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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcc min 1971/12/09 MINUTES OF A JOINT MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA Held Thursday December 9, 1971 A joint meeting of the City Council and the Charter Review Committee of the City of Chula Vista, California, was held on the above date beginning at 7 p.m. in the Council Chamber, Civic Center, 276 Fourth Avenue. COUNCILMEN PRESENT: Councilmen Scott, Hamilton, Hyde, Egdahl COUNCILMEN ABSENT: Councilman Hobel COMMITTEEMEN PRESENT: Chairman Kingston, Haas, Kassebaum, Pavka, Richards, Swanson, Thompson, Weimer, Wilson COMMITTEEMEN ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Thomson, City Attorney Lindberg CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Hamilton called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m. and turned it over to Chairman Kingston. INTRODUCTION OF Chairman Kingston introduced the Charter Review Com~nittee members COMMITTEE MEMBERS to everyone present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Kassebaum made the motion, Mr. Wilson seconded it, to approve the minutes of the last Charter Review meeting as mailed to each member. The motion carried. PURPOSE OF COMMITTEE Chairman Kingston discussed the purpose for this committee being set up. This being the time and place as advertised, he opened the public hearing with the first item on the agenda. DISTRICT REPRESENTATION Mr. Drew asked what ground had already been covered by the committee on districting. Chairman Kingston anmwered that this Frederick Drew matter was discussed with each Councilman, as well as with Mr. 1275 Banner Avenue Drew, himself. Chairman Kingston added that the committee has Chula Vista not formulated any decisions as to any particular issue so far; but it is the general feeling that ~e do.not need districts at this time, but the day may come when we do. Mr. Drew stated that without districts it is possible to have all the members of the Council selected from one black in the City; and, therefore, it would have one fixed point of view and another segment of the community may be ignored. An area like Otay would be such an example. INCREASE COUNCIL Mr. Drew said an expanded Council may allow for better repre- sentatlon; i~ may also be unwieldy, but not necessarily so. Frederick Drew This committee might well investigate decreasing the number of Councilmen, as well as increasing them. Gene York Mr. York had no comments to add, but he did wish to know some of the pro's and con's the committee had discussed. Chairman Kingston answered, one of the pro's would be a closer rela- tionship between a Councilman and his particular district. A con would be with individual people representing individual areas, there would not be a common unity of purpose or mind. Also, enlarging the Council would possibly create the problem of higher absenteeism. Chairman Kingston continued that initially the committee looked at the size of the City, and asked for the opinions of the people who attended our meetings, and it did not appear t~at there was segregation as far as Kepresentative groups is con- cerned. At this time, with the opinions obtained, it is felt that district representation is not needed; however, we should continue to look at this issue in the future. Future committees Chairman Kingston added that this committee will not only be making certain proposals at the termination of its meetings, but it will also forward items of continuing responsibility to future committees of this nature. Ada Thompson Mrs. Thompson stated that districting would cut down on the Campaign cost cost of campaigning and she has a strong feeling in support of district when the City has grown some. City Manager Thomson Mr. Thomson said that there can be a tendency in districting Improvement funds to parcel out the money from the Capital Improvement Fund and the Gas Tax Fund for capital improvements on an equal basis by districts versus looking at the City's overall needs. Councilman Scott With districts, it would seem that there would more representa- Representation better tion; but he was told by a Councilman from a City with districts or not that when an issue came up, other Councilmen didn't feel they had to vote for it. Do you or do you not get better representa- tion? Nick Slijk Mr. Slijk said in regard to districts we should keep in mind Caliber of candidates the caliber of candidates. In one district you may have more than one qualified candidate and the City would lose the benefit of some of these people because they lived in that one district. We should look at the total available candidates to do the City as a whole good. Councilman Scott Councilman Scott stated that with the Council serving the City as a whole, an individual can come to any of the Councilmen and talk to him about his issue. Each Councilman has a dif- ferent philosophical background