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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-01-20 CRC MINS MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION JANUARY 20, 1997 January 20 , 1997 City Attorney' s Conference Room 4 : 30 p.m. ----------------------------------------------------------------- MEMBERS PRESENT: John Dorso, Sharon Reid, Bob Campbell, and Deric Prescott MEMBERS ABSENT: Jack Blakely, Janet Lawry, and Rosie Bystrak STAFF PRESENT: City Attorney John M. Kaheny The meeting was called to order at 4 : 30 p .m. 1 . Roll Call . The roll was called and all members .were present except Member Lawry who was out of town, Member Blakely who was sick and Member Bystrak who needed to help her mother. 2 . Approval of Minutes . MSUC (Reid/Campbell) to approve the minutes of August 19, 1997 as presented. 3 . Remarks by CitV Attorney John M. Kaheny. John Kaheny looked at the materials forwarded by Chair Dorso. Mr. Kaheny noted two areas he wished to bring to the attention of the Commission: • One is a simple housekeeping matter concerning the term "special meetings" . When the Charter section was written, it was defined as a meeting that would not be held in the Council Chambers . Since that time, the Brown Act has defined a "special meeting" as one called on 24 hours notice with no regard to geography. The difficulty is when the Council adopted its rules in the Municipal Code, it has taken the special meeting language and used it in the same manner as the Brown Act, but there is difficulty in the terminology. In other words, a special meeting can be held in the Council Chambers under the Brown Act, but under the Charter, a special meeting can only be held somewhere else . Therefore, the definition of regular and special meeting has become confused. Mr. Kaheny will draft language to clear up the inconsistency. • The other issue involves the authority of boards and commissions, particularly the Ethics Board, and difficulties with the City' s Political Reform ordinance . Charter Review Commission Minutes January 20 , 1997 Page 2 A strong argument could be made that the City' s election ordinance exceeds the authority granted in the Charter. It divests the Mayor, Council and City Attorney of certain authority to investigate violations of the elections ordinance, which would not be a problem if that language was in the Charter. It' s a tenet of municipal law that you cannot divest a municipal officer of authority granted in the Charter by amending the Municipal Code because the Municipal Code is subservient to the Charter. There are also some problems with the enforcement mechanisms in the election ordinance because it takes the City Attorney out of the equation. This is problematic because the City Attorney has to get the District Attorney or the Attorney General to enforce our ordinance . Under state law those agencies are separate from the City and have no obligation to do so. Under the controversy arising out of the last election, both have declined to do so and it' s up to the City Attorney to find someone else . Unfortunately, there is no appropriation for it and what you find is the City Attorney wondering amok in the night with his lantern looking for some pro bono Diogenes to come forward to take on a political case . Mr. Kaheny will in the future bring back some more detailed thoughts about this situation. Chair Dorso questioned if the Attorney has discussed this with the City Council . John Kaheny responded Council is aware of the difficulties with our current ordinance . When an ordinance is on the books, the public expects it to be enforced and the manner in which this is drafted makes it very difficult to enforce . Mr. Kaheny would like to be able to propose an alternate way to make sure it is done right and not subject to attack. 4 . Continued Review of Pending Measures . Bob Campbell questioned the course of action the Commission should take regarding the measures it has been reviewing. Attorney Kaheny noted he was here to help the Commission put their concepts into the proper legal form. In the City of San Diego, the Charter Review Commission takes their guidance from the City Council as to what changes are proposed with issues ranging from district elections; strong/weak Mayor form of government, contracting provisions and serious matters of public concern. Mr. Kaheny was unaware of any matters in Chula Vista that the public is excited about right now. Charter Review Commission Minutes January 20 , 1997 Page 3 Considering tight times and the cost of placing a ballot measure before the voters, Member Reid inquired whether the measures before the Commission are necessary or "nice to do" . Attorney Kaheny replied it' s a lot cheaper to place numerous measures on at one time . He further suggested the Commission might want to go before Council with either a joint meeting or a report to seek direction especially since there is a newly elected Councilmember. The consensus was to have the City Attorney review the measures outlined in Sections A and B of Glen Googins August 19, 1996 memo and advise the Commission if they are ready or necessary for Council action. The secretary will send out an updated matrix with the City Attorney' s comments on the items . 5 . Budget for FY 97-98 . It was moved by Sharon Reid to approve the budget for FY 97-98 as submitted. The motion dies for lack of a second. 6 . Public Comments . None 7 . Member' s Comments None . 8 . Adjournment . MSUC (Reid/Prescott) to adjourn the meeting at 5 : 20 p.m. to the next meeting scheduled for March 3 , 1997 at 4 : 30 p.m. Lorraine Kraker, Secretary C:\crc\minute\1-20-97