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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.2 Discussion on Mayor and City Council Term Limitsr DUBLIN CALIFORNIA STAFF REPORT CITY COUNCIL DATE: .Line 6, 2023 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Linda Smith, City Manager Agenda Item 8.2 SU B.ECT: Discussion on Mayor and City Council Term Limits Prepared by.• John Bakker, City Attorney & John Stefanski, Assistant to the City Manager EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The City Council will receive a report on Mayor and City Council Term Limits. At the March 11, 2023 City Council Team Building Meeting, the City Council directed Staff to prepare an item for discussion on Term Limits. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Receive the report, discuss, and provide direction as needed. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with a discussion item. Should the City Council request, at a later date, the inclusion of term limits on the ballot, there would be costs associated with a consolidated election as described below. DESCRIPTION: At the March 11, 2023 City Council meeting, the City Council discussed the upcoming transition to district -based elections starting in 2024. Specifically, concerns were raised around whether the total eight -year term limit could impact the ability to recruit Council and Mayoral candidates and whether the City Council should evaluate changes to the term limits. The Council asked to review term limits for other local agencies and to hold a future discussion regarding the City's current term limit policy. Current Policy Current regulations governing Mayor and City Council Term Limits were approved by Dublin voters in November 1996. As a result, the City Council adopted Ordinance 18-96 confirming this vote and adding Section 2.08.050 to the Dublin Municipal Code. Under this ordinance, the term Page 1 of 5 1698 limits are as follows: "No person shall serve as Councilmember for more than two (2) consecutive terms, nor shall any person serve as Mayor for more than four (4) consecutive terms. In addition: (A) no person who has served as a Councilmember for one (1) term shall serve more than two (2) terms as Mayor if the terms as Councilmember and Mayor are consecutive; (B) no person who has served as Councilmember for two (2) consecutive terms shall serve a consecutive term as Mayor; (C) no person who has served as Mayor for three (3) or four (4) consecutive terms shall serve a consecutive term as a Councilmember; (D) no person who has served as Mayor for two (2) consecutive terms shall serve more than one (1) succeeding consecutive term as Councilmember; (E) no person who has served consecutive terms as Mayor and Councilmember shall serve more than one (1) more consecutive term as Mayor; and (F) no person who has served consecutive terms as Mayor and Councilmember shall serve another consecutive term as Councilmember. As used herein, a person shall be considered to have served a term of office as a Councilmember if such person has served as a Councilmember for two (2) years plus one (1) day and a person shall be considered to have served a term of office as Mayor if such person has served as Mayor for one (1) year plus one (1) day" Term Limits in Neighboring Jurisdictions Term Limits for the Mayor and City Council vary among the Cities in Alameda County and the Tri- Valley Region. A summary of these term limits can be found in the table below: Maximum Consecutive Years Served by Position & Total Maximum Consecutive Years Served on City Council Jurisdiction Danville Dublin Fremont Hayward Livermore Newark Pleasanton San Leandro San Ramon Union City A sample of the Mayor 8 8 Councilmember 8 8 8 8 Total 8 16 16 8 8 16 8 8 16 8 8 (Mayor only) 12 12 12 District Based Elections No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes regulations, or lack thereof, for these cities can be found below: Jurisdiction Danville Fremont Term Limit None Mayor —No mayor who has served terms comprising eight (8) consecutive years as mayor shall be qualified for further service in that office until he or she has a break in service in that office of at least four (4) years. City Council —No Councilmember who has served terms comprising eight (8) Page 2 of 5 1699 consecutive years as a councilmember shall be qualified for further in that office until he or she has a break in service in that office of at least four (4) years. The disqualifications imposed by this section shall not prevent a person who is disqualified from serving as mayor from serving as a councilmember or a person who is disqualified from serving as a councilmember from serving as mayor. However, any person who has served terms comprising sixteen (16) consecutive years in the offices of mayor and councilmember shall be disqualified from further service in either office until he or she has a break in service from both offices of at least four (4) years. Time spent in office while serving less than a full term shall not be counted in computing consecutive years in any office. Time spent in office prior to the enactment of this section shall not be counted in computing consecutive years in any office. In computing the number of years served, full, four-year (4) terms shall count as four (4) years of service even though the period encompassed by such terms may not be exactly four years in duration. The term of office for the mayor and each councilmember shall be four (4) years. Fremont Municipal Code 2.05.100; 110 Hayward None Livermore Mayor —No person