and the individual citizen has five men to choose from or he can go to all five if he wishes. With a district, you are pretty much confined to the one man in thaZ district. Nick Slijk Mr. Slijk asked if the committee had gone to the League of Cities of similar size California Cities to obtain information on other cities our size and the number of Councilmen they have. Chairman Kingston answered that they had not but had conduced a survey on its own, which covers such things as Councilmanic districts and salaries. Ada Thompson Mrs. Thompson added that districting is basic to our form or representative government. Frederick Drew Mr. Drew stated it is the tendency of ghetto dwellers to not Ghetto dwellers come to public officials with their problems until they come in force. This problem can be avoided by the representative form of government; i.e. districting. Councilman Hyde Councilman Hyde said this City Council has taken action to Commissions created keep in touch with all segments of the community in the form of creating appropriate commissions: the Human Relations and Environmental Control Commissions, for emampl¢. Councilman Scott Councilman Scott stated the Council has already passed an Community councils ordinance whereby any area which desires to do so may form their own community councils; and as yet, no one has come forth and demonstrated a desire for this representation. Dr. C. W. Bowers Dr. Bowers asked how much input this committee has received Legislative Action Com. from the community as a whole, especially from areas that Chamber of Commerce would probably benefit most. Chairman Kingston answered that the amount was negligible. Mr. Wilson stated that this is the second public meeting held ~or just this purpose of hearing from everyone. Mr. Kassebaum added that this committee itself is actually representing a cross section of the people. Mayor Hamilton Mayor Hamilton commented that the first public meeting of the Public notification Charter Review Committee was well publicized and well in ad- of meetings vance of the meeting and not one person showed up to take the opportunity to speak. This is the second time it was pub- licized in the paper, as well as by me at this podium at various meetings. Also, I am sure other Councilmen and com- mittee members have mentioned the meeting. Councilman Scott Councilman Scott added that it is not even necessary for a public hearing of this type and that the public has been well represented over the past ten weeks of the Charter Review meetings. NEXT MEETING The next meeting of the.Charter Review Committee will be Wednesday, December 1S, starting at 7 p.m., in the Police Conference Room. MAYOR'S SALARY Chairman Kingston discussed the committee's study on the Mayor's salary and stated the question of the mechanics of how the Mayor's salary should be handled: 1) should the committee set an absolute figure; 2) should the salary matter be relegated to the Council for handling, along with their own salary; 3) should a special salary committee be set up to make recommendations on both the Mayor's and the Council's salary. Frederick Drew Mr. Drew said the people are not willing to spend money. He doesn't think that taxpayers should be asked often to change the Council's salary. He also thinks that a Councilman should not determine his own salary. He thinks a rate should be set and it would fluctuate with the cost of living. Councilman Scott Councilman Scott stated that currently the Council can vote on Council set salary the amount for its expense allowance and this authority has not been abused. It is not fair to put something inflexible into the Charter. That's what you do when you put dollar amounts in. In a representative form of government, it is better to once and for all put to the people a proposal for handling the silaries. The Council is responsive to the people and it can decide the salary item. The salary proposal would be established by ordinance with public hearings on it. It would be subject to referendum within 30 days. Both of these give the people a chance to speak. There is protection for the people and it allows the Council some flexibility and prevents this issue from being put to the people year after Against a raise year. Councilman Scott stated he is not for a salary raise for either the Mayor or Councilmen. Nell Haas Mr. Haas said it is not fair to limit people from trying for a public office because he cannot afford to live on the salary paid/for that position. Fred Ross Mr. Ross asked if the commigtee has in mind a proposal for some 54 K Street Charter change to allow the Council to set their own salary. Chula Vista Chairman Kingston answered no; the committee has not come to that point of formulating proposals. He listed many of the ideas the committee is considering. City Attorney Lindberg Mr. Lindberg stated that ail of the General Law cities of this state are enpowered to grant an amount of