Continuing to focus on how the current charter but that
might warrant consideration by the new commission, and what the last charter
review determined. To view the entire current city charter go to: https://www.ci.pomona.ca.us/mm/cityhall/pdf/city_charter.pdf
ARTICLE IV -- Elective Officers
This is the part of the charter
that deals with who is elected, how they are elected, eligibility, and what
their duties are.
Section 401 deals with how many
councilpersons there will be, how the mayor is elected, that council members
must reside in their districts, and the sequencing of the elections. This is
where in 2010, we had a desire to resquence the election so that the citywide
election for mayor took place on an odd year so that it would not give an
advantage to a councilperson who wished to run for mayor and wasn’t up for
election that year. This had been a problem as some members would run because
they had “nothing to lose,” while other candidates who might have run didn’t
because they would have to give up their council seats to run. However, since
2010, the state has pretty much taken away the option of holding elections on
odd numbered years as they feel that low turnouts during those years create an
equality.
Section 402 deals with
eligibility to run for an office (residency, etc.), while Section 403 deals
with how a vacancy will be filled. This is an area that the 2010 commission had
an interest in. There was an issue of a councilmember who retired, in order to
get a CalPers pension resigned their council seat, and then the next day was
reappointed to the same council seat. The following wording was suggested to be
added to this section regarding the filling of vacancies:
A qualified person shall be defined as an individual who
resides in the district where the vacancy occurred, and makes an application
outlining his/her qualifications for the position. A Councilmember who resigned
from the Council shall not be considered to fill their own vacancy.
This is also the section where
the Planning Commission is designated as the body which will become the council
in the event of the entire council not being able to perform their duties. In
the previous charter this was originally the Library Board of Trustees.
Section 404 discusses
compensation for mayor and council, covered expenses, and expense reporting.
The only changes suggested in 2010 were minor changes to how CPI is calculated,
which was something requested by the city finance department.
Section 405 concerns absences.
The 2010 made the following suggested changes. Deletions are in strike
through type and additions are in italics.
Any member of the Council may be absent from the City or
from all regular meetings for thirty (30) consecutive days. With the consent
of a majority of a quorum of the Council entered in its minutes, any
member of the Council may be absent from the City or from all regular meetings
of the Council for up to sixty (60) days. With the consent of a majority of a
Quorum of the Council entered in its minutes, any member may be absent for a
longer duration. Thereafter, any member of the Council may be absent for
any longer period, provided that at least once every thirty (30) days the
Council, with the consent of a majority of a quorum entered into its minutes,
agrees to extend the absence. Such an extended absence may be for
any good and sufficient reason including but not limited to official City
business. In addition, the Council may honor those absences relating to
physical injury or incapacitation, or family need. Without the required consent
the Council shall declare the office vacant.
The current charter has a
section 406 which elucidates the duties of the Mayor. There is no section on
the duties of a councilperson. The 2010 commission added a section 406 and
moved the current 406 to 407.
Section 406 City Council Members.
The City Council Members, in addition to the powers and
duties prescribed elsewhere in this Charter, shall have the responsibility and
duties to: Conduct business in a manner to benefit the entire City of Pomona,
not strictly individual districts. areas, or constituencies; Manage discretionary
funds in a manner to benefit not only district needs, but needs of the entire
City of Pomona; Report to the City and the citizenry on the local and city-wide
impacts of issues that occur in a councilperson 's district; Report to the
council and the public the activities of commissions and boards to which the Councilmember
is also a member, particularly where they have impacts on the City of Pomona;
Set goals for the improvement of the entire City of Pomona as well as improvements
to individual districts; Meet at least annually as the full Council, in the
City of Pomona, to facilitate the establishment and/or review of goals for the
City stressing improvements that benefit all citizens; Actively communicate
with the commissioners and board members that they have appointed and make an
effort to meet with them at least once a year.
Some of these, such as priority
setting meetings, have been implemented as policy while others such as
requiring councilmember district meetings might still be something to look at.
The 2010 had no recommended changes to the duties of the mayor.
ARTICLE V – The Council
Article V has 13
sections covering Powers, Composition (how many and, vice mayor, etc.), Meetings,
Place of Meetings, Proceedings and Quorum, Citizen Participation, Vote Requirement,
Adoption of Ordinances and Resolutions, Posting, When Ordinances will Take
Effect, City Codes, Codes of Technical Regulations, and Conflicts of Interest.
The 2010 commission had no recommended changes for Article V.
NEXT TIME:
Article VI, City Manager and; Article
VIII Other Officers, Departments and Employees and General Provisions
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