who has served terms totaling eight (8) consecutive years as mayor shall be qualified for further service in that office until he or she has a break in service in that office of at least two (2) years. The office of the mayor shall be an elective office, and the term thereof shall be two (2) years. City Council —No person who has served terms totaling eight (8) consecutive years as a Council member shall be qualified for further service in that office until he or she has a break in service in that office of at least two (2) years. The disqualifications imposed by this section shall not prevent a person who is disqualified from serving as mayor from serving as Council member or a person who is disqualified from serving as a Council member from serving as mayor. However, any person who has served terms totaling sixteen (16) consecutive years in the offices of mayor and Council member shall be disqualified from further service in either office until he or she has a break in service from both offices of at least two (2) years. As used in this section, a person shall be considered to have served a "term" of office if such person has served one-half of a full term of office plus one (1) day. A term of office for a member of the City Council shall be four (4) years. Livermore Municipal Code Section 2.04.040 Newark None Page 3 of 5 1700 Pleasanton Mayor— A mayor shall serve no more than four (4) consecutive terms and a person who has been appointed or elected to mayor for more than one year shall serve no more than three additional terms. San Leandro The mayor shall hold office for a term of two years from and after the date and time at which the mayor was declared elected and was installed and shall hold office until his or her successor is elected and qualified. Councilmember—A council member (other than mayor) shall serve no more than two consecutive terms and a person who has been appointed or elected to council for more than two years shall serve no more than one additional term. Each such council member shall hold office for a term of four years from and after the date and time at which he or she was declared elected and was installed and shall hold office until his or her successor is elected and qualified. Pleasanton Municipal Code Section 2.04.015 Mayor —No person shall be eligible for the office of Mayor who has served two, complete four-year terms as Mayor immediately prior to the term for which such person seeks election or appointment. Councilmember—No person shall be eligible for the office of Council Member who has served two, complete four-year terms as Council Member immediately prior to the term for which such person seeks election or appointment. Council Members and the Mayor shall hold office for four years. The term of office shall commence on January 1 following the election. San Leandro City Charter, Article 11, Sections 235, 365, 270 San Ramon Mayor --The mayor shall be elected for a two-year term on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of each even -numbered year and shall be limited to such number of terms as are specified in the Charter of the city. No elected Mayor shall serve for more than four two-year terms except that a cumulative total of nine years may be served if one of those terms was lengthened as the result of change the date of the general municipal election. Union City San Ramon City Charter Article 11I. San Ramon Municipal Code Section A4-2.A Mayor and Councilmember--Neither the Mayor nor any member of the City Council shall serve in the same office for more than three (3) consecutive terms. For purposes of this chapter, the office of Mayor and the office of City Councilmember are distinct offices. At any municipal election after the expiration of two (2) years following said consecutive elective terms, a former Councilmember or Mayor may again seek election to City Council or as Mayor. For purposes of applying this chapter, any time in office served for a partial term, whether appointed or elective, shall not be considered. Union City Municipal Code Section 2.07.020-2.07.030 Page 4 of 5 1701 Ballot Measure Timeline Any changes to the City's term limits would require a vote of Dublin citizens. Should the City Council wish to initiate a ballot measure revising or repealing the existing term limits, in the March 5, 2024, Presidential Primary Election, it must meet Alameda County's December 8. 2023 deadline for filing a resolution requesting consolidation with the Presidential Primary Election and setting forth the ballot question. To meet that deadline, the City Council would need to adopt (by a 2/3 vote) a Resolution (1) calling for an election, (2) requesting consolidation with the Presidential Primary Election, and (3) setting forth the Ballot for the measure. To meet this deadline, such action would take place at the November 7, 2023, City Council meeting. The City Council may also consider submitting a ballot measure consolidated with a later election, like the November 5, 2024 Presidential Election. Effective Date If the ballot measure passes, changes to the term limits would be considered adopted upon the date the vote is declared by the City Council and would go into effect ten (10) days after that date. Election results are typically certified several weeks after the election, the vote would likely be declared at an April 2024 City Council meeting. Costs According to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, participation in the Countywide Consolidated Primary Election costs between $7-$9 per voter. Using the number of