For City Council Meeting December 10, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: G. Michael Milhiser, Interim City Manager
AUTHOR: Tanya Williams, Assistant City Manager
Title
Request City Council to Provide Direction to Staff on the Preparation of an Ordinance to Govern the Process to Fill Future City Council Vacancies.
(ACTION)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council Provide Direction to Staff on the Preparation of an Ordinance to Govern the Process to Fill Future City Council Vacancies
BACKGROUND
Currently, all vacancies created on the Rialto City Council are governed by Government Code section 36512 which requires that if a vacancy occurs in a city elective office the city council must either fill the vacancy by appointment or call a special election to fill the vacancy within 60 days from the start of the vacancy. Government Code Section 36512 governs the filling of Council vacancies for general law cities, if the City has not already adopted its own ordinance governing vacancies pursuant to that section.
Mayor Baca requested that this item be placed on the City Council agenda for discussion.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
The City of Rialto does not currently have a local ordinance that guides the process to fill a Council vacancy and therefore is governed by Government Code Section 36512. If the City Council provides direction to staff to draft an ordinance for adoption, a subsequent item and staff report will be brought forward for full consideration by the City Council at that time.
The ordinance brough forward would govern all future City Council vacancies once adopted by the City Council.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The requested City Council action is not a “Project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to Section 15378(a), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has the potential to result in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. According to Section 15378(b), a Project does not include (5) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
Approval of this action complies with the following:
Our City government will lead by example and will operate in an open, transparent, and responsive manner that meets the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney's Office has reviewed the staff report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact with this action.