. As such, there is no fiscal impact at this time. However, it can be surmised that if approved, additional FTE will be required. The average personnel cost per one Council Analyst is approximately $141,500 (not including UAL and POBs). New section to provide for an office of legislative counsel .Recommended by Council Member Kalmick (Proposed revisions will be contingent upon Council discussion.) Preliminary Operational Analysis There are no known operational impacts at this time. However, additional legal research may be required to further consider this amendment. Research indicates that various California cities may install an Office of Legislative Counsel via charter, create an Ethics Commission/Board via ordinance, or formally adopt a Code of Ethics as prescribed by charter. Legislative counsel and advisory bodies, i.e. boards and commissions, are tasked with ·enforcement of laws, regulations, and policies intended to assure fairness, openness, honesty and integrity in City government ·education of aforementioned ·impartial administration ·advise and recommend to Council on all matters related to potential unethical conduct ·render advisory opinion or Code interpretation Chula Vista Charter stipulates that via ordinance Council may establish Office of Legislative Counsel. Board of Ethics and Code of Ethics established by ordinance, 2013. Santa Ana Charter stipulates that City shall adopt a Code of Ethics and Conduct for elected officials, executive team, and those appointed to boards, commissions, and committees. Code of Ethics and Conduct was updated in 2022. Oakland Public Ethics Commission established by charter and enacted by ordinance. City of Huntington Beach Printed on 9/27/2023Page 8 of 10 powered by Legistar™ File #:23-835 MEETING DATE:9/28/2023 Chula Vista Charter stipulates that via ordinance Council may establish Office of Legislative Counsel. Board of Ethics and Code of Ethics established by ordinance, 2013. Santa Ana Charter stipulates that City shall adopt a Code of Ethics and Conduct for elected officials, executive team, and those appointed to boards, commissions, and committees. Code of Ethics and Conduct was updated in 2022. Oakland Public Ethics Commission established by charter and enacted by ordinance. Preliminary Financial Analysis There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. New section to limit elected officials from endorsing or campaigning with other elected officials . Recommended by Council Member Kalmick (Proposed revisions will be contingent upon Council discussion.) Preliminary Operational Analysis There are no known operational impacts at this time, although there may be additional legal research required. Some charter cities enact restrictions to curb influence on campaigns by elected and appointed officials. For example the City of Oakland (which has an elected City Attorney) Charter Section 401(7) states, “During the City Attorney's tenure, the City Attorney shall not make or solicit contributions to, publicly endorse or urge the endorsement of or otherwise participate in a campaign for a candidate for City elective office, other than for the City Attorney, or of a City ballot measure, or be an officer, director or employee of or hold a policy decision- making position in an organization that makes political endorsements regarding candidates for City elective office.” Preliminary Fiscal Analysis There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. Section 612.Recommended by the Ad Hoc Committee On September 21, City Council directed staff to prepare proposed revisions to Section 612, also known as Measure C. Due to the research required, staff will return with revisions at the October 5 Council Meeting for consideration. For the City Council’s use, a summary of all proposed Charter amendments (2023) is below: Discussed on 9/21/23 Section Proposed Amendments Status 300 Placement of City Clerk and City Treasurer positions on the gubernatorial election cycle Tabled from consideration 303(a)Cancelation of Council meetings, as neededContinue discussion 304(b)Attorney-client role between the City Attorney’s Office and City Council Continue discussion 309 City Attorney powers and duties, budget and compensation, attorney-client privilege, amendments effective date Continue discussion 310 City Clerk educational requirements Continue discussion 314 Investigation of malfeasance Continue discussion; possible consideration as an ordinance 401(b), 601- 605 Biennial budget Continue discussion 612 Measure C exemptions and definitions Continue discussion on 10/5 with staff recommendations 618 Matters affecting property tax collection by the CityContinue discussion; possible consideration as an ordinance 702, 705 Voter identification, ballot drop box monitoring, and additional polling stations Continue discussion 806 Display of flags on City facilities Continue discussion Discussed on 9/28/2023 Section Proposed Amendments Status 300 Elected Charter officers term limits 300 Appointed Charter officers 302 City Council compensation 307 Limit interference with library collection management 312 Filling City Council vacancies 313 Nepotism as it relates to elected department heads Varies Measure L (2022) 307, 401 City Council staffing New Office of legislative counsel New Limit elected official campaigning with other electeds City of Huntington Beach Printed on 9/27/2023Page 9 of 10 powered by Legistar™ File #:23-835 MEETING DATE:9/28/2023 Discussed on 9/21/23Section Proposed Amendments Status300Placement of City Clerk and City Treasurer positions on the gubernatorial election cycle Tabled from consideration 303(a)Cancelation of Council meetings, as neededContinue discussion 304(b)Attorney-client role between the City Attorney’s Office and City Council Continue discussion 309 City Attorney powers and duties, budget and compensation, attorney-client privilege, amendments effective date Continue discussion 310 City Clerk educational requirements Continue discussion 314 Investigation of malfeasance Continue discussion; possible consideration as an ordinance 401(b), 601- 605 Biennial budget Continue discussion 612 Measure C exemptions and definitions Continue discussion on 10/5 with staff recommendations 618 Matters affecting property tax collection by the CityContinue discussion; possible consideration as an ordinance 702, 705 Voter identification, ballot drop box monitoring, and additional polling stations Continue discussion 806 Display of flags on City facilities Continue discussion Discussed on 9/28/2023 Section Proposed Amendments Status 300 Elected Charter officers term limits 300 Appointed Charter officers 302 City Council compensation 307 Limit interference with library collection management 312 Filling City Council vacancies 313 Nepotism as it relates to elected department heads Varies Measure L (2022) 307, 401 City Council staffing New Office of legislative counsel New Limit elected official campaigning with other electeds Environmental Status: Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5), administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment do not constitute a project. Strategic Plan Goal: Non Applicable - Administrative Item Attachment(s): 1.Measure L (2022) 2.PDF Version of Report 3.Legislative Drafts City of Huntington Beach Printed on 9/27/2023Page 10 of 10 powered by Legistar™ Attachment 1: Measure L (2022) Section 300. CITY COUNCIL, ATTORNEY, CLERK AND TREASURER. TERMS. The elective officers of the City shall consist of a City Council of seven members, a City Clerk, a City Treasurer and a City Attorney, all to be elected from the City at large at the times and in the manner provided in this Charter and who shall serve for terms of four years and until their respective successors qualify. Subject to the provisions of this Charter, the members of the City Council in office at the time this Charter takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of their respective terms and until their successors are elected and qualified. Consistent with the staggered election process established in the new Charter in 1966 and reaffirmed in 2022, four members of the City Council shall be elected at the general municipal election held in 1966 2022, and each fourth year thereafter. Three members of the City Council shall be elected at the general municipal election held in 1968 2024, and each fourth year thereafter. No person shall be elected as a member of the City Council for more than two consecutive terms and no person who has been a member for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected a member shall be elected to the City Council more than one further consecutive term. Subject to the provisions of this Charter, the City Clerk, City Treasurer and City Attorney in office at the time this Charter takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of their respective terms and the qualification of their successors. Consistent with the staggered election process established in the new Charter in 1966 and reaffirmed in 2022, a City Clerk and City Treasurer shall be elected at the general municipal election held in 1968 2024, and each fourth year thereafter. A City Attorney shall be elected in 1966 2022, and each fourth year thereafter. The term of each member of the City Council, the City Clerk, the City Treasurer and the City Attorney shall commence on the first Monday regular City Council meeting following the certification of the election. Ties in voting among candidates for office shall be settled by the casting of lots random drawing process conducted by the City Manager during the first regular City Council meeting following the certification. If no candidate meets the qualifications for office of the City Clerk, City Treasurer, or City Attorney, the City Council shall fill that position by appointment until the next municipal general election in which a qualified candidate is elected. Section 303. MEETINGS AND LOCATION. (a) Regular Meetings. The City Council shall hold regular meetings at least twice each month, unless it lacks a quorum or is canceled by the Mayor or a majority of City Council Members, at such time as it shall fix by ordinance or resolution and may adjourn or re-adjourn any regular meeting to a date and hour certain which shall be specified in the order of adjournment. and when so adjourned Each re-adjourned meeting shall be a regular meeting for all purposes. If the hour to which a meeting is adjourned is not stated in the order of adjournment, such meeting shall be held at the hour for holding regular meetings. If at any time any regular meeting falls on a holiday such regular meeting shall be held on the next business day. (b) Special Meetings. A special meeting may be called at any time by the Mayor, or by a majority of the members of the City Council, by written notice or current technology to each member