registered voters for the November 2020 Election (34,207), Staff estimates the cost of placing a ballot measure to be between $239,449 and $307,863. Alternatives At this juncture, Staff is seeking feedback from the City Council on any potential changes to the City's current term limits. The City Council could opt to (1) remove term limits, (2) amend current term limits, or (3) take no further action and leave the current term limits in place. When comparing with neighboring jurisdictions, the City's term limit structure is the most limiting. Should the City Council seek to amend the current term limit structure, staff would recommend aligning with the term limit structures of these jurisdictions and increasing the total maximum years served to either 12 (Union City) or 16 (Pleasanton, Livermore). STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE: None. NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: The City Council Agenda was posted. ATTACHMENTS: None. Page 5 of 5 1702 Mayor and City Council Term Limits June 6, 2023 V DUBLIN CALIFORNIA Background • City will be transitioning to District -Based Elections in 2024. • March Council Team Building — Discussion around current term limits impacting the ability to recruit Council Candidates. • Requested a review of term limits for other agencies and discussion regarding the current City policy. Current Policy • Current regulations governing term limits were approved by voters in November 1996. — "No person shall serve as Councilmember for more than two (2) consecutive terms, nor shall any person serve as Mayor for more than four (4) consecutive terms..." • Councilmember Term:2 years plus I day • MayorTerm: 1 year plus I day How Does Dublin Compare? Maximum ConsecutiveYears Served by Position & Total Maximum ConsecutiveYears Served on City Council Jurisdiction Mayor Councilmember Total District Based Elections Danville - - - No Dublin 8 8 8 Yes Fremont Hayward Livermore Newark Pleasanton San Leandro San Ramon Union City CALIFORNIA 8 8 8 8 8 12 8 8 8 8 12 16 I6 16 16 8 (Mayor only) 12 Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes 1706 Ballot Measure Process • Changes to term limits requires vote of Dublin citizens. Key Milestone Last regular Council Meeting to adopt Resolution that: ( I ) Calls for an election (2) Requests consolidation with Presidential Primary Election (3) Sets forth the ballot for the measure November 7, 2023 County deadline to file resolution requesting consolidation with Presidential December 8, 2023 Primary Election Presidential Primary Election March 5, 2024 • November 5, 2024, Presidential Election is an alternative option. Conclusions • When comparing with neighboring jurisdictions, the City's term limit structure is the most limiting. • Options for the Council to Consider: — Leave current term limits in place. — Amend current term limits. — Remove term limits. Next Steps • Staff is seeking feedback on any potential changes to current term limit structure. — Should the Council wish to amend the current structure, staff would recommend aligning with the term limit structures of neighboring jurisdictions in the Tri-Valley or Union City. Questions and Comments VM DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 1710 June 6, 2023 SB 343 Senate Bill 343 mandates supplemental materials that have been received by the City Clerk's office that relate to an agenda item after the agenda packets have been distributed to the City Council be available to the public. The attached documents were received in the City Clerk's office after distribution of the June 6, 2023, Regular City Council meeting agenda packet. Item 8.2 1711 REVISED — June 6, 2023 1/ STAFF REPORT DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL CALIFORNIA DATE: June 6, 2023 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Linda Smith, City Manager Agenda Item 8.2 SUBJECT: Discussion on Mayor and City Council Term Limits Prepared by: John Bakker, City Attorney & John Stefanski, Assistant to the City Manager EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The City Council will receive a report on Mayor and City Council Term Limits. At the March 11, 2023 City Council Team Building Meeting, the City Council directed Staff to prepare an item for discussion on Term Limits. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Receive the report, discuss, and provide direction as needed. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with a discussion item. Should the City Council request, at a later date, the inclusion of term limits on the ballot, there would be costs associated with a consolidated election as described below. DESCRIPTION: At the March 11, 2023 City Council meeting, the City Council discussed the upcoming transition to district -based elections starting in 2024. Specifically, concerns were raised around whether the total eight -year term limit could impact the ability to recruit Council and Mayoral candidates and whether the City Council should evaluate changes to the term limits. The Council asked to review term limits for other local agencies and to hold a future discussion regarding the City's current term limit policy. Current Policy Current regulations governing Mayor and City Council Term Limits were approved by Dublin voters in November 1996. As a result, the City Council adopted Ordinance 18-96 confirming Page 1 of 6 1712 this vote and adding Section 2.08.050 to the Dublin Municipal Code. Under this ordinance, the term limits are as follows: "No person shall serve as Councilmember for more than two (2) consecutive terms, nor shall any person serve as Mayor for more than four (4) consecutive terms. In addition: (A) no person who has served as a Councilmember for one (1) term shall serve more than two (2) terms as Mayor if the terms as Councilmember and Mayor are consecutive; (B) no person who has served as Councilmember for two (2) consecutive terms shall serve a consecutive term as Mayor; (C) no person who has served as Mayor for three (3) or four (4) consecutive terms shall serve a consecutive term as a Councilmember; (D) no person who has served as Mayor for two (2) consecutive terms shall serve more than one (1) succeeding consecutive term as Councilmember; (E) no person who has served consecutive terms as Mayor and Councilmember shall serve more than one (1) more consecutive term as Mayor; and (F) no person who has served consecutive terms as Mayor and Councilmember shall serve another consecutive term as Councilmember. As used herein, a person shall be considered to have served a term of office as a Councilmember if such person has served as a Councilmember for two (2) years plus one (1) day and a person shall be considered to have served a term of office as Mayor if such person has served as Mayor for one (1) year plus one (1) day." Term Limits in Neighboring Jurisdictions Term Limits for the Mayor and City Council vary among the Cities in Alameda County and the Tri-Valley Region. A summary of these term limits can be found in the table below: Maximum Consecutive Years Served by Position & Total Maximum Consecutive Years Served on City Council Jurisdiction Mayor Councilmember Total District Based Elections Danville - - - No Dublin 8 8 8 Yes Fremont 8 8 16 Yes Hayward - - No Livermore 8 8 16 Yes Newark - No Pleasanton 8 8 16 Yes San Leandro 8 8 16 Yes San Ramon 8 - 8 (Mayor only) Yes Union City 12 12 12 Yes A sample of the regulations, or lack thereof, for these cities can be found below: Jurisdiction Term Limit Danville None Fremont Mayor —No mayor who has served terms comprising eight (8) consecutive years as mayor shall be qualified for further service in that office until he or she has a break in service in that office of at least four (4) years. Page 2 of 6 1713 City Council —No Councilmember who has served terms comprising eight (8) consecutive years as a councilmember shall be qualified for further in that office until he or she has a break in service in that office of at least four (4) years. The disqualifications imposed by this section shall not prevent a person who is disqualified from serving as mayor from serving as a councilmember or a person who is disqualified from serving as a councilmember from serving as mayor. However, any person who has served terms comprising sixteen (16) consecutive years in the offices of mayor and councilmember shall be disqualified from further service in either office until he or she has a break in service from both offices of at least four (4) years. Time spent in office while serving less than a full term shall not be counted in computing consecutive years in any office. Time spent in office prior to the enactment of this section shall not be counted in computing consecutive years in any office. In computing the number of years served, full, four-year (4) terms shall count as four (4) years of service even though the period encompassed by such terms may not be exactly four years in duration. The term of office for the mayor and each councilmember shall be four (4) years. Fremont Municipal Code 2.05.100; 110 Hayward None Livermore Mayor —No person who has served terms totaling eight (8) consecutive years as mayor shall be qualified for further service in that office until he or she has a break in service in that office of at least two (2) years. The office of the mayor shall be an elective office, and the term thereof shall be two (2) years. City Council —No person who has served terms totaling eight (8) consecutive years as a Council member shall be qualified for further service in that office until he or she has a break in service in that office of at least two (2) years. The disqualifications imposed by this section shall not prevent a person who is disqualified from serving as mayor from serving as Council member or a person who is disqualified from serving as a Council member from serving as mayor. However, any person who has served terms totaling sixteen (16) consecutive years in the offices of mayor and Council member shall be disqualified from further service in either office until he or she has a break in service from both offices of at least two (2) years. Page 3 of 6 1714 As used in this section, a person shall be considered to have served a "term" of office if such person has served one-half of a full term of office plus one (1) day. A term of office for a member of the City Council shall be four (4) years. Livermore Municipal Code Section 2.04.040 Newark None Pleasanton Mayor— A mayor shall serve no more than four (4) consecutive terms and a person who has been appointed or elected to mayor for more than one year shall serve no more than three additional terms. San Leandro The mayor shall hold office for a term of two years from and after the date and time at which the mayor was declared elected and was installed and shall hold office until his or her successor is elected and qualified. Councilmember—A council member (other than mayor) shall serve no more than two consecutive terms and a person who has been appointed or elected to council for more than two years shall serve no more than one additional term. Each such