salary for the Mayor in excess of that established in their schedule by population. There is a great deal of flexibility for the Mayor's salary already established in general law cities, which is not allowed in Charter cities. COUNCILMEN'S SALARY Councilman Hyde believes both the Mayor's and the Council's salary should be decided together. The Mayor and Council Councilman Hyde have the same amount of responsibility; the Mayor does, Handle with Mayor's however, get more exposure to the public. Salary Dr. Bowers Dr. Bowers thinks the voters should be able to vote separately on the stlary issue. Mayor Hamilton Mayor Hamilton commented that at the next election the Mayor will be elected for a five-year term; thereafter, election for the Mayor will be held on an off year. Each Councilman will have the opportunity to run for that office without giving up his Council seat. CASH BASIS FUND Chairman Kingston gave a brief background on the purpose of the fund and what the Charter Review Committee is considering by allowing the Council to use this money by Council vote. Councilman Scott The purpose the fund was set up for no longer exists since the 5% utility tax was emtablished--there are no dry financing periods. He thinks it would make the Charter a much more flexible document by allowing the City Council to utilize the Cash Basis Fund, by possibly a 4/5 vote. There was a discussion on the difficulty of wording such a City Manager Thomson proposal. Mr. Thomson offered the following wording for Proposal wording Section 1112 of the Charter to clarify the proposal: "all money so transferred from the Cash Basis Fund shall be returned thereto or to the General Fund as Council may direct by a 4/S vote before the end of the fiscal year." COUNCIL VACANCY Chairman Kingston discussed the background on this item and stated the committee is considering changing the wording of declaring a Council vacancy when either 30 days or four regular meetings were missed. Mr. Kassebaum added that it Mr. Kassebaum is possible to miss four meetings in a short time as meet- Wording addition ings are called frequently, and he thinks the wording, "whichever is greater," should be added. SPECIAL LEVIES Chairman Kingston gave some background on this matter. He Section 1106 stated, the question has been whether to retain the limita- tions in sub-section C, do away with them all together and leave the matter to the discretion of the Council, er to change the limitations. City Manager Thomson The limits are tight, but we can work with them. Adminis- tratively, we can reorganize things so as not to be out of balance with these limitations. There will come a day when Parks & Recreation will have to be raised or possibly act on an earlier consideration of consolidating these three limits into one master limit. Administratively speaking, it is better to consolidate these parts into a whole and work with the whole. Recess A five-minute recess was called. Robert Riba Mr. Riba wanted to know if this committee has considered the planning program and budgeting concept for running the City. He added that many parts of the Charter-Ufunctionalwise or administrative"--seem to be equated with dollars, Chairman Kingston Chairman Kingston said the committee has not concerned itself with the actual budgeting and operational program of the City as this is out of the scope of this committee, per se. Mr. Riba Mr. Riba further explained what he meant by the planning program and budgeting concept. He said it provides for the development of a visible budget where the results are measurable. After further clarification, Mr. Riba was told that this is the way the City is currently being run. This plan has been in operation for the last budget and will be complotely in operation by this budget. Mr. Riba stated he had not noted this written in the Charter. Councilman Scott said that there must be some flexibility in this area as it is a management technique. If it were in the Charter, in a couple of years if this did not work, we would have to go to the people for a Charter change. Council- man Scott said as far as the Charter is concerned, he would not like to see a specific system of management put in it. MAYOR MAKE APPOINTMENTS Councilman Egdahl made the comment that this proposal would TO COMMISSIONS be more appropriate where there is the strong Mayor form of government. He also added that the Charter gives the Councilman Egdahl responsibility to the Council for making appointments and if Council should make this becomes too cumbersome for the Council to handle as a appointments whole, they can appoint a committee from within its own mem- bers to bring back recommendations for Council ratification. Councilman Scott Councilman Scott agrees with this and adds it would seem in- appropriate to give the Mayor this authority as this seems to be heading in the direction of the strong Mayor government. Ad Hoc committees Councilman Hyde