of the City Council and to each local newspaper of general circulation, radio or television station requesting notice in writing. Such notice must be delivered personally, or by mail or by current technology at least twenty-four hours before the time of such meeting as specified in the notice. The call and notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted. No other business shall be considered at such meeting. If any person entitled to such written notice files a written waiver of notice with the City Clerk, it may be dispensed with. This notice requirement shall be considered fulfilled as to any person who is actually present at the meeting at the time it convenes. In the event of an emergency affecting the public peace, health or safety, a special meeting may be called as provided in this section with less than twenty-four hours written notice by the Mayor Pro Tem in the Mayor's absence or by any member of the City Council in the absence of both the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem provided that the nature of the emergency is set forth in the minutes of the meeting. (c) Place of Meetings. All regular meetings shall be held in the Council Chambers of the City or in such place within the City to which any such meeting may be adjourned. If, by reason of fire, flood or other emergency, it shall be unsafe to meet in the place designated, the meetings may be held for the duration of the emergency at such place within the City as is designated by the Mayor, or, if he the Mayor should fail to act, by a majority of the members of the City Council. (d) Open Meetings. All regular and special meetings of the City Council shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend such meetings, except that the provisions of this section shall not apply to executive closed sessions. Subject to the rules governing the conduct of City Council meetings, no person shall be denied the right to be heard by the City Council. Section 304. QUORUMS, PROCEEDINGS AND RULES OF ORDER. (a) Quorum. A majority of the members of the City Council shall constitute a quorum to do business but a lesser number may adjourn from time to time. In the absence of all the members of the City Council from any regular meeting or adjourned regular meeting, the City Clerk may declare the same adjourned to a stated day and hour. The City Clerk shall cause written notice of a meeting adjourned by less than a quorum or by the City Clerk to be delivered personally, or by mail or by current technology to each Council member at least twenty-four hours before the time to which the meeting is adjourned, or such notice may be dispensed with in the same manner as specified in this Charter for dispensing with notice of special meetings of the City Council. Section 306. MAYOR PRO TEMPORE VICE MAYOR. The City Council shall also designate one of its members as Vice Mayor Pro Tempore, who shall serve in such capacity at the pleasure of the City Council. The Vice Mayor Pro Tempore shall perform the duties of the Mayor during the Mayor's absence or disability or at the Mayor's request. Section 311. CITY TREASURER. POWERS AND DUTIES. (d) Prepare and submit to the Director of Finance Chief Financial Officer monthly written reports of all receipts, disbursements and fund balances, and shall file copies of such reports with the City Manager and City Council. Section 312. VACANCIES, FORFEITURES AND REPLACEMENT. (c) Replacement. In the event it the City Council shall fail to fill a vacancy by appointment within sixty days after such office shall become vacant, the City Council shall forthwith cause an election to be held to fill such vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term. Section 400. CITY MANAGER. COMPOSITION, TERM, ELIGIBILITY, REMOVAL. (d) Removal. The City Manager shall not be removed from office during or within a period of ninety days next succeeding any municipal election at which a member of the City Council is elected. At any other time the City Manager may be removed only at a regular meeting of the City Council and upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the City Council. At least thirty days prior to the effective date of removal, the City Manager shall be furnished with a written notice stating the Council's intentions and, if requested by the City Manager, the reasons therefor. Within seven days after receipt of such notice, the City Manager may by written notification to the City Clerk request a public hearing before the City Council, in which event the Council shall fix a time for a public hearing which shall be held at its regular meeting place before the expiration of the thirty-day period above referred to. The City Manager shall appear and be heard at such hearing. After furnishing the City Manager with written notice of the intended removal, the City Council may suspend the City Manager from duty, but his the City Manager’s compensation shall continue until removal as herein provided. In removing the City Manager, the City Council shall use its uncontrolled discretion and its action shall be final and shall not depend upon any particular showing or degree of proof at the hearing, the purpose of which is to allow the City Council and the City Manager to present to each other and to the public all pertinent facts prior to the final action of removal. Section 601. ANNUAL BUDGET, PREPARATION BY THE CITY MANAGER. At such date as the City Manager shall determine, each board or commission and each department head shall furnish to the City Manager, personally, or through the Director of Finance Chief Financial Officer, estimates of the department's, board's or commission's revenue and expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year, detailed in such manner as may be prescribed by the City Manager. In preparing the proposed budget, the City Manager shall review the estimates, hold conferences thereon with the respective department heads, boards or commissions as necessary, and may revise the estimates as may be deemed advisable. Section 604. ANNUAL BUDGET. FURTHER CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTION. At the conclusion of the public hearing the City Council shall further consider the proposed budget and make any revisions thereof that it may deem advisable and on or before the last day of the fiscal year it shall adopt the budget with revisions, if any, by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the total members of the Council. Upon final adoption, the budget shall be in effect for the ensuing fiscal year. Copies thereof, certified by the City Clerk, shall be filed with the City Manager, Director of Finance Chief Financial Officer, City Treasurer and the person retained by the City Council to perform the post audit function, and a further copy shall be placed, and shall remain on file in the office of the City Clerk where it shall be available for public inspection. The budget so certified shall be reproduced and copies made available for the use of the public and of departments, offices and agencies of the City. Section 801. DEFINITIONS. Unless the provisions or the context otherwise requires, as used in this Charter: (a) "Shall" is mandatory, and "may" is permissive. (b) "City" is the City of Huntington Beach and "department," "board," "commission," "agency," "officer," or "employee" is a department, board, commission, agency, officer or employee, as the case may be, of the City of Huntington Beach. (c) "County" is the County of Orange. (d) "State" is the State of California. (e) The masculine includes the feminine and the feminine includes the masculine. (f e) The singular includes the plural and the plural the singular. (g f) "Person" includes firm and corporation. Section 804. CHARTER REVIEW. The City Council shall determine if there is a need to convene a citizen’s Charter Review Commission to conduct a review of the City Charter no less frequently than every ten years from the most recent formal Charter review conducted by a Charter Revision Commission, City Council, or City staff. AD HOC COMMITTEE PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS BY TOPIC TOPIC Elections (Ad Hoc) City Attorney (Ad Hoc) City Clerk (Ad Hoc) Investigations (Ad Hoc) Flags (Ad Hoc) Biennial Budget (Ad Hoc) Clerk, Treasurer Election Cycle (Ad Hoc) Property Tax Waiver (Ad Hoc) Measure "C" (Ad Hoc) Cancellation of Meetings (Ad Hoc) Charter Offices Budget (Ad Hoc) CHARTER SECTIONS 702, 705 (new) 304,309 310 314 (new) 806 (new) 401,60],602,603,604,605 300 618(new) 612 303 315(new) PAGE 2 5 6 7 8 11 12 13 15 16 NEW PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS TOPICS FROM SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 Library (Bolton) Nepotism (Bolton) 2022 Measure L (Kalmick) Vice Mayor (Kalmick) Council Member staff (Kalmick) Council Salaries (Kalmick) Ethics Commission (Kalmick) Appoint Charter Offices (Kalmick) City Attorney Political Paiticipation (Kalmick) Office of Legislative Counsel (Kalmick) Tenn Limits (Bolton) Council Vacancies (Strickland) 307 313 300,303,304,311,312,400,601,604,801,804 303,306 302 302 406 300,401,406,407,408 309 406 (new) 300 312 ELECTIONS Section 702. PROCEDURE FOR HOLDING ELECTIONS. All elections shall be held in accordance with the provisions of the Elections Code of the State of California, as the same now exists or h ereafter may be amended, for the h o lding of municipal elections, so far as the same are not in conflict with this Charter. In the event of such conflict, the provisions of this Charter shall control and prevail, in accordance with Section 103 of this Chatter. Section 705. SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS For all municipal elections, "Elector" means a person who is a United States citizen 18 years of age or o lder, and a resident of the City on or before the day of an election. The City shall verify the eligibility of Electors by voter identification. Beginning in 2026, the City to provide at least 20 residential voting locations for in-person voting dispersed evenly throughout the City, in addition to any City facility voting locations. The City shall monitor ballot drop boxes located w ithin the City for compliance with all applicable laws. As in Section 300, the City Chatter shall determine the term of the City's elective officers, the length of term, and the election cycle in which the election for those offices occur for the City's elective officers. CITY ATTORNEY Section 304. QUORUMS, PROCEEDINGS AND RULES OF ORDER. (a) Quorum. A majority of the members of the City Council shall constitute a quorum to do business but a lesser number may adjourn from time to time. In the absence of all the members of the City Council from any regular meeting or adjourned regular meeting, the City Clerk may declare the same adjourned to a stated day and hour. The City Clerk shall cause written