HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-19-2016 Charter Committee Agenda & Backup City of San Bernardino
Volunteer Citizen-Based Charter Committee
Agenda
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Place: EDA Board Room 201 N. E Street, San Bernardino, CA 92418
The City of San Bernardino recognizes its obligation to provide equal access to public services to those
individuals with disabilities. Please contact the City Clerk's Office at (909) 384-5102 one working day
prior to the meeting for any requests for reasonable accommodation, to include interpreters.
Anyone who wishes to speak on a numbered agenda item will be required to fill out a speaker slip. Speaker
slips should be turned in to the City Clerk before the item is taken up by the Committee. The Clerk will
relay them to the Committee Chair person. Public comments for agenda items are limited to three minutes
per person, a total of 15 minutes per item, comments to be received from the public before discussion of the
item by Committee members.
ROLL CALL
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS
PUBLIC COMMENTS (LIMIT 30 MINUTES)
ACTION ITEMS (subject to time available with meeting scheduled to end by 8:OOp.m.)
I. Approval of minutes from March 22 &April 12, 2016 meetings (to be emailed)
2. Special Presentations
3. Review Revised Organizational Structure under Preliminary New Charter(attached)
4. Discuss Workshop with Mayor and Common Council
5. Discuss Committee's Final Report and Presentation to the Mayor and Common Council
6. Review Timeline (attached)
7. Input on Draft Proposed Charter
ADJOURN
Unless changed at the April 19th meeting, the next meetings of the Volunteer Citizen-Based Charter
Committee will be 5:30 p.m., Monday, April 25, 2016(jointly with the Mayor and Common Council), in the
EDA Board Room, 201 N. E. Street and 5:30p.m., Tuesday,April 26, 2016 in the EDA Board Room, 201
N. E. Street. Attendees are encouraged to park on the top floor of the City Hall parking structure and
access the EDA building from there.
1
DRAFT
Charter Review Committee
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Minutes
Committee Members Present: Phil Savage, Hillel Cohn, Casey Dailey, Tom Pierce, Gloria Harrison, Michael
Craft, Dennis Baxter. Gary Walboume and Vicki Lee
Staff/Committee Consultants Present
City Attorney Gary Saenz, City Clerk Gigi Hanna, Cathy Standiford, of Management Partners.
Chair Savage called the meeting to order at 5:31 p.m.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Cohn discussed an Op-Ed in the paper regarding the Water Board that he
felt was premature because things had not been settled yet and his recent visit to the DRNAG neighborhood
association.
Public Speakers
Al Palazzo, of San Bernardino, spoke about his observations of the council meeting the night previous and his
vision for San Bernardino tour that explains his vision for changing San Bernardino.
Jim Smith, San Bernardino, spoke about places the Charter committee could make its case and thanked those
committee members who have reached out to the community about the recommendations of the committee.
Shirley Harlan, San Bernardino, spoke about her concerns about the education of the public on the Charter
issue.
Minutes
A motion was made Cohn, seconded by Craft to approve the Minutes of the March 15, 2016 meeting with
changes. The motion passed unanimously, with an amendment to clarify comments by Michael Craft at the
previous meeting.
Action Items
The Committee voted on several recommendations in Preliminary Charter Draft 43. They were:
• To remove the previous Section 507 (Water Wastewater) because it is redundant. Motion by Harrison,
second by Cohn. Carried unanimously;
• To approve the language for Section 700 as presented. Motion by Dailey, second by Cohn. Carried
unanimously;
• Adopt the language for Section 701 as presented. The motion was made by Dailey, seconded by
Walbourne and passed, with Baxter voting no;
• Adopt Section 702 as presented. Motion by Harrison, second by Dailey. Passed unanimously;
• Amend Section 703 to read: The Council shall publish a general summary of the budget and CIP and
hold one or more public hearings on them. After the public hearing(s) the Budget and CIP shall be
adopted by the Council before the beginning of each fiscal year. Motion by Harrison, second by Baxter.
Carried unanimously;
• Deferred action on Section 704 pending legal input by city attorney;
• Deletion of Section 705 (Demands Against the City). Motion by Pierce, second by Baxter. Carried
unanimously;
• Adopt Section 706 (Independent Audit) with change to indicate the independent audit of City account
would be annual. Motion by Dailey, second by Harrison. Carried unanimously;
• Adoption of Article 8, Section 800 (City Elections) with addition of the words "after the first Monday."
Motion by Dailey, second by Cohn. Carried unanimously;
• Adoption of Section 801 (City Council; Terms), changing the word "six"to "seven". Motion by
Harrison, second by Dailey. Carried unanimously;
• Section 802 (Number of Wards) shall read: "There shall be seven wards." Motion by Dailey, second by
Harrison. Carried unanimously;
• Amendment of Section 303 to include language about the mayor's ability to break a tie or veto a vote.
Motion by Craft, second by Walbourne. Carried unanimously;
• Adoption of Section 803 (Adjustment of Ward Boundaries). Motion by Cohn, second by Harrison.
Carried unanimously.
• Adoption of Section 804 (Initiative, Citizen Referendum, and Recall). Motion by Baxter, second by Lee.
Carried unanimously;
• Adoption of Article 9, Section 900 (Charter Amendment). Motion by Cohn, second by Dailey. Carried
unanimously;
• Adoption of Article 9, Section 901 (Periodic Review of Charter). Motion by Cohn, second by Harrison.
Carried unanimously, with Lee out of the room.
• Adoption of Article 10, Section 1000 (Severability). Motion by Daily, second by Harrison. Carried
unanimously.
Next Meeting Date and Time
The meeting adjourned to 5:30 p.m. April 12, 2016 in the EDA Board Room.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Gigi Hanna
City Clerk
DRAFT
Charter Review Committee
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Minutes
Committee Members Present: Phil Savage, Hillel Cohn, Casey Dailey, Dennis Baxter, Vicki Lee, Tom
Pierce, Gloria Harrison Gary Walbourne and Michael Craft.
Staff/Committee Consultants Present
City Attorney Gary Saenz, City Clerk Gigi Hanna, Cathy Standiford, of Management Partners.
Chair Savage called the meeting to order at 5:31 p.m.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Cohn suggested that the committee begin its presentation to the Council
with a statement about how the committee has fulfilled the mandate set by the ordinance creating the
committee.
Public Speakers
Shirley Harlan, San Bernardino, spoke about her concerns about the education of the public on the Charter
issue and said she would be attending a meeting in Riverside about parliamentary procedure. She said
knowledge of procedure would be helpful in people becoming educated about the charter and governance
means.
Minutes
The minutes for March 22, 2016 were unavailable and will be reviewed at the April 19 meeting.
Action Items
City Attorney Saenz discussed the difference between ordinances and resolutions for the committee's
edification.
The Committee reviewed its first complete draft of the Charter (Draft 4) in advance of the April 25 workshop
with the MCC and agreed by consensus to allow Cathy Standiford to make editorial changes in document
language as discussed. Much of the discussion involved the proper placement of elements of the Charter within
the outline of the document.
The group agreed:
• That the title of the document presented to council will be "Proposed Charter."
• The preamble will be: We the people of the city of San Bernardino in order to secure the benefits of
home rule and a council manager form of government hereby adopt this charter. Carried, with
Walbourne abstaining because he had not seen the language prior to the meeting.
• Section 102 (Interpretation of Powers) shall read: "The powers of the City under this Charter shall be
construed in favor of the City, and the specific mention of particular powers in the Charter shall not be
interpreted as limiting in any way the general power granted in this article. " Motion by Craft, second
by Baxter. Carried unanimously.
• Redefine the term"council" to only include the seven elected city council members and refer to the
mayor individually where applicable.
• To put the Conflict of Interest provision of Article three into its own subsection
• To have the mayor and council involved in the appointment of the city attorney and city clerk
• To give the city manager, rather than the council, the ability to establish city departments, offices or
agencies.
• The Library Director should be appointed by the Library Board.
Next Meeting Date and Time
The meeting adjourned to 5:30 p.m. April 19, 2016 in the EDA Board Room.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Gigi Hanna
City Clerk
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Charter Committee Working Timeline—April 19, 2016
Following is an excerpt from the Working Timeline showing recent outcomes and future activities and
dates only.
Meeting
Date Task or Activity Comments/Status
3/22 Continue working on specific language Discussed. Completed first draft of preliminary
charter
Discuss workshop with Mayor and Common Discussed
Council
4/12 Review first complete draft of preliminary charter Discussed
Discuss 4/25 Workshop with Mayor and Common Discussed
Council
Discuss Committee's final report and
presentation to Mayor and Common Council
4/19
4/25 Workshop with Mayor and Common Council to 5:30 p.m., EDA Board Room
discuss preliminary Charter recommendations
4/26 Discuss revisions to the preliminary charter based
on workshop with Mayor and Council
Review draft Committee final report to Mayor
and Common Council
Review and discuss presentation of Committee
report
5/10 Committee meeting to finalize presentation of
report to Mayor and Common Council
5/16 Present Charter Committee Report to Mayor and Note:Committee's report due to City Clerk by
Common Council? 4129 to meet deadline for May 16 MCC meeting;
5/24 Possible Committee meeting(if necessary)
6/6 Present Charter Committee Report to Mayor Note: Committee's report due to City Clerk by
and Common Council (alternative date) May 20 to meet deadline for June 6 MCC meeting
Note:Should the timeline slip, additional regular Charter Committee meetings may be scheduled if necessary.
3
Management
Partners
City of San Bernardino
Volunteer-Based Citizen Committee
Final Report to Mayor and Council-®Outline
I. Executive Summary and Recommendation(s)
II. The Committee
A. Its Mission
B. Need for Charter Reform
III. Charter Development(resources, process taken by the Committee)
A. Resources Utilized (list)
B. Committee Timeline (summarizes dates of meetings and other activities, as well as
outcomes)
C. Research Studies list),note availability on City's website or from City Clerk
IV. Key Ele�ent e�oposed Char G� r 60.4-AA
A. Table similar to that prepared for 4/25 workshop
B. Highlight proposed changes as well as elements not proposed for change
V. Proposed Charter(final draft)
VI. Next Steps
A. Council should consider proposed charter and decide what to place before voters
B. City Attorney should conduct final review of proposed charter, assist the Council in
preparing resolution and ballot measure language
C. Council needs to take action on resolution and proposed ballot measure language no
later than August 1, 2016
D. Once Council takes action to propose a ballot measure, the City may engage in
education,but may not participate in advocacy
E. City Attorney will identify and begin preparing implementation ordinances that will
be necessary should voters approve the Charter
F. If voters approve the charter, it should be filed by the City with the Secretary of
State's Office (typically in January.)
VII. Conclusion(including any acknowledgements the Committee wishes to make)
ADDITIONAL DRAFT CHARTER REVISION CONSIDERATIONS
A. Cleanup (possibly not needing Committee discussion):
301(c) Delete- Is stated in section 801
305(c) Add after the word"preclude" in the 2"d sentence the words"the Mayor or".
306(a) Revise to read as follows: "Upon the [entire?]Council determining the occurrence of any of the
events enumerated in provisions of the Government Code pertaining to vacancies in public
offices, it shall declare a vacancy on the Council or for the office of Mayor."
308 Inquire of City Attorney as to why the words"if any"are needed.
604 Add the following sentence: "The entire Council and Mayor may remove Commissioners in the same
manner."
Throughout document. Why not eliminate"legalese"and delete numerical references to numbers and
leave them just verbal. ["five"rather than"five(5)"] Ask attorney.
B. Committee Discussion needed here:
303(c) Should the Mayoral powers be stated here? If so be sure they are complete. The present Charter
Draft also gives the Mayor powers to act(or vote) in the following provisions: §§300, 302, 400(3rd¶),
401(h), 601, & 702.
Does Mayor's power here to vote with the Council on appointment of "committees"conflict with the
Mayor's individual power to appoint Council committees as set forth in 303(d)?
400,et seq Starting here,the term "entire Council" is first used. It is used 6 other times I believe, but
omitted in other somewhat equivalent situations. The Committee should re-review when and where this
should be required by the Charter.
[Primarily consider whether"entire" should be used in the following places related to removal & or
replacement powers: the'2❑d reference to Council in 400, 2 n sentence of 504, 2"d sentence of 505, 2nd
sentence of introductory paragraph of 602, and the 2"d and 3`d sentences of 603(a).
Also consider in the 3`d paragraph of 302, 306(a), 307,the last sentence of 400, 2"d paragraph of 502,
506, 508, both references to Council in 509,the 3 references to Council in 600, 602 c., introductory
paragraph of 603(b), 700, the last sentence of the I't paragraph of 704).]
Also, should the 2 n sentence of the last paragraph of section 302 have after the word
Charter"the words: "to require the vote of the entire Council"?
501 Should the Council (or the Council and Mayor) be able to establish departments, etc. and/or
prescribe their functions?
600 I question whether the Charter should limit the Council's powers to deal with boards,
commissions and committees to be only by ordinance. Specially as to committees which the
Council may want to establish for a limited special, short term, purpose.
603 Here is where I have my most major concerns about our proposed Charter. It is my belief that
much of the language of this section belongs in ordinances, regulations or rules adopted by either the
Water Board or by the Council at the request of the Water Board. I am very concerned that much of it
may need to be changed and would result in the need for further amendment of our Charter. I strongly
favor putting only basic necessary items in the Charter and leaving the rest of the details to actions taken
by the Water Board or, if needed, by the Council as recommended by the Water Board.
It appears to me that the varying differing language referring to "water,recycled water,waste
water and sewer collection"may not be by intention, but just incidental or accidental. (The one clear
exception to this is in 603(c)where I believe the term"water supply system"could be used.) I believe
that more diligence may be needed in determining which language is to be used where. Accordingly,this
language should be able to be changed by the Water Department without the need for further amendment
to the Charter.
Another area of concern of mine is the extensive detail in this section based on Water supply
responsibilities with minimal dealing with waste water/sewer collection.
Also, while the Water Fund is required to be created for holding proceeds of sale and use of
water,there is no equivalent language as to what funds go into the Sewer Fund. In this regard, I wonder
to which fund expenses of water recycling are allocated.
I know that I am not competent to draft"best practices language"to appropriately deal with all of
what should be stated in procedures, regulations and/rules concerning the Water Department, and I don't
think our Charter Committee, Stacey or you have the time and expertise to do so before finalizing our
proposed new Charter. So, I suggest section 603 should read something like the following:
"603. Water. A Water Board of Commissioners shall by appointed by the entire Council and Mayor.
They shall serve six year terms of office, staggered as in the same manner as at the time of the adoption
of this Charter. Any one or more of these Commissioners may be removed by vote of the entire Council
and Mayor. The Board shall have the following powers and responsibilities:
a. Be responsible to oversee and manage the City's water supply, recycled water, sewer and
wastewater collection ("Water Systems")functions in accordance with State law.
b. Employ such persons, including a general manager, as may be needed for proper
administration of the City's Water Systems.
C. Set and collect all rates, fees and charges for operation of the Water Systems.
d. Allocate all receipts and expenditures to separate, independent, Water and Sewer Funds
in accordance with State law.
e. Compensate members of the Water Board in accordance with actions of the Water Board
following public hearing.
f. Collaborate with the Council, Mayor and City Manager concerning the City's Water
System. In this regard,the Council shall take such actions as may be appropriate to enforce rules and
regulations of the Board.
g. Establish and periodically review and revise such rules and regulations as may be
appropriate for managing the City's Water Systems. Pending the adoption of such rules and regulations,
the provisions of Appendix A shall apply except to any extent inconsistent with this Charter or State law.
Appendix A shall expire one year after the adoption of this Charter and shall thereafter not be deemed a
part of this Charter"
Then, Appendix A would be something like what has now been drafted as section 603.
Article VIII The Committee did not spend much time deliberating the change from run-off elections to
plurality. I for one was mostly thinking of elections of Council members,not the Mayor. I suggest that
the Committee should give some further deliberation to this and consider a 3rd alternative-that is for
"preferential", "ranked-choice", or"instant runoff'elections. This would entail adding language like the
following to Article VIII:
"All elections of the Mayor and Council shall be by ballot, using a system of instant runoff voting
without a separate runoff election. These elections shall be in accordance with the following guidelines:
a. The ballot shall give voters the option of ranking candidates in order of preference.
b. If a candidate receives a majority of first preference votes,that candidate is elected.
C. If no candidate receives a majority of first preferences, an instant runoff retabulation
shall be performed within five business days of the election. The instant runoff retabulation shall be
conducted in rounds. In each round, each voter's ballot shall count as a single vote for whichever
continuing candidate the voter has ranked highest. The candidate with the fewest votes after each round
shall be eliminated until only two candidates remain, with the candidate then receiving the greatest
number of votes being elected.
d. The Council may adopt additional regulations consistent with these guidelines."
Management � S
Partners
City of San Bernardino
Volunteer Citizen-Based Charter Committee
Draft Proposed Charter (#5) Discussion Items
Section 303. Powers and Duties of the Mayor
A subsection [303(c)] was added to explicitly describe matters where the Mayor shall have the
authority to vote. It states the Mayor shall "have the authority to vote to appoint or remove the City
Manager, City Attorney and City Clerk and the fixing of their compensation; and the appointment or
removal of members of boards, commissions or committees."
• Should the Mayor also be able to vote on actions involving the authorities,
responsibilities and other elements related to boards, commissions and committees?
• Should the Mayor have the authority to vote on additional matters, and if so, what?
Section 501. General Provisions (Departments,Officers and Employees)
At the last meeting, the Committee voted to give authority to the City Manager to establish
departments, offices and agencies. The Committee Chair has questioned whether the City
Council should also have such authority. Best practice is for the authority to be vested in either
one or the other. If the Council is to be the ultimate authority, it might be better to change the
wording as follows:
The City Council, upon the recommendation of the City Manager, may establish City
departments, offices, or agencies....
• Should the creation of departments be the responsibility of the City Council or the City
Manager?
Section 600. General Provisions (Boards, Commissions and Committees)
A question has been raised as to whether all committee alterations require action by ordinance.
The common practice is to define board/commission roles, responsibilities and authorities by
ordinance so they are reflected in the municipal code. But this may overly limit the Council's
(or Mayor and Council's) ability to make changes when necessary.
• Should the words "by ordinance"be stricken to provide maximum flexibility?
Section 603. Water,Wastewater and Sewer Collection
A concern has been raised that many of the elements of this section would be more
appropriately dealt with as ordinances, regulations or rules adopted by either the Water Board
or the City Council(at the request of the Water Board). The Committee Chair has drafted
alternative language for consideration. (Note: If the alternative language is acceptable to the
Page 2
Committee, it would be appropriate to have it reviewed by the Water Board President and
General Manager for acceptability.) Following is the suggested language:
603. Water
A Water Board of Commissioners shall by appointed by the Council and Mayor. They shall
serve six year terms of office, staggered as in the same manner as at the time of the adoption of
this Charter. Any one or more of these Commissioners may be removed by vote of the Council
and Mayor. The Board shall have the following powers and responsibilities:
a. Be responsible to oversee and manage the City's water supply, recycled water,
sewer and wastewater collection ("Water Systems")functions in accordance with
State law.
b. Employ such persons, including a general manager, as may be needed for proper
administration of the City's Water Systems.
C. Set and collect all rates,fees and charges for operation of the Water Systems.
d. Allocate all receipts and expenditures to separate, independent, Water and Sewer
Funds in accordance with State law.
e. Compensate members of the Water Board in accordance with actions of the Water
Board.following public hearing.
f. Collaborate with the Council, Mayor and City Manager concerning the City's
Water System. In this regard, the Council shall take such actions as may be
appropriate to enforce rules and regulations of the Board.
g. Establish and periodically review and revise such rules and regulations as may be
appropriate for managing the City's Water Systems. In this regard, the Water
Board shall, within one year of the adoption of this Charter, adopt such rules and
regulations and, to any extent appropriate, the Council shall approve and/or
adopt such rules and regulations. Pending the adoption of such rules and
regulations, the provisions of Appendix A shall apply except to any extent
inconsistent with this Charter or State law. "
Then, Appendix A would be something like what has now been drafted as section 603.
• Does the Committee wish to consider alternative language for the section concerning the
Water Board and Water Department?
Article VII: Elections
There is a concern that the Committee may not have fully understood the implications of
following the Elections Code in terms of the voting process. The natural consequence of
following the Elections Code is that the City would no longer have a primary/runoff election
process. Instead candidates would be elected by a plurality of votes (i.e.,highest vote getter).
This change has been highlighted in the staff report for the April 25 workshop with the Mayor
and Common Council. Other alternatives include (a)retain the current Charter provisions for
election by majority, including primary and runoff procedures or(b)providing for
"preferential," "ranked" or "instant runoff voting."
Page 3
The Committee Chair has drafted possible language for the "preferential" or "instant runoff"
option as follows:
All elections of the Mayor and Council shall be by ballot, using a system of instant runoff voting
without a separate runoff election. These elections shall be in accordance with the following
guidelines:
a. The ballot shall give voters the option of ranking candidates in order of
preference.
b. If a candidate receives a majority of first preference votes, that candidate is
elected.
C. If no candidate receives a majority of first preferences, an instant runoff
retabulation shall be performed within five business days of the election. The
instant runoff retabulation shall be conducted in rounds. In each round, each
voter's ballot shall count as a single vote for whichever continuing candidate the
voter has ranked highest. The candidate with the fewest votes after each round
shall be eliminated until only two candidates remain, with the candidate then
receiving the greatest number of votes being elected.
d. The Council may adopt additional regulations consistent with these guidelines. "
• Does the Committee wish to consider either of these alternatives, or propose election by
plurality as currently envisioned by the proposed Charter?