HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-11-07 CRC MINS MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 7, 1994
November ":7, 1994 Council Conference Room 4: 30 p.m.
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MEMBERS' PRESENT: Bob Campbell, Janet Lawry, Jack Blakely,
Rosie Bystrak and Deric Prescott
MEMBERS ABSENT: Sharon Reid (excused) and Linda Brown
(unexcused)
STAFF PRESENT: City Attorney Bruce Boogaard
OTHERS PRESENT: Mayor Tim Nader
The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Campbell at 4: 35
p.m. The roll was called and all members were present except
Member Reid, who was -excused due to a previous commitment, and
Member Brown who was unexcused.
4 MSUC (Prescott/Campbell) to approve the minutes of the October 17,
1994 regular meeting.
Chairman Campbell requested the City Attorney to conduct the
election for Vice-Chairman. Nominations were opened and closed.
MSUC (Campbell/Blakely) to nominate Sharon Reid for the position of
Vice-Chairman.
Measure 5 - Specifying that a second Council secretary in an
Unclassified position shall be assigned to the
Office of Mayor and Council.
'General discussion ensued by the members regarding the wording to
be incorporated into §500 (a) "Appointment and Removal of Offices
and Department Heads" involving the second secretarial position in
the Mayor's office. At present, . the position is under the
supervision of the City Manager's office, but the Mayor wishes to
have the authority to hire, fire and supervise the secretary.
Attorney Boogaard pointed out that §701 of the Charter assigns who
is in the Classified and Unclassified Service in the City of Chula
Vista.
Member Blakely wondered if there was not a way to , revise the
language in a broader manner so that every time there was an
addition to the Mayor's staff, it did not have to go before a vote .
of the people. If the position is Unclassified, anyone being
recruited for such job would be aware of the ramifications of being
Charter Review Commission Minutes
November 7, 1994
Page 2
Unclassified in that they are an "at will employee" .
Attorney Boogaard explained Chula Vista has a City Manager form of
government and the City Council is limited in their administrative
powers so that employees cannot be replaced by a political whim.
Mayor Nader advised that in most cities, the Council does have the
authority to hire and fire assistants.
Chairman Campbell believes the language as originally proposed to
add "two private secretaries" for the Mayor and Council is
acceptable and suggested inviting Director of Personnel Boshell. to
the next meeting to discuss this further.
Member Blakely asked the City Attorney if he could investigate how
other cities handle their staffing situation and report back at the
next meeting." He. further suggested that perhaps the four
departments (City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk and
Mayor/Council) might need to be separated and that it is not
possible to lump them all together.
Measure 6 - Specifying that the City Council controls the
number and compensation of all positions by budget
action.
It is proposed to retitle Section 501 of the Charter from
"Administrative Departments" to "Positions; Compensation;
Administrative Departments" and reorganize the wording to make the
last sentence the beginning of the paragraph. Member Lawry noticed
the addition of the phrase "in the Unclassified and Classified
Service of the City" in that reorganization which gives the
impression that Council will be controlling which positions are
Classified vs. Unclassified. Those classifications are actually
categorized in §701, therefore, there is no additional value in
having them contained in §501 and the consensus of the Commission
was to remove said phrase.
Agenda Item 5 Mayorally Proposed Charter Amendments to Grant
Board of Ethics Charter Status and to Grant them
Authority to Administer Voluntary Spending Limits
for Candidates Campaigning for City Office
Mayor Nader sent a memo to the Charter Review Commission outlining
a proposed Charter Amendment to make the Board of Ethics, now
created by council ordinance, the fifth Charter-created commission,
to avoid manipulation