notice of a meeting adjourned by less than a quorum or by the City Clerk to be delivered personally or by mail to each Council member at least twenty-four hours before the time to which the meeting is adjourned, or such notice may be dispensed with in the same manner as specified in this Charter for dispensing with notice of special meetings of the City Council. (b) Proceedings. The City Council shall judge the qualification of its members as set forth by the Chaiier. It shall judge all election returns. Each member of the City Council shall have the power to administer oaths and affirmations in any investigation or proceeding pending before the City Council. The City Council shall have the power and authority to compel the attendance of witnesses, to examine them under oath and to compel the production of evidence before it. Subpoenas shall be issued in the name of the City and be attested by the City Clerk. They shall be served and complied with in the same maimer as subpoenas in civil actions. Disobedience of such subpoenas, or the refusal to testify (upon other than constitutional grounds), shall constitute a misdemeanor, and shall be punishable in the same manner as violations of this Charter are punishable. The City Cmmcil shall have comm! of all legal business and proceedings and all property of the legal department, and may employ other attorneys to take charge of or may comract for any prosecution, litigation or other legal matter or business. ( c) Rules of Order. The City Council shall establish rules for the conduct of its proceedings and evict or prosecute any member or other person for disorderly conduct at any of its meetings. Upon adoption of any ordinance, resolution, or order for payment of money, or upon the demand of any member, the City Clerk shall call the roll and shall cause the ayes and noes taken on the question to be entered in the minutes of the meeting. Section 309. CITY ATTORNEY. POWERS AND DUTIES. To become and remain eligible for City Attorney the person elected or appointed shall have graduated from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, be an attorney at law, duly licensed as such under the laws of the State of California, shall have been engaged in the practice of law in this State for at least five years prior to their election or appointment. The City Attorney represents the City of Huntington Beach, a Chartered City under the Constitution of the State of California and a Municipal Corporation. The elected City Attorney is, by virtue of the election, designated by the people as the City's exclusive legal counsel. The City Attorney may hire, contract, and/or appoint outside contract attorneys and/or such in-house deputy or deputies to assist or act for the City Attorney, at such salaries or compensation as the City Council may by ordinance or resolution prescribe; provided that the employ of attorneys to assist the City Attorney in the execution of his or her duties is the 2 exclusive purview of the City Attorney. Neither the City Council, the City Manager, nor any other City Official or department may hire their own attorneys, consult with, attempt to contract with attorneys for services, or obtain other/outside legal opinions, without the prior express written consent of the City Attorney. The City Attorney shall have the power and may be required to: (a) Represent and advise the City Council and all City officers in all matters of law pertaining to their offices. (b) Prosecute on behalf of the people any or all criminal cases arising from violation of the provisions of this Charter or of City ordinances and such state misdemeanors as the City has the power to prosecute, unless otherwise provided by the City Council. ( c) Represent and appear for the City in any or all actions or proceedings in which the City is concerned or is a party, and represent and appear for any City officer or employee, or former City officer or employee, in any or all civil actions or proceedings in which such officer or employee is concerned or is a party for any act arising out of their employment or by reason of their official capacity. ( d) Attend all regular meetings of the City Council, unless excused, and give their advice or opinion orally or in writing whenever requested to do so by the City Council or by any of the boards or officers of the City. ( e) Approve in writing the form of all contracts made by and all bonds and insurance given to the City. (f) Prepare any and all proposed ordinances and City Council resolutions and amendments thereto. (g) Devote such time to the duties of their office and at such place as may be specified by the City Council. (h) Perform such legal functions and duties incident to the execution of the foregoing powers as may be necessary. (i) Surrender to their successor all books, papers, files, and documents pertaining to the City's affairs. G) Assist and cooperate with the City Manager consistent with Section 403 of the City Charter. (k) Provide advice related to compliance with the City Charter to all elected and appointed officials of the City. 3 (I) Keep, maintain, and protect all City confidential attorney-client privileged, and attorney work product privileged information. Such confidential information shall not be accessible to any other City Official, City Staff, or third party, unless the City Attorney authorizes such access or the City Council votes to authorize such access by majority vote. (m) Additions to Section 309 of this Charter, if approved by the voters at the March 5, 2024 election, shall take effect on January 1, 2027. 4 CITY CLERK Section 310. CITY CLERK. POWERS AND DUTIES. To become and remain eligible for City Clerk, the person elected or appointed shall have a Bachelor's Degree in business, pnblie administration, or a related field, and hold a certification as a Municipal Clerk or obtain such certification within the first three years in office. The City Clerk shall have the power and shall be required to: (a) Attend all meetings of the City Council, unless excused, and be responsible for the recording and maintaining of a full and true record of all of the proceedings of the City Council in records that shall bear appropriate titles and be devoted to such purpose. (b) Maintain separate records, in which shall be recorded respectively all ordinances and resolutions, with the certificate of the Clerk annexed to each thereof stating the same to be the original or a correct copy, and as to an ordinance requiring publication, stating that the same has been published or posted in accordance with this Charter. ( c) Maintain separate records of all written contracts and official bonds. ( d) Keep all records in their possession properly indexed and open to public inspection when not in actual use. ( e) Be the custodian of the seal of the City. (f) Administer oaths or affirmations, take affidavits and depositions pertaining to the affairs and business of the City and certify copies of official records. (g) Be ex officio Assessor, unless the City Council, has availed itself, or does in the future avail itself, of the provisions of the general laws of the State relative to the assessment of property and the collection of City taxes by county officers, or unless the City Council by ordinance provides otherwise. (h) Have charge of all City elections. (i) Perform such other duties consistent with this Charter as may be required by ordinance or resolution of the City Council. G) Assist and cooperate with the City Manager consistent with Section 403 of the City Charter. The City Clerk may, subject to the approval of the City Council, appoint such deputy or deputies to assist them or act for them, at such salaries or compensation as the Council may by ordinance or resolution prescribe. 5 INVESTIGATIONS Section 314. INVESTIGATION OF MALFEASEANCE To avoid potential conflicts of interest and political interference, any allegation of malfeasance, wrongdoing or misconduct against an elected official of the City, shall not be investigated by the City, any other City Official, or member of City Staff. Rather, such allegations shall be referred to the Orange County District Attorney, the California Attorney General, the Fair Political Practices Commission, or other appropriate higher level government agency. 6 FLAGS SECTION 806. DISPLAY OF FLAGS. Except as otherwise provided herein, the City shall only fly or display at or on any of the City's properties the following flags: the American flag, the POW/MIA flag, the State of California flag, the Huntington Beach City flag, the County of Orange flag, or any of the flags of the six branches of service: the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Space Force. During the Summer Olympic Games, the Mayor is authorized to order the display of the official Olympic flags for four weeks prior to the dates of the games, and for up to two weeks thereafter. The City may display any other flag in addition to those already enumerated, but only if authorized by a unanimous vote of all members of the City Council. 7 BIENNIAL BUDGET Section 401. POWERS AND DUTIES. Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, the City Manager shall be responsible to the City Council for the proper administration of all affairs of the City. Without limiting this general grant of powers and responsibilities, the City Manager shall have the power and be required to: (a) Appoint, promote, demote, suspend or remove department heads, officers and employees of the City except elective officers and the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police shall not be appointed or removed until the City Manager shall first have reviewed such appointment or removal with the City Council and have received approval for such appointment or removal by a majority vote of the full City Council. (b) Prepare the budget as required by this Charter arumally, ~ubmit it to the City Council, and be responsible for its administration upon adoption. ( c) Prepare and submit to the City Council as of the end of each fiscal year, a complete report on the finances of the City, and annually or more frequently, a current report of the principal administrative activities of the City. (d) Keep the City Council advised of the financial condition and future needs of the City and make such recommendations as may seem desirable. ( e) Maintain a centralized purchasing system for all City offices, departments and agencies. ( f) Prepare, administer and enforce rules and regulations recommended to and adopted by the City Council governing the contracting for, purchase, inspection, storage, inventory, distribution and disposal of all supplies, materials and equipment required by any office, department or agency of the City government. (g) Be responsible for the compliance by the City with the laws of the State pertaining to the City, the provisions of this Charter and the ordinances, franchises and rights of the City. Subject to policy established by the City Council, exercise control of all administrative offices and departments of the City and of all appointive officers and employees, and prescribe such general rules and regulations as deemed necessary or proper for the general conduct of the administrative offices and departments of the City under their jurisdiction. (h) Perform such other duties consistent with this Chruier as may be required by the City Council. 