pointed out that the Mayor has the authority to appoint Ad Hoc committees to perform special functions that he feels are essential or to handle problems that come Councilman Hyde up. Councilman Hyde feels this is proper, but the continuing bodies of the City should be appointed by the whole Council. It shows the entire Council takes the responsibility for these bodies. Nick Slijk Mr. Slijk said that in studying these proposals, the committee should not just look at the present Council, but it should consider future Councils, as well; and by allowing one person to make appointment% you may be limiting area-wide or City-wide representation. There might be a loss of interest by the Council if they know they are just there for ratification and are not actively participating. Mr. Riba Mr. Riba agrees with Councilman Egdahl's comments; he would like to see the Council as a whole make the appointments. Br. Bowers Dr. Bowers stated that it would not be in keeping with allowing responsibility to be properly placed. He thinks more than one person should make the appointments. WRITTEN CO~UNICATIONS Chairman Kingston stated the written communications submitted shall be taken up at the next Charter Review committee meeting. He also added that any person can speak at any time during the committee's regular meetings. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mr. Drew proposed that each commission, when recommending something to the Council, it should first submit this recom- Frederick Drew mendation to all the other commissions to see if they may be involved in this matter as well so there is no duplication or Mr. Kassebaum opposition. Mr. Kassebaum mentioned that even the slightest Time factor proposal, if submitted to all the commissions first, could take six months to be acted upon by the Council. Mr. Haas Mr. Haas said the purpose of the commissions is to study Purpose of commissions projects and to make recommendations to the Council to help the Council make the actual decision. Councilman Hyde stated, Councilman Hyde in recognition of the problem Mr. Drew pointed up, the Council has already directed two members on one commission to be ex officio members of other commissions. If there is a demonstrated need, the Council shall continue this practice. Nick Slijk Mr. Slijk thinks it would be desirable to have it stated in the Charter that a member of a commission should be present at the City Council meeting when it is considering a recommenda- tion from that commission. - $ - This commission member could provide in-depth information for the Council on why the recommendation was made. He made specific reference to the Planning Commission. City Attorney Lindberg Mr. Lindberg stated the Planning Commission is unique as Planning Commission stated by both our own ordinances and the State laws, and he Unique explained why it may be inappropriate to have one of their members present when the City Council is reviewing one of their recommendations. Mr. Lindberg could see that it might be appropriate for a member of other commissions to be pre- sent to add information. In the case of the Planning Com- mission, by State law if the Council goes against the recom- mendation of this commission on a matter of zoning, this matter must be referred back to the Commission for a report to be made back to the Council. This is unique to the Planning Commission. Mr. Haas Mr. Haas would like to see reports from a commission give Commission to report both the pro's and the con's to the Council. The Council Pro's and Con's should have the input from both sides. He doesn't believe this is a Charter matter; however, it is a Council matter. James Dyer Mr. Dyer stated he is representing the Chula Vista Fire Chula Vista Fire Fighters Pighters Association. He is talking in regard to the Civil 173 Rivera Court Service Commission Rule No. 8, section 4: "the appointing authority, who is the department head, may for discipline Section 804 - Charter purposes only and without trial or right of hearing before the Civil Service Commission or right of appeal, suspend without salary an officer or employee holding a position in the classified service for mot more than SO days in any one calendar year. Mr. Lindberg informed him some time ago that this would have to be changed by an election. He feels this rule violates certain standards and possibly even some Constitutional guarantees. He thinks it should be changed. He would like to see the same procedures used for dismissal used in suspensions. City Attorney Lindberg Mr. Lindberg stated this Charter section deserves attention, but it may really be more of an administrative change-- perhaps an ordinance or policy change rather than mn actual Charter change. MOTION TO ADJOURN Mr. Kassebaum made the motion, Mr. Weimer seconded it, to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:05 p.m. by Chairman Kingston. Janet P. Marsh Secretary to the City Council - 6 -