CC SR 20180918 D - City Council SuccessionRANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 09/18/2018
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
AGENDA DESCRIPTION:
Consideration and possible action regarding City Council succession appointments
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Approve designating the Chair and/or Vice-Chair of the Planning Commission,
Civic Center Advisory Committee, Emergency Preparedness Committee,
Finance Advisory Committee, Infrastructure Management Advisory Committee,
and/or Traffic Safety Committee to serve as standby officers if a Councilmember
is unavailable to perform his/her duties during a state of war emergency, state of
emergency or state of local emergency.
(2) Adopt Resolution No. 2018 -___, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES APPOINTING STANDBY OFFICERS
FOR THE CITY COUNCIL.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: None
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Tracy Bonano, Senior Administrative Analyst/Emergency Manager
REVIEWED BY: Gabriella Yap, Deputy City Manager
APPROVED BY: Doug Willmore, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Draft Resolution No. 2018__ (page A-1)
B. Government Code Section 36512 (page B-1)
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
The City Council’s role during an emergency is to provide effective leadership, by
authorizing necessary actions and providing policy direction during the emergency and
recovery operations. Depending upon the severity and nature of the situation, the level
of involvement by the City Council will vary. During a full-scale disaster, a City Council
quorum may be necessary to ratify local emergency proclamations, approve emergency
purchases, mandate citywide curfews to preserve law and order, and execute other
policy decisions. It is essential that the City Council continue to perform these functions
during an emergency even when Councilmembers are unavailable. Thus, the State
legislature has provided various methods for ensuring continuity of local government.
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Unless standby officers have been pre-designated, California Government Code
Sections 8635-8644 authorizes surviving Councilmembers to reconstitute the City
Council by filling vacancies with individuals of their choice until there are sufficient
Councilmembers to form the largest quorum required by law (four governing members).
This could take additional time during a severe emergency situation. Under a worst-
case emergency scenario with no surviving Councilmembers available, the following
political subdivisions may appoint temporary officers: Chair of the Los Angeles County
Board of Supervisors; or if that person is unavailable, the Chair of any other County
Board of Supervisors within 150 miles of the City; or if that person is unavailable, the
Mayor of any city within 150 miles of Rancho Palos Verdes.
The “unavailability” of City Councilmembers (as defined in the Preservation of Local
Government provisions) means that a Councilmember is either killed, missing or so
seriously injured as to be unable to attend meetings (or unable to teleconference) and
otherwise perform his/her Council duties. Any question as to whether a particular City
Councilmember is unavailable is settled by the City Council or any remaining members
of the City Council (including standby officers who are serving on the Council).
Standby or temporary officers shall serve until a regular Councilmember becomes
“available” for duty or there is an election or appointment of a new Councilmember.
Standby Officers’ Duties
Standby officers serve at the City Council’s pleasure and may be removed and replaced
by the City Council at any time with or without cause (Government Code Section 8640).
Standby officers have four basic duties:
1. To inform him/herself of the duties of office for which he/she is a standby officer.
2. To keep informed of the business and affairs of the City.
3. To immediately report as ready for duty in the event of a state of war emergency,
state of emergency or a local emergency, at the place and in the method
designated by the City.
4. To fill the post for which he/she has been appointed when the regular officer is
unavailable during a state of war emergency, state of emergency, or a local
emergency and to serve until the regular officer becomes available or until the
election or appointment of a new regular officer.
When a standby office becomes vacant because of removal, death, resignation or other
cause, the City Council has the power to appoint another person to fill that standby
office (Government Code Section 8638).1
The attached resolution (Attachment A) names the Chairs and/or Vice-Chairs of the
Planning Commission, Civic Center Advisory Committee, Emergency Preparedness
1 The lines of succession for the City Manager and Department Heads during a state of
emergency have already been established in the City’s Emergency Operations Plan by position title so as
to account for possible Staff turnover.
2
Committee, Finance Advisory Committee, Infrastructure Management Advisory
Committee, and Traffic Safety Committee as the positions from which City
Councilmembers can choose alternates in the event of a disaster. While the
Preservation of Local Government provision does not explicitly list any criteria for
prospective standby officers, the Government Code provides that the chance of survival
in an emergency should be an important consideration. For example, the Government
Code recommends that consideration be given to places of residence and work, so that
for each office there is the greatest probability of survivorship for the appointed standby
officers.
