HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-07-01 CRC Minutest~
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE
CITY OF CHULA VISTA
CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
July 1 2010 Executive Conference Room 5:00 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Humberto Peraza, Jr., William Richter, Ron Kelley,
Brandon Marvin, and Randy Bellamy
MEMBERS ABSENT: Pedro De Lara and Egbert Oostburg
STAFF PRESENT: David Miller, Deputy City Attorney, Cheryl Ponds-Poole,
Legal Assistant; Donna Norris, City Clerk
PUBLIC PRESENT: Jerry Thomas, John S. Moot, Larry Breitfelder and Willard
H. Howard
The meeting was called to order at 5:15 p.m.
1. Roll Call.
Humberto Peraza, Chair, called the special meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. The roll was
called and members were noted as present or absent as indicated above.
2. Term Limits Language for Ma oy r, City Council & City Attorney
Humberto Peraza, Chair, referred the Commissioners to the e-mail packet and mentioned
that there was no proposed term limit language for the City Attorney position. David
Miller distributed the proposed language for the City Attorney position.
Mr. Peraza asked for public comment regarding the term limits for Mayor, City Council
and City Attorney. John Moot, Jerry Thomas, Larry Breitfelder and Willard Howard,
gave their opinions and suggestions regarding term limits for Mayor, Council and City
Attorney positions.
Mr. Peraza closed public comments and proceeded to a discussion among the
commissioners regarding the language for term limits for Mayor and Council. He
suggested that the term limit language for City Attorney be reviewed separately. Ron
Kelley said that he was the lone "No" vote the last time the term limits issue for Mayor
and City Council was brought before the Charter Review Commission in 2008. Mr.
Kelley asked David Miller about the time line for this issue regarding going back to the
City Council. Mr. Miller explained that council wanted this issue agendized by the
second City Council Meeting in July, and if approved, will be placed on the ballot. Mr.
Kelley asked what's the cost to City to place this on the ballot. Donna Norris, City Clerk,
responded that the cost is usually between $30-$35,000 per issue to place it on the ballot
for a November election. Bill Richter said he hasn't changed his mind about this issue
since the last vote in 2008.
v
Charter Review Commission Minutes
July 1, 2010
• Page 2
Ron Kelley said he is concerned about the cost of placing this issue on the ballot during a
time when the City has budget deficit. Mr. Peraza made a motion to support the term
limit language for the Mayor and City Council members, Bill Richter seconded the
motion. Mr. Peraza called for the vote, two (2) votes in favor and three (3) votes
opposed. Motion failed. Mr. Peraza suggested a motion "to recommend against this
measure to the City Council". Ron Kelley made a motion to oppose the term limit
languages for the Mayor and City Council members as presented to the Commission to
recommend to City Council, it was seconded by Brandon Marvin. Mr. Peraza called for
the vote: two (2) votes in favor; three (3) votes opposed. Mr. Peraza made a motion to
make a recommendation for no recommendation to the City Council regarding the
language for term limits for Mayor and City Council members. Ron Kelley seconded the
motion, the Chair asked for the vote. David Miller stated that this issue would be tabled
because of the failed motion.
The commission members discussed the fact that they would need more information
regarding term limits. David Miller stated that in our report to council that there was a
vote to approve this and it failed and a vote to oppose and it failed. So there is no action
or recommendation from the Commission. Mr. Miller suggested that the commission
would have recommend that we table it and have more time to analyze it. The
Commissioners agreed to table the language for term limits for the Mayor and City
• Council.
The Commissioners discussed the language presented to them regarding term limits for
the City Attorney position. The commissioners had a multitude of questions regarding
term limits for a City Attorney. They agreed to table the language for term limits for City
Attorney until staff to obtained more information; researching other California cities,
comparable size like Chula Vista, whether there are term limits for the City Attorney
position.
The Chair asked for public comments regarding District Elections. Jerry Thomas, John
Moot, Willard Howard and Larry Breitfelder gave their opinion regarding district
elections. The Commissioners had a variety of questions regarding district elections.
The commissioners agreed to refer this issue to the City Attorney's Office for more
information to begin moving forward on this.
The Chair opened for discussions regarding primary elections. Mr. Peraza explained that
the primary has more to do with fiscal issues than anything else. Brandon Marvin
explained that he feels they need more time to consider these issues and he would like to
review the City Council video to see how this referral came about.
The Chair announced at the next meeting the commissioners will elect new Chair and
Vice-Chair and discuss the residency requirements for the elected City Attorney position.
• The meeting was adjourned 7:20 p.m.
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C ryl A. Ponds-Poole, Secretary Date