8 Section 601. BIENNIAL ANNUAL BUDGET, PREPARATION BY THE CITY MANAGER. At such date as the City Manager shall determine, each board or commission and each department head shall furnish to the City Manager, personally, or through the Director of Finance, estimates of the department's, board's or commission's revenue and expenditures for the ensuing two fiscal year;;, detailed in such marmer as may be prescribed by the City Manager. In preparing the proposed budget, the City Manager shall review the estimates, hold conferences thereon with the respective department heads, boards or commissions as necessary, and may revise the estimates as may be deemed advisable. Section 602. BIENNIAL ANNUAL BUDGET. SUBMISSION TO THE CITY COUNCIL. The City Manager shall submit the proposed budget to the City Council at least thirty days prior to the beginning of each even numbered fiscal year beginning in 2026. After reviewing the proposed budget and making such revisions as it may deem advisable, the City Council shall hold a public hearing thereon at least fifteen days prior to the beginning of each even numbered fiscal year and shall cause to be published a notice thereof not less than ten days prior to said hearing. Copies of the proposed budget shall be available for inspection by the public in the office of the City Clerk at least ten days prior to said hearing. Section 603. BIENNIAL ANNUAL BUDGET. PUBLIC HEARING. At the time so advertised or at any time to which such public hearing shall from time to time be adjourned, the City Council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed budget, at which interested persons desiring to be heard shall be given such opportunity. Section 604. BIENNIAL ANNUAL BUDGET. FURTHER CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTION. At the conclusion of the public hearing the City Council shall further consider the proposed budget and make any revisions thereof that it may deem advisable and on or before the last day of the fiscal year it shall adopt the budget with revisions, if any, by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the total members of the Council. Upon final adoption, the budget shall be in effect for the ensuing two fiscal year;;. Copies thereof, certified by the City Clerk, shall be filed with the City Manager, Director of Finance, City Treasurer and the person retained by the City Council to perform the post audit function, and a further copy shall be placed, and shall remain on file in the office of the City Clerk where it shall be available for public inspection. The budget so certified shall be reproduced and copies made available for the use of the public and of departments, offices and agencies of the City. Section 605. BIENNIAL ANNUAL BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS. From the effective date of the budget, the several amounts stated therein as proposed expenditures shall be and become appropriated to the several departments, offices and agencies for the respective objects and purposes therein named; provided, however, that the City Manager 9 may transfer funds from one object or purpose to another within the same department, office or agency. All appropriations shall lapse at the end of the second fiscal year to the extent that they shall not have been expended or lawfully encumbered. At any public meeting after the adoption of the budget, the City Council may amend or supplement the budget by motion adopted by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the total members of the City Council. CLERK, TREASURER ELECTION CYCLE Section 300. CITY COUNCIL, ATTORNEY, CLERK AND TREASURER. TERMS. The elective officers of the City shall consist of a City Council of seven members, a City Clerk, a City Treasurer and a City Attorney, all to be elected from the City at large at the times and in the manner provided in this Charter and who shall serve for terms of four years and until their respective successors qualify, unless otherwise provided in this Charter. Subject to the provisions of this Charter, the members of the City Council in office at the time this Charter takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of their respective terms and until their successors are elected and qualified. Four members of the City Council shall be elected at the general municipal election held in 1966, and each fourth year thereafter. Three members of the City Council shall be elected at the general municipal election held in 1968, and each fourth year thereafter. No person shall be elected as a member of the City Council for more than two consecutive terms and no person who has been a member for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected a member shall be elected to the City Council more than one fmiher consecutive term. Subject to the provisions of this Charter, the City Clerk, City Treasurer and City Attorney in office at the time this Charter takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of their respective terms and the qualification of their successors. A City Clerk and City Treasurer shall be elected for a term of six years at the general municipal election held in 2024. , 1968, and eaeh fourth year thereafter. A City Attorney, a City Clerk, and a City Treasurer shall be elected in 2030 +966, and each fourth year thereafter. The term of each member of the City Council, the City Clerk, the City Treasurer and the City Attorney shall commence on the first Monday date of the first regular City Council meeting following the certification of the election. Ties in voting among candidates for office shall be settled by the casting of lots. If no candidate meets the qualifications for office of the City Clerk, City Treasurer, or City Attorney, the City Council shall fill that position by appointment until the next municipal general election in which a qualified candidate is elected. 11 PROPERTY TAX WAIVER SECTION 618. VOTER APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR MATTERS AFFECTING THE COLLECTION OF PROPERTY TAX. No transaction that forgives, waives or foregoes the collection of property tax by the City in excess of $100,000.00 per year shall be approved, unless authorized by the affirmative votes of at least a majority of the total membership of the City Council and by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the electors voting on such proposition at a general or special election at which such proposition is submitted. This section shall not apply to transactions related to the acquisition of property for public parks; or to transactions related to the acquisition of property for infrastructure, as defined in Section 617(a) of this Charter. 12 MEASURE "C" Section 612. PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PARKS AND BEACHES. (a) No public utility or park or beach or portion thereof now or hereafter owned or operated by the City shall be sold, leased, exchanged or otherwise transferred or disposed of unless authorized by the affirmative votes ofat least a majority of the total membership of the City Council and by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the electors voting on such proposition at a general or special election at which such proposition is submitted. (b) No golf course, driving range, road, building over three thousand square feet in floor area nor structure costing more than $161,000.00 may be built on or in any park or beach or portion thereof now or hereafter owned or operated by the City unless authorized by the affirmative votes of at least a majority of the total membership of the City Council and by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the electors voting on such proposition at a general or special election at which such proposition is submitted after the appropriate environmental assessment, conceptual cost estimate, and reasonable project description has been completed and widely disseminated to the public. Effective January 1, 2011, and each year thereafter, the maximum cost will be adjusted by the Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Riverside- Orange County area. (c) Section 612(a) and 612(b) shall not apply; (1) to libraries or piers; (2) to any lease, franchise, concession agreement or other contract where; -the contract is to perform an act or provide a service in a public park or beach AND -such act was being performed or service provided at the same location prior to January 1, 1989 AND -the proposed lease, franchise, concession agreement or other contract would not increase the amount of parkland or beach dedicated to or used by the party performing such act or providing such service. (3) to aboveground public works utility structures or public restrooms under 6,000 :;.,ooo square feet; (4) to underground public works utility structures if park or beach use is not impeded; (5) to any public works construction, maintenance or repair mandated by state or federal law that does not negatively impact recreational opportunities; 0f (6) to renewable energy projects that do not negatively impact recreational opportunitiesc; or (7) to new children's playground facilities or equipment in any park; or to replacement children's playground facilities or equipment in any park or beach, provided that the square 13 footage of such replacement children's playground facilities or equipment is not increased by more than 100% during any ten year period. ( d) If any section, subsection, part, subpart, paragraph, clause or phrase of this amendment, or any amendment or revision of this amendment, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining sections, subsections, parts, subparts, paragraphs, clauses or phrases shall not be affected but shall remain in full force and effect. 