Item 18 - Voter Ballot Measure for the November 8, 2022 General Municipal Election to Amend the City Charter

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Voter Ballot Measure to Amend the City Charter August 2, 2022 Page 3 2 8 6 6 Section 401.01: Term Limits (new section) This amendment removes term limit provisions for the mayor and councilmember, from Sections 404 and 401, respectively, and restates those term limit provisions in their entirety into a new Section 401.01 of the Charter. The purpose of this amendment is to reorganize all provisions relating to term limits into one new section. Section 401.05: Code of Ethics and Conduct (new section) The current Charter states that the City shall adopt a Code of Ethics and Conduct for elected officials and members of appointed boards, commissions, and committees to assure public confidence in the integrity of the City. This amendment expands the applicability of the Code of Ethics and Conduct to include elected officials, the City Attorney, City Manager, Clerk of Council, Police Chief, and directors of all City departments. Furthermore, this amendment prescribes a process for documenting alleged violations of the Code of Ethics and Conduct in writing to the City Council, as well as a procedure for the City Council to review such alleged allegations. Section 405: Mayor Pro Tem The current Charter provides that at the first City Council meeting following any general or special election when councilmembers, including the mayor, are elected, the City Council shall elect a mayor pro tem. This amendment clarifies that the election of the mayor pro tem shall occur each calendar year at the first City Council meeting in January. Furthermore, this amendment clarifies that the mayor pro tem from the previous year cannot be elected as mayor pro tem for the following year, and that the mayor pro tem may be replaced by the affirmative votes of four members of the City Council. Section 406: Council Judge of Elections and Qualifications of Members This section declares that the City Council shall be the judge of the election and of the qualifications of its member(s) as defined in Section 401, and shall meet on the first regularly scheduled City Council meeting following certification of election results to declare such election results and install members. This amendment provides that the City Council may also meet at a special City Council meeting to do the same. Section 413:Adoption (Ordinances) The current Charter provides a procedure for the adoption of ordinances. This amendments adds resolutions as part of this procedure, as well as clarifies the following: that ordinances may not be amended after the first reading, and that if an ordinance is amended after the first reading, that it must be re-introduced to be consistent with state law; that a resolution or ordinance must be signed as soon as possible, but no later than 72 hours following its adoption; and that if the mayor does not sign a resolution or ordinance, that the mayor pro tem or any councilmember who voted to approve such ordinance or resolution may sign instead. Section 613:Claims— Formalities; Treasury Warrants The process for claims as prescribed in the Charter is outdated. This amendment revises this process to streamline the claims and payment process.