council member shall hold office for a term of four years from and after the date and time at which he or she was declared elected and was installed and shall hold office until his or her successor is elected and qualified. Pleasanton Municipal Code Section 2.04.015 Mayor —No person shall be eligible for the office of Mayor who has served two, complete four-year terms as Mayor immediately prior to the term for which such person seeks election or appointment. Councilmember—No person shall be eligible for the office of Council Member who has served two, complete four-year terms as Council Member immediately prior to the term for which such person seeks election or appointment. Council Members and the Mayor shall hold office for four years. The term of office shall commence on January 1 following the election. San Leandro City Charter, Article 11, Sections 235, 365, 270 San Ramon Mayor --The mayor shall be elected for a two-year term on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of each even -numbered year and shall be limited to such number of terms as are specified in the Charter of the city. No elected Mayor shall serve for more than four two-year terms except that a cumulative total of nine years may be served if one of those terms was lengthened as the result of change the date of the general municipal election. Union City San Ramon City Charter Article III. San Ramon Municipal Code Section A4-2.A Mayor and Councilmember--Neither the Mayor nor any member of the City Council shall serve in the same office for more than three (3) consecutive terms. Page 4 of 6 1715 For purposes of this chapter, the office of Mayor and the office of City Councilmember are distinct offices. At any municipal election after the expiration of two (2) years following said consecutive elective terms, a former Councilmember or Mayor may again seek election to City Council or as Mayor. For purposes of applying this chapter, any time in office served for a partial term, whether appointed or elective, shall not be considered. Union City Municipal Code Section 2.07.020-2.07.030 Ballot Measure Timeline Any changes to the City's term limits would require a vote of Dublin citizens. Should the City Council wish to initiate a ballot measure revising or repealing the existing term limits, in the March 5, 2024, Presidential Primary Election, it must meet Alameda County's December 8, 2023 deadline for filing a resolution requesting consolidation with the Presidential Primary Election and setting forth the ballot question. To meet that deadline, the City Council would need to adopt (by a 2/3 vote) a Resolution (1) calling for an election, (2) requesting consolidation with the Presidential Primary Election, and (3) setting forth the Ballot for the measure. To meet this deadline, such action would take place at the November 7, 2023, City Council meeting. The City Council may also consider submitting a ballot measure consolidated with a later election, like the November 5, 2024 Presidential Election. Effective Date If the ballot measure passes, changes to the term limits would be considered adopted upon the date the vote is declared by the City Council and would go into effect ten (10) days after that date. Election results are typically certified several weeks after the election, the vote would likely be declared at an April 2024 City Council meeting. Costs According to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, participation in the Countywide Consolidated Primary Election costs between $7-$9 per voter. Using the number of registered voters for the November 2020 Election (34,207), Staff estimates the cost of placing a ballot measure to be between $239,449 and $307,863. Alternatives At this juncture, Staff is seeking feedback from the City Council on any potential changes to the City's current term limits. The City Council could opt to (1) remove term limits, (2) amend current term limits, or (3) take no further action and leave the current term limits in place. When comparing with neighboring jurisdictions, the City's term limit structure is the most limiting. Should the City Council seek to amend the current term limit structure, staff would Page 5 of 6 1716 recommend aligning with the term limit structures of these jurisdictions and increasing the total maximum years served to either 12 (Union City) or 16 (Pleasanton, Livermore). STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE: None. NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: The City Council Agenda was posted. ATTACHMENTS: None. Page 6 of 6 1717 ALAMEDA COUNTY FIREFIGHTERS 369 - 1 Sih Street • Oakland, CA 94612 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS LOCAL 55 June 6, 2023 Mayor Hernandez Vice -Mayor McCorriston Council -member Josey Council -member Hu Council -member Qaadri Sent via Email Only Dear Mayor Hernandez and Council Members, I am writing to express support from Local 55 regarding potential changes to the Mayor and City Council elections. I believe the proposed recommendations in the report will help ensure transparency, fairness, and accountability in our local government and bring term limits in -line with other communities in the surrounding areas. Local 55 would encourage any term limit changes to be presented to the voters during the March primary elections. This is good governance and would not confuse the electorate during the November general election cycle. Thank you for taking the time to consider this matter, and I look forward to positive change moving forward. Sincerely, Sean Burrows President 1718