14 CANCELLATION OF MEETINGS Section 303. MEETINGS AND LOCATION. (a) Regular Meetings. The City Council shall hold regular meetings at least twice each month, unless it lacks a quorum or the meeting is canceled by the Mayor or a majority of City Council Members, at such time as it shall fix by ordinance or resolution and may adjourn or re- adjourn any regular meeting to a date and hour certain which shall be specified in the order of adjournment and when so adjourned each adjourned meeting shall be a regular meeting for all purposes. If the hour to which a meeting is adjourned is not stated in the order of adjournment, such meeting shall be held at the hour for holding regular meetings. If at any time any regular meeting falls on a holiday such regular meeting shall be held on the next business day. (b) Special Meetings. A special meeting may be called at any time by the Mayor, or by a majority of the members of the City Council, by written notice to each member of the City Council and to each local newspaper of general circulation, radio or television station requesting notice in writing. Such notice must be delivered personally or by mail at least twenty-four hours before the time of such meeting as specified in the notice. The call and notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted. No other business shall be considered at such meeting. If any person entitled to such written notice files a written waiver of notice with the City Clerk, it may be dispensed with. This notice requirement shall be considered fulfilled as to any person who is actually present at the meeting at the time it convenes. In the event of an emergency affecting the public peace, health or safety, a special meeting may be called as provided in this section with less than twenty-four hours written notice by the Mayor Pro Tern in the Mayor's absence or by any member of the City Council in the absence of both the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tern provided that the nature of the emergency is set forth in the minutes of the meeting. ( c) Place of Meetings. All regular meetings shall be held in the Council Chambers of the City or in such place within the City to which any such meeting may be adjourned. If, by reason of fire, flood or other emergency, it shall be unsafe to meet in the place designated, the meetings may be held for the duration of the emergency at such place within the City as is designated by the Mayor, or, if he should fail to act, by a majority of the members of the City Council. (d) Open Meetings. All regular and special meetings of the City Council shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend such meetings, except that the provisions of this section shall not apply to executive sessions. Subject to the rules governing the conduct of City Council meetings, no person shall be denied the right to be heard by the City Council. ( e) Dissemination oflnformation. The City Council shall adopt rules to ensure thorough and timely dissemination of information via current technology by resolution. 15 SECTION 315. CHARTER OFFICES BUDGET. Because the City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Treasurer work at the pleasure of the electorate, and in order to protect their work from political interference, neither their compensation, annual budget, nor any aspect thereof, shall be reduced by the City Council from year to year unless approved by a four-fifths majority of the total members of the City Council, but in no event shall any such reduction exceed 3% in a year and from the previous year. 16 REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members SUBMITTED BY: Al Zelinka, City Manager VIA: Travis K. Hopkins, Assistant City Manager PREPARED BY: Catherine Jun, Deputy City Manager Subject: ..title City Council discussion and consideration of potential amendments to the Charter; conduct straw votes to place certain amendments on the March 5, 2024 Special Election ballot ..body Statement of Issue: Note: A PDF version of this report is attached, in the event that the tables and images do not display properly on the reader's screen. On September 5, 2023, City Council authorized Special Meetings on September 14, 21, 28 and October 5 to gather public feedback and consider potential amendments to the Charter. On September 21, Council Members deliberated on several amendments that were previously proposed, while adding new amendments and requesting impact analyses on each. The analyses are detailed in this report. Following deliberation on all amendments tonight, City Council may consider conducting straw votes to identify those that could be placed on the March 5, 2023 Special Election ballot for voter approval. Financial Impact: There are no fiscal impacts at this time. Recommended Action: ..recommendation A) Discuss potential amendments to the Charter; and B) Conduct straw votes on Charter amendments that may be placed on the March 5, 2024 Special Election ballot. ..end Alternative Action(s): Do not approve one or more recommended action; direct staff accordingly. Analysis: During the September 21 Special Meeting, City Council discussed potential Charter amendments and requested impact analyses for consideration. Included in the analyses below are possible amendment language to be used as examples only. If an amendment is approved via straw vote tonight, the Attorney’s Office will provide legal review and official charter amendment language for consideration on October 5. Section 300. Recommended by Council Member Bolton (The following language was based on a similar amendment considered by the 2021-22 Charter Revision Committee and is provided as an example only.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: The current Charter does not impose any term limits for its three elected Charter officer positions. To understand how other communities with elected officers manage terms, staff conducted a survey (below): Elected Charter Officer Terms City Attorney Currently, 9 other California charter cities elect their Attorneys: • 2 impose a two consecutive term limit (San Diego, Chula Vista) • 1 imposes a two term limit (Los Angeles) • 6 do not impose term limits City Clerk Currently, 13 other California charter cities elect their Clerk. None impose term limits. City Treasurer Currently, 14 other California charter cities elect their Treasurer. None impose term limits. At this time, term limits are typically not imposed for elected City Clerk and Treasurer positions, while there are some exceptions for the City Attorney position. There may be some concerns that the turnover stemming from term limits may reduce the pool of qualified candidates, as these roles (including the ones in Huntington Beach) are skilled department head positions that would exercise significant managerial duties. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. "Section 300. CITY COUNCIL, ATTORNEY, CLERK AND TREASURER. TERMS. The elective officers of the City shall consist of a City Council of seven members, a City Clerk, a City Treasurer and a City Attorney, all to be elected from the City at large at the times and in the manner provided in this Charter and who shall serve for terms of four years and until their respective successors qualify. Subject to the provisions of this Charter, the members of the City Council in office at the time this Charter takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of their respective terms and until their successors are elected and qualified. Four members of the City Council shall be elected at the general municipal election held in 1966, and each fourth year thereafter. Three members of the City Council shall be elected at the general municipal election held in 1968, and each fourth year thereafter. No person shall be elected as a member of the City Council, as a City Attorney, as a City Clerk, or as a City Treasurer for more than two consecutive terms and no person who has been a member elected to such a position for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected a member shall be elected to the City Council that respective position for more than one further consecutive term. Subject to the provisions of this Charter, the City Clerk, City Treasurer and City Attorney in office at the time this Charter takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of their respective terms and the qualification of their successors. A City Clerk and City Treasurer shall be elected at the general municipal election held in 1968, and each fourth year thereafter. A City Attorney shall be elected in 1966, and each fourth year thereafter. The term of each member of the City Council, the City Clerk, the City Treasurer and the City Attorney shall commence on the first Monday following the certification of the election. Ties in voting among candidates for office shall be settled by the casting of lots. If no candidate meets the qualifications for office of the City Clerk, City Treasurer, or City Attorney, the City Council shall fill that position by appointment until the next municipal general election in which a qualified candidate is elected." Section 300. Recommended by Council Member Kalmick (The following language was based on a similar amendment considered by the 2021-22 Charter Revision Committee and is provided below as an example only.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: The Huntington Beach City Attorney was first identified as an appointed position in 1909. Records remain unclear but the City Attorney converted to an elected position in 1950 or 1966. Over the years, the roles and duties, as well as the election process for this position have been examined and/or reconsidered multiple times; Charter amendments to convert the position to an appointed role were placed on ballot measures in 1973 and 1978, but were defeated. Today, Huntington Beach is one of 10 California charter cities with an elected City Attorney. The Huntington Beach City Clerk and Treasurer have historically been elected, since the first Charter was established. Over the years, the role and duties, as well as the election process for these positions have been examined and/or reconsidered multiple times; Charter amendments to convert both to appointed roles were placed on ballot and/or placed on a ballot measures in 1973, 1978, and 1984, but were defeated. Today, Huntington Beach is one of 14 California Charter cities with elected City Clerks and one of 15 with elected City Treasurers. All three positions operate as Department Heads at this time. Converting them into appointed roles is not anticipated to affect their roles and duties and should not result in significant operational impacts. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. "Section 300. CITY COUNCIL, ATTORNEY, CLERK AND TREASURER. TERMS. The elective officers of the City shall consist of a City Council of seven members, a City Clerk, a City Treasurer and a City Attorney, all to be elected from the City at large at the times and in the manner provided in this Charter and who shall serve for terms of four years and until their respective successors qualify. Subject to the provisions of this Charter, the members of the City Council in office at the time this Charter takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of their respective terms and until their successors are elected and qualified. Four members of the City Council shall be elected at the general municipal election held in 1966, and each fourth year thereafter. Three members of the City Council shall be elected at the general municipal election held in 1968, and each fourth year thereafter. No person shall be elected as a member of the City Council for more than two consecutive terms and no person who has been a member for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected a member shall be elected to the City Council more than one further consecutive term. Subject to the provisions of this Charter, the City Clerk, City Treasurer and City Attorney in office at the time this Charter takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of their respective terms and the qualification of their successors. A City Clerk and City Treasurer shall be elected at the general municipal election held in 1968, and each fourth year thereafter. A City Attorney shall be elected in 1966, and each fourth year thereafter. The term of each member of the City Council, the City Clerk, the City Treasurer and the City Attorney shall commence on the first Monday following the certification of the election. Ties in voting among candidates for office shall be settled by the casting of lots. If no candidate meets the qualifications for office of the City Clerk, City Treasurer, or City Attorney, the City Council shall fill that position by appointment until the next municipal general election in which a qualified candidate is elected." Section 302. Recommended by Council Member Kalmick (Proposed revisions are not available at this time and are pending Council discussion. Below is the current Charter section as is.) Preliminary Fiscal and Operational Analysis: Per the Charter, the City Council receives: 1. A monthly salary of $175, a static amount that does not change from year to year. 2. A monthly expense allowance for other routine and ordinary expenses, losses and costs imposed upon them by virtue of their serving as City Councilpersons. The current monthly allowance is approximately $1,765 (per Council Member) and $2,470 (per Mayor at 40% higher due to his/her additional responsibilities); both amounts are updated based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from year to year. This allowance is authorized under Ordinance No. 4044. 3. An annual budget for authorized travel/conferences when on official duty. In FY2023-24, each Council Member can expend up to $5,810; the Mayor up to $6,973. The annual compensation range of City Councils in Huntington Beach, Orange County charter cities and two comparably-sized cities in LA County are below and include items 1-2 above. (Compensation does not include indirect forms of compensation such as pension costs or insurance benefits, since they are elective and not all City Council members have opted in.) Orange County Charter Cities Population City Council Annual Compensation Average Annual Compensation per 1,000 residents Seal Beach 24,647 $7,200 $292 Cypress 49,818 $8,864 - $13,284 $222 Buena Park 83,517 $19,153 - $28,768 $287 Newport Beach 83,411 $11,187 - $20,683 $191 Huntington Beach 195,714 $19,705- $27,245 $120 Irvine 303,051 $29,700 $98 Santa Ana 299,630 $18,450 - $30,808 $82 Anaheim 328,580 $10,877 - $26,400 $57 Los Angeles County Charter Cities Population City Council Annual Compensation Average Annual Compensation per 1,000 residents Pasadena 136,988 $20,069 - $30,619 $185 Glendale 191,284 $11,759 - $28,058 $104 (2022 Data, California State Controller website: publicpay.ca.gov) Based on the low and the high end of Huntington Beach’s annual compensation range, the monthly compensation is approximately $1,642-$2,270. In comparison to the compensation formula in SB 329 for General Law cities over 150,000 and up to/including 250,000 residents, General Law City Council Members are compensated $2,550 per month. "Section 302. COMPENSATION. The members of the City Council including the Mayor shall receive as compensation for their services as such a monthly salary in the sum of One Hundred Seventy-five Dollars per month. In addition, each member of the City Council shall receive reimbursement on order of the City Council for Council authorized traveling and other expenses when on official duty upon submission of itemized expense accounts therefor. In addition, members shall receive such reasonable and adequate amounts as may be established by ordinance, which amounts shall be deemed to be reimbursement to them of other routine and ordinary expenses, losses and costs imposed upon them by virtue of their serving as City Councilpersons.” Section 307 (add new paragraph). Recommended by Council Member Bolton (The following language was provided by Council Member Bolton.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: There are no known operational impacts at this time. This amendment would maintain the City’s current library book policies. Any requests to change the City’s existing or future library collection would continue to be addressed through the existing materials reconsideration process that is available to patrons with concerns about any materials. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. Section 312. Recommended by Mayor Strickland. (The following language was on the November 2022 General Election ballot and serves as an example.) “Section 307. NON-INTERFERENCE WITH ADMINISTRATION. Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, no member of the City Council shall order, directly or indirectly, the appointment by the City Manager, or by any of the department heads in administrative service of the City, of any person to any office or employment, or removal therefrom. Except for the purpose of investigation and inquiry, the members of the City Council shall deal with the administrative service under the jurisdiction of the City Manager solely through the City Manager, and no member of the City Council shall give orders to any subordinate of the City Manager, either publicly or privately. No elected department head or staff of the Office of the elected department head shall be a member of the management negotiation team for the purposes of negotiations of memorandums of understanding with the employee bargaining units. The City Council and any other elective officer of the City shall not order, directly or indirectly, the review, removal, restriction of access, prohibition, acquisition, classification, rating, or placement, of any material or content, currently or contemplated to be, within the collection, possession, or inventory of the City’s libraries.” "Section 312. VACANCIES, FORFEITURES AND REPLACEMENT. (a) Vacancies. A vacancy in the City Council or in any other office designated as elective by this Charter, from whatever cause arising, shall be filled by appointment by the City Council with at least four affirmative votes. (b) Forfeiture. If a member of the City Council is absent from all regular meetings of the City Council for a period of thirty consecutive days from and after the last regular City Council meeting attended by such member, unless by permission of the City Council expressed in its official minutes, the office shall become vacant. If an elected City officer pleads guilty or no contest to or is convicted of a felony or any crime of moral turpitude, or ceases to be an elector of the City, the office shall become vacant. The City Council shall declare the existence of such vacancy. Any elective officer of the City who shall accept or retain any other elective public office, except as provided in this Charter, shall be deemed thereby to have vacated the office under the City Government. (c) Replacement. In the event it the City Council shall fail to fill a vacancy by appointment within sixty days after such office shall become vacant, the City Council shall forthwith cause an election to be held to fill such vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term. If the City Council fills the vacancy by appointment, such appointee shall hold office until an election to fill the remainder of the unexpired term at the next general municipal election. Should the appointment occur after the filing deadline for the next general municipal election, the seat shall be deemed vacant upon the certification of the general municipal election, and the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with Sections 312(a) and 312(c)." Preliminary Operational Analysis: The proposed amendment adds requirements to fill a City Council vacancy by requiring at least four affirmative votes (and not a simple majority of the seated Council Members at that time). This proposed amendment would establish that such appointees would fill the vacancy only until the next general municipal election, when the local electorate may vote for a candidate to permanently fill the remainder of the unexpired term for that position. If the appointment occurs after the filing deadline for the next general municipal election, the seat is deemed vacant. Upon certification of the general municipal election, the newly seated City Council will be charged with filling the vacancy by appointment or election. This amendment is not expected to result in any significant operational impacts. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: This amendment will yield some additional costs to fill the vacancy via an election. However, it is not anticipated to result in significant financial impacts. Section 313. Recommended by Council Member Bolton (The following language was provided by Council Member Bolton for consideration. The City Attorney’s Office will need to provide final language, following Council discussion.