For City Council Meeting January 14, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: G. Michael Milhiser, Interim City Manager
AUTHOR: Eric S. Vail, City Attorney
Title
Request City Council to Consider Draft Ordinance to fill vacant elected offices and provide direction to the City Attorney necessary to finalize the ordinance.
(ACTION)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends consideration by the Council of the draft ordinance for the filling of Elected Officer positions and provide direction to the City Attorney on the finalization of the draft ordinance.
INTRODUCTION
At Council's direction, the City Attorney's Office has prepared a draft ordinance (attached) for Council consideration regarding filling vacancies in elected offices (e.g. mayor, councilmembers, city clerk, and city treasurer). This staff report also includes the result of research into which cities have ordinances to fill vacancies in the elected offices. The proposed ordinance provides for appointment to a vacant seat of the next highest "vote-getter" in the most recent election for the position, and a procedural outline in case such a person is not available. The City Attorney seeks direction to finalize the draft ordinance.
BACKGROUND
Sections 36512 and 34902 of the Government Code articulate the procedures for the filling of vacant elected offices (city council, city treasurer, and city clerk) and elected mayor seats, respectively. Both procedures default to appointment but require councils to call an election to fill the vacant office if no appointment is made within 60 days of the office becoming vacant. The special elections are to be held at the next established election date occurring not less than 114 days from the date of the vacancy. How much of the remaining term the appointee can serve depends on whether the seat being filled is the elected mayor or other elected officer, and when during the term the vacancy is filled.
The state law does not provide any specific procedur...
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