In the event the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem is unavailable, the attached draft resolution
includes the provision to assign the titles and duties of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem to
the next most senior available Councilmember rather than to the standby officers
replacing the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem.
If City Council approves Draft Resolution No. 2018-__, the City Clerk will provide current
Commission or Committee members a copy of Article 15 (Government Code Sections
8635, et seq.) describing the responsibilities and duties of standby officers on the City
Council. In addition, City Clerk Staff will include a copy of Article 15 (Government Code
Sections 8635, et seq.) to all incoming Commission or Committee members as part of
their orientation packet. Also, in the near future, Staff (Emergency Manager) will
arrange SEMS (Standardized Emergency Management System)/NIMS (National
Incident Management System) executive training for both the City Council and its
standby officers.
General Succession Procedures
Depending upon the nature and scale of the disaster or state of emergency, the City
Manager or designee may contact the City Council and request that the City Council
report to the briefing room, which is the conference room located upstairs in the
administrative wing of City Hall, to receive an incident report. If a Councilmember does
not receive a call and cannot reach the City Manager, available Councilmembers are to
automatically report to the briefing room. During an emergency, standby officers will be
responsible for reporting their availability to the City Manager.
When an emergency Council meeting is called, all available City Council members and
standby officers will be accounted for. The City Attorney will assist the City Manager or
designee and available Councilmembers in determining which Councilmembers are
“unavailable,” and fill “unavailable” Councilmember seats for a timeframe that is
appropriate to the scope of the disaster or state of emergency.
If after filling the “unavailable” Council seats with standby officers there are still open
Council seats, the City may determine these seats to be “vacancies” and then proceed
to reconstitute the Council by filling vacancies until a quorum of four Councilmembers is
achieved, following Government Code Section 36512 (Attachment B) for filling
remaining vacancy.
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ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendations, the following alternative actions are available
for the City Council’s consideration:
1. Identify some other means of selecting standby officers for the City Council,
and continue this matter to a future date for adoption of a revised resolution.
2. Do not adopt a resolution appointing standby officers for the City Council.
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RESOLUTION NO. 2018-__
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RANCHO PALOS VERDES APPOINTING STANDBY
OFFICERS FOR THE CITY COUNCIL.
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 8635, et seq., entitled “Preservation of
Local Government,” sets forth a procedure for local governments to provide for the
continued functioning of local governments in the event of a state of war emergency, state
of emergency or local emergency; and,
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 8638 authorizes the City Council to
provide for the continuance of the City’s legislative and executive departments during a
state of war emergency, state of emergency or local emergency by appointing standby
officers for each member of the City Council; and,
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Government Code Section 8641, a standby officer is
to fill the appointed post when the regular officer is unavailable, as defined in Government
Code Section 8636, and is to serve in such a post until such time as the regular officer
becomes available or a new regular officer is elected or appointed.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE AND RESOLVE:
Section 1: The Chair and/or Vice-Chair of the following commissions and
committees can be appointed as standby officers for the City Council:
a. Planning Commission
b. Civic Center Advisory Committee
c. Emergency Preparedness Committee
d. Finance Advisory Committee
e. Infrastructure Management Advisory Committee, and,
f. Traffic Safety Committee
Section 2: In the event the Mayor is unavailable, the person replacing the Mayor
shall not assume the title and duties of Mayor; instead, the Mayor Pro Tem shall assume
the title and duties of the Mayor.
Section 3: In the event the Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem are both unavailable, the
persons replacing the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem shall not permanently assume the title
and duties of Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem; instead, the next most senior available
members of the City Council shall temporarily assume the title and duties of Mayor and
Mayor Pro-Tem.
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Section 4: In the event no Councilmembers are available, then the persons
replacing the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem shall assume the titles and duties of those
offices.
Section 5: Standby officers shall receive no compensation for the performance
of their duties as standby officers except as provided for by law.
Section 6: The City Clerk is directed to administer the oath of office to the
standby officers and to provide each standby officer with a copy of Article 15 of Division
1 of Title 2 of the California Government Code.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this __th day of September 2018.
Mayor
Attest:
City Clerk
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss
City of Rancho Palos Verdes )
I, Emily Colborn, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, hereby certify that the
above Resolution No. 2018-__ was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the said
City Council at regular meeting thereof held on September __, 2018.
__________________________
City Clerk
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State of California
GOVERNMENT CODE
Section 36512
36512. (a) If a vacancy occurs in an appointive office provided for in this chapter,
the council shall fill the vacancy by appointment. A person appointed to fill a vacancy
holds office for the unexpired term of the former incumbent.
(b) If a vacancy occurs in an elective office provided for in this chapter, the council
shall, within 60 days from the commencement of the vacancy, either fill the vacancy
by appointment or call a special election to fill the vacancy.
(1) If the council calls a special election, the special election shall be held on the
next regularly established election date not less than 114 days from the call of the
special election. A person elected to fill a vacancy holds office for the unexpired term
of the former incumbent.
(2) If the council fills the vacancy by appointment, the person appointed to fill the
vacancy shall hold office pursuant to one of the following:
(A) If the vacancy occurs in the first half of a term of office and at least 130 days
prior to the next general municipal election, the person appointed to fill the vacancy
shall hold office until the next general municipal election that is scheduled 130 or
more days after the date the council is notified of the vacancy, and thereafter until
the person who is elected at that election to fill the vacancy has been qualified. The
person elected to fill the vacancy shall hold office for the unexpired balance of the
term of office.
(B) If the vacancy occurs in the first half of a term of office, but less than 130 days
prior to the next general municipal election, or if the vacancy occurs in the second
half of a term of office, the person appointed to fill the vacancy shall hold office for
the unexpired term of the former incumbent.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) and Section 34902, a city may enact an
ordinance that does any of the following:
(1) Requires that a special election be called immediately to fill every city council
vacancy and the office of mayor designated pursuant to Section 34902. The ordinance
shall provide that the special election shall be held on the next regularly established
election date not less than 114 days from the call of the special election.
(2) Requires that a special election be held to fill a city council vacancy and the
office of mayor designated pursuant to Section 34902 when petitions bearing a
specified number of verified signatures are filed. The ordinance shall provide that the
special election shall be held on the next regularly established election date not less
than 114 days from the filing of the petition. A governing body that has enacted such
an ordinance may also call a special election pursuant to subdivision (b) without
waiting for the filing of a petition.
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
AUTHENTICATED
ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL
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(3) Provides that a person appointed to fill a vacancy on the city council holds
office only until the date of a special election which shall immediately be called to
fill the remainder of the term. The special election may be held on the date of the next
regularly established election or regularly scheduled municipal election to be held
throughout the city not less than 114 days from the call of the special election.
(d) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) and Section 34902, an appointment shall
not be made to fill a vacancy on a city council if the appointment would result in a
majority of the members serving on the council having been appointed. The vacancy
shall be filled in the manner provided by this subdivision.
(2) The city council may call an election to fill the vacancy, to be held on the next
regularly established election date not less than 114 days after the call.
(3) If the city council does not call an election pursuant to paragraph (2), the
vacancy shall be filled at the next regularly established election date.
(e) (1) If the city council of a city that elects city council members by or from
districts elects to fill a vacancy on the city council by appointment as a result of a city
council member resigning from office, the resigning city council member may cast
a vote on the appointment if the resignation will go into effect upon the appointment
of a successor. A city council member shall not cast a vote for a family member or
any other person with whom the city council member has a relationship that may
create a potential conflict of interest.
(2) If a city council member elects to cast a vote under this subdivision, the city
council member shall be prohibited from the following actions for a period of two
years after the appointment of a successor:
(A) Advocating on any measure or issue coming before the city council in which
the city council member may have a personal benefit.
(B) Entering into a contract of any kind with the city or a city vendor.
(C) Accepting a position of employment with the city or a city vendor.
(D) Applying for a permit that is subject to the approval of the city council.
(3) This subdivision shall not apply to any city council member who is resigning
from the city council due to charges of, or conviction for, corruption or criminal
behavior, or who is subject to a recall election.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 185, Sec. 1. (AB 952) Effective January 1, 2016.)
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