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: A review of regional charter cities, as it relates to the nepotism policies in their charters is below. Orange County Charter Cities Section on Nepotism Anaheim, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Seal Beach Their charter language mirror Huntington Beach’s, with minor variations. Please note - These cities do not have elected department heads; as such, they do not specifically prohibit Council from appointing relatives of elected department heads or other offers with appointive powers. Irvine, Santa Ana Their charters briefly mention a prohibition on nepotism and calls for the use of other governing policies (i.e. personnel rules) to outline the details. Buena Park, Cypress, Placentia No nepotism language in their charters. LA County Charter Cities Section on Nepotism Glendale, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pasadena No nepotism language in their charters. Huntington Beach provides details on its anti-nepotism policy in other authorizing documents (see below). A legal analysis would be required to determine if such a prohibition must also be included in the Charter: “Section 313. CONFLICT OF INTEREST, NEPOTISM. (a) Conflict of Interest. The City Council shall adopt or approve rules and regulations regulating conflicts of interest and promoting fair dealing in all City business. (b) Nepotism. The City Council shall not appoint to a salaried position under the City government any person who is a relative by blood or marriage within the third degree of any one or more of the members of such City Council, elected department head, or other officer with appointive powers nor shall the City Manager or any department head or other officer having appointive power appoint any relative of such person or of any Council member within such degree to any such position. Source of Authority Details Personnel Rules 16-2 and 16-3 - Persons related by blood or marriage within the third degree* cannot report to the same supervisor or supervise one another. - Such persons cannot be in positions where one has access to privileged or confidential information that should not be accessible to the other. Administrative Regulation 411 - An appointing authority cannot appoint an immediate family member of the City Manager, Department Head, or Personnel Director to a paid temporary or permanent position. - An employee cannot be moved to a position within the direct line of supervision of a relative; these relatives cannot have the same immediate supervisor. * The term “third degree” is the same as "immediate family” (relative), which includes an individual related by blood, adoption or marriage, e.g. spouse, parent, child, sibling, sibling/children-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, uncle/aunt, nephew/niece, stepparent/child/sibling, half-sibling. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. Charter amendments from Measure L (2022) with exclusions. Recommended by Council Member Kalmick (The language of the proposed amendments are separately listed in Attachment 1, due to their length. Amendments related to Section 612 have been removed as they are being considered by City Council as a separate amendment.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: Measure L proposed both substantive and non-substantive amendments. Amendments to Sections 300, 303, 304, 306, 311, 312, 400, 601, 604, 801 are non-substantive in that they clarify or update language in the Charter regarding outdated phrases, syntax, dates, pronouns and titles. For example, Section 300 updates the election years to be more current and rephrases the term “casting of lots” to a “random drawing” for clarity. Section 303 updates the Charter to allow the use of “current technology” to distribute notices, changes the words “executive session” to “closed session” because closed session is the current vernacular as well as clarify the process of adjourning City Council meetings. 303(c) 312(c) 400(d) and 801(e) replace pronouns “he” or “it” with “person” or the title being referred to and 311(d) 601, 604 replaces “Director of Finance” with the updated title of “Chief Financial Officer” and 306 replaces the title “Mayor Pro Tempore” with “Vice Mayor” to better describe the position. One substantive amendment is in Section 804 which would require City Council to consider a Charter review at least every ten years, starting after the last review conducted by a Committee, Council or staff. This would require additional staffing support to organize but does not pose a significant operating impact. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. Sections 307, 401. Recommended by Council Member Kalmick (Proposed revisions are not available at this time. Below are the current, relevant Charter sections for discussion purposes. The City Attorney’s Office will need to provide final language, following Council discussion.) Preliminary Operational Analysis: Among the five largest Orange County cities - Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, Huntington Beach, and Garden Grove – only Irvine and Anaheim retain paid staff that directly reports to individual City Council Members and provides policy, administrative and field support. The Irvine City Council currently maintains 19 FTE, while “Section 307. NON-INTERFERENCE WITH ADMINISTRATION. Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, no member of the City Council shall order, directly or indirectly, the appointment by the City Manager, or by any of the department heads in administrative service of the City, of any person to any office or employment, or removal therefrom. Except for the purpose of investigation and inquiry, the members of the City Council shall deal with the administrative service under the jurisdiction of the City Manager solely through the City Manager, and no member of the City Council shall give orders to any subordinate of the City Manager, either publicly or privately. No elected department head or staff of the Office of the elected department head shall be a member of the management negotiation team for the purposes of negotiations of memorandums of understanding with the employee bargaining units. Section 401. POWERS Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, the City Manager shall be responsible to the City Council for the proper administration of all affairs of the City. Without limiting this general grant of powers and responsibilities, the City Manager shall have the power and be required to: (a) Appoint, promote, demote, suspend or remove department heads, officers and employees of the City except elective officers and the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police shall not be appointed or removed until the City Manager shall first have reviewed such appointment or removal with the City Council and have received approval for such appointment or removal by a majority vote of the full City Council. (b) Prepare the budget annually, submit it to the City Council, and be responsible for its administration upon adoption. (c) Prepare and submit to the City Council as of the end of each fiscal year, a complete report on the finances of the City, and annually or more frequently, a current report of the principal administrative activities of the City. (d) Keep the City Council advised of the financial condition and future needs of the City and make such recommendations as may seem desirable. (e) Maintain a centralized purchasing system for all City offices, departments and agencies. (f) Prepare, administer and enforce rules and regulations recommended to and adopted by the City Council governing the contracting for, purchase, inspection, storage, inventory, distribution and disposal of all supplies, materials and equipment required by any office, department or agency of the City government. (g) Be responsible for the compliance by the City with the laws of the State pertaining to the City, the provisions of this Charter and the ordinances, franchises and rights of the City. Subject to policy established by the City Council, exercise control of all administrative offices and departments of the City and of all appointive officers and employees, and prescribe such general rules and regulations as deemed necessary or proper for the general conduct of the administrative offices and departments of the City under their jurisdiction. (h) Perform such other duties consistent with this Charter as may be required by the City Council. Anaheim has approximately 9 FTE. Other cities including Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, and Garden Grove have a dedicated analyst or equivalent who supports the City Council but reports directly to the City Manager. To facilitate staff, Irvine’s charter states: Section 700. - Administrative departments. a. The Council may establish City departments, offices or agencies in addition to those created by this Charter and may prescribe the functions of all departments, offices, and agencies. b. Except as otherwise provided by this Charter, all departments, offices, and agencies under the direction and supervision of the City Manager shall be administered by an officer appointed by and subject to the direction and supervision of the City Manager. With the consent of the Council, the City Manager may serve as the departmental administrator of one or more such departments, offices, or agencies or may appoint one person as the departmental administrator of two or more of them. c. The Council may provide for the number, titles, and compensation of all officers and employees. Preliminary Fiscal Analysis: The proposed Charter amendment currently seeks flexibility to add Council-directed staff in the future. As such, there is no fiscal impact at this time. However, it can be surmised that if approved, additional FTE will be required. The average personnel cost per one Council Analyst is approximately $141,500 (not including UAL and POBs). New section to provide for an office of legislative counsel. Recommended by Council Member Kalmick (Proposed revisions will be contingent upon Council discussion.) Preliminary Operational Analysis There are no known operational impacts at this time. However, additional legal research may be required to further consider this amendment. Research indicates that various California cities may install an Office of Legislative Counsel via charter, create an Ethics Commission/Board via ordinance, or formally adopt a Code of Ethics as prescribed by charter. Legislative counsel and advisory bodies, i.e. boards and commissions, are tasked with • enforcement of laws, regulations, and policies intended to assure fairness, openness, honesty and integrity in City government • education of aforementioned • impartial administration • advise and recommend to Council on all matters related to potential unethical conduct • render advisory opinion or Code interpretation Chula Vista Charter stipulates that via ordinance Council may establish Office of Legislative Counsel. Board of Ethics and Code of Ethics established by ordinance, 2013. Santa Ana Charter stipulates that City shall adopt a Code of Ethics and Conduct for elected officials, executive team, and those appointed to boards, commissions, and committees. Code of Ethics and Conduct was updated in 2022. Oakland Public Ethics Commission established by charter and enacted by ordinance. Preliminary Financial Analysis There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. New section to limit elected officials from endorsing or campaigning with other elected officials. Recommended by Council Member Kalmick (Proposed revisions will be contingent upon Council discussion.) Preliminary Operational Analysis There are no known operational impacts at this time, although there may be additional legal research required. Some charter cities enact restrictions to curb influence on campaigns by elected and appointed officials. For example the City of Oakland (which has an elected City Attorney) Charter Section 401(7) states, “During the City Attorney's tenure, the City Attorney shall not make or solicit contributions to, publicly endorse or urge the endorsement of or otherwise participate in a campaign for a candidate for City elective office, other than for the City Attorney, or of a City ballot measure, or be an officer, director or employee of or hold a policy decision- making position in an organization that makes political endorsements regarding candidates for City elective office.” Preliminary Fiscal Analysis There are no known fiscal impacts at this time. Section 612. Recommended by the Ad Hoc Committee On September 21, City Council directed staff to prepare proposed revisions to Section 612, also known as Measure C. Due to the research required, staff will return with revisions at the October 5 Council Meeting for consideration. For the City Council’s use, a summary of all proposed Charter amendments (2023) is below: Discussed on 9/21/23 Section Proposed Amendments Status 300 Placement of City Clerk and City Treasurer positions on the gubernatorial election cycle Tabled from consideration 303(a) Cancelation of Council meetings, as needed Continue discussion 304(b) Attorney-client role between the City Attorney’s Office and City Council Continue discussion 309 City Attorney powers and duties, budget and compensation, attorney-client privilege, amendments effective date Continue discussion 310 City Clerk educational requirements Continue discussion 314 Investigation of malfeasance Continue discussion; possible consideration as an ordinance 401(b), 601-605 Biennial budget Continue discussion 612 Measure C exemptions and definitions Continue discussion on 10/5 with staff recommendations 618 Matters affecting property tax collection by the City Continue discussion; possible consideration as an ordinance 702, 705 Voter identification, ballot drop box monitoring, and additional polling stations Continue discussion 806 Display of flags on City facilities Continue discussion Discussed on 9/28/2023 Section Proposed Amendments Status 300 Elected Charter officers term limits 300 Appointed Charter officers 302 City Council compensation 307 Limit interference with library collection management 312 Filling City Council vacancies 313 Nepotism as it relates to elected department heads Varies Measure L (2022) 307, 401 City Council staffing New Office of legislative counsel New Limit elected official campaigning with other electeds Environmental Status: Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5), administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment do not constitute a project. Strategic Plan Goal: Non Applicable - Administrative Item Attachment(s): 1. Measure L (2022) 2. PDF Version of Report 3. Legislative Drafts City of Huntington Beach 2000 Main Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 File #:23-837 MEETING DATE:9/28/2023 Subject: Submitted by Councilmembers Kalmick and Moser - Seek an opinion from the California Attorney General on eligibility for the primary ballot for Charter amendments involving City Clerk, City Attorney, and investigations of elected officials Recommended Action: Direct the City Manager to work with the City Attorney to seek an opinion from the California Attorney General on the question of SB311 (2013 Padilla), portions of which were chaptered as Election Code Section 1415, applying to the proposed charter amendments making changes to the roles of the City Clerk, City Attorney, City Council and City Manager, HR Department Head and/or Police Chief. Attachment(s): 1.Kalmick and Moser - Seek an Opinion from the California Attorney General City of Huntington Beach Printed on 9/27/2023Page 1 of 1 powered by Legistar™ CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY COUNCIL MEETING – COUNCIL MEMBER ITEMS REPORT TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: DAN KALMICK, CITY COUNCILMEMBER NATALIE MOSER, CITY COUNCILMEMBER DATE: SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 SUBJECT: SEEK AN OPINION FROM THE CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL ON ELIGIBILITY FOR THE PRIMARY BALLOT FOR CHARTER AMENDMENTS INVOLVING CITY CLERK, CITY ATTORNEY AND INVESTIGATIONS OF ELECTED OFFICIALS. On August 1, 2023, the Charter Amendment Ad Hoc Committee brought forward to the City Council, among other things, two proposals involving changes to the roles of the City Attorney and City Clerk. At the conclusion of the discussion of those proposals, Councilmember McKeon brought forward several more proposals including a proposal to add procedures for investigating elected officials. At the September 5, 2023 City Council meeting, the City Attorney’s Office brought forward language for the City Council to review and be placed on the March 2024 Primary Ballot. That language involved the status, benefits, and rights of multiple employees, elected and appointed. Based on advice the City Council had received for a prior ballot measure, questions arose as to whether state law precludes placing such Charter amendment proposals on a primary election ballot as opposed to the November 2024 General Election ballot. The City Attorney’s office has proffered a conclusory, unwritten legal opinion that these Charter amendments are eligible for the March Primary Ballot. It is apparently the policy of the City Attorney’s Office to not release those opinions in writing to either the City Council (their client) nor the public. We believe substantial questions remain about the employment-related proposals’ eligibility for a primary ballot, especially in the absence of a thoroughly-reasoned, written legal opinion, and given the subject matter is the City’s Charter, its most fundamental governing document. Election Code Section 1415 (a)(2)(A) – created by SB 311 (2013 Padilla) – Refers to the Special Elections code and Charter Amendments being placed on a Primary ballot. It essentially says a Charter amendment proposal may only be placed on a primary ballot if it: ---[P]roposes to amend a charter in a manner that does not alter any procedural or substantive protection, right, benefit, or employment status of any local government employee or retiree or of any local government employee organization. Below is the language as it currently stands to be placed before the people of Huntington Beach. (The Charter section headings are provided, for context) An amendment to modify the role of the City Council and City Attorney: SECTION 304 (b) [Proceedings] . The City Council shall have control of all legal business and proceedings and all property of the legal department, and may employ other attorneys to take charge of or may contract for any prosecution, litigation or other legal matter or business. Section 309. CITY ATTORNEY, POWERS AND DUTIES. (emphasis added) … The City Attorney represents the City of Huntington Beach, a Chartered City under the Constitution of the State of California and a Municipal Corporation. The elected City Attorney is, by virtue of the election, designated by the people as the City's exclusive legal counsel. The City Attorney may hire, contract, and/or appoint outside contract attorneys and/or such in-house deputy or deputies to assist or act for the City Attorney, at such salaries or compensation as the City Council may by ordinance or resolution prescribe; provided that the employ of attorneys to assist the City Attorney in the execution of his or her duties is the exclusive purview of the City Attorney. Neither the City Council, the City Manager, nor any other City Official or department may hire their own attorneys, consult with, attempt to contract with attorneys for services, or obtain other/outside legal opinions, without the prior express written consent of the City Attorney. Because of the unique nature of the City Attorney's work at the pleasure of the electorate, and in order to protect the City Attorney's work from political interference, neither the compensation of the City Attorney nor the City Attorney's annual budget or any aspect thereof shall be reduced by the City Council from year to year unless approved by a four-fifths majority of the total members of the City Council, but in no event shall any such reduction exceed 3% in a year and from the previous year. Keep, maintain, and protect all City confidential attorney-client privileged, and attorney work product privileged information. Such confidential information shall not be accessible to any other City Official, City Staff, or third party, unless the City Attorney authorizes such access or the City Council votes to authorize such access by majority vote. Additions to Section 309 of this Charter, if approved by the voters at the March 5, 2024 election, shall take effect on January 1, 2027. The foregoing amendment makes substantial changes to the roles of both the City Council and City Attorney. An amendment to modify the requirements to become City Clerk: SECTION 310. CITY CLERK. POWERS AND DUTIES. (emphasis added) To become and remain eligible for City Clerk, the person elected or appointed shall have a Bachelor's Degree in business, public administration, or a related field, and hold a certification as a Municipal Clerk or obtain such ce1iification within the first three years in office. The City Clerk shall have the power and shall be required to… By eliminating key qualifications for becoming City Clerk, the foregoing proposal provides a new benefit to any existing employees who previously would not have been qualified to run for or be appointed City Clerk. An amendment to add in third-party investigation of malfeasance, would remove current roles performed by City Manager, HR Director, and the Police Department: SECTION 314. INVESTIGATIONS OF MALFEASANCE To avoid potential conflicts of interest and political interference, any allegation of malfeasance, wrongdoing or misconduct against an elected official of the City, shall not be investigated by the City, any other City Official, or member of City Staff. Rather, such allegations shall be referred to the Orange County District Attorney, the California Attorney General, the Fair Political Practices Commission, or other appropriate higher level government agency. It is our view that because of the ambiguity in analysis and the potential for costly litigation if items were placed on the ballot that would be ruled ineligible, the City Council of Huntington Beach should ask the Attorney General of the State of California for an opinion on the application of Election Code §1415(a)(2)(A) to the above proposed amendments to the charter of the City of Huntington Beach. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Direct the City Manager to work with the City Attorney to seek an opinion from the California Attorney General on the question of SB311 (2013 Padilla), portions of which were chaptered as Election Code Section 1415, applying to the proposed charter amendments making changes to the roles of the City Clerk, City Attorney, City Council and City Manager, HR Department Head and/or Police Chief.