For City Council Meeting January 7, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: G. Michael Milhiser, Interim City Manager
AUTHOR: Barbara A. McGee, City Clerk
Title
Request City Council to interview candidates who submitted applications to fill the vacant council seat. City Council may also interview additional persons designated by City Council. City Council to deliberate on the candidates, nominate candidates, and take action to appoint a person to fill the vacation position. In the alternative City Council may conduct any of these functions at a subsequent Council meeting within the statutory 60-day period.
(ACTION)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Interview each applicant, deliberate on the results of the interviews and make an appointment.
OR
2. City Council to postpone the decision to a subsequent City Council meeting.
BACKGROUND
A City Council vacancy was created when Council Member Joe Baca was elected as Mayor of the City of Rialto. At the December 10, 2024, City Council meeting, City Council voted to conduct interviews of interested candidates in applying for the vacant position, to complete 2 years of the 4-year term, and to make an appointment by majority vote of the City Council.
The vacancy was noticed on the City’s website and social media and applications are available on the City’s website and at the City Clerk’s Office. Fifteen (15) applications were received by the deadline of January 2, 2025. The applicants are in the order they were received:
1. Edward A. Montoya Jr.
2. Mike Story
3. Javier Gomez
4. Josef B. Britt
5. Kelvin D. Moore
6. Vickie Davis
7. Ivan Ramirez
8. Elvis Garcia
9. Rocio Martinez
10. Rafael Trujillo Jr.
11. Guadalupe Camacho
12. Jessica Justine Haro
13. Joshua Augustus
14. Lameisha George
15. Ana Gonzalez
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
There are only two (2) mandatory evaluation criteria: (1) The person resides within the City of Rialto; and (2) The person is registered to vote within the City of Rialto.
The Council may wish to consider the following additional criteria in reviewing the applications:
• Amount of prior local government experience/service
• Relevant skills and experience
• Knowledge and understanding of current City projects and initiatives
• Alignment with City needs, goals, and priorities
• Availability and time commitment
The Council retains discretion in making this decision and can apply the evaluation criteria as the Council deems appropriate.
Interview Process
• Applicants will wait in the lobby until their interview begins, in the interest of fairness.
• Applicants will be interviewed in the order they were received.
• Applicant will introduce themselves and give a brief summary of why they are interested in serving on the Rialto City Council.
• City Council will ask their questions.
• Applicant will provide a closing statement at the end of the interview.
• 15 minutes will be provided in total for each applicant. City Clerk will announce when two minutes are remaining.
• After interviews with the listed candidates, Mayor will ask if there are any nominations from the City Council.
• At the conclusion of the interviews, City Council will deliberate and make a decision regarding appointment. City Council can choose to make an immediate appointment or choose to postpone the decision until a subsequent City Council Meeting.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The proposed action does not meet the definition of a project as defined by Section 15378 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). A “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and excludes organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
The request is consistent with Guiding Principle 3A of the Rialto General Plan: our city government will lead by example, and will operate in an open, transparent, and responsive manner that will meet 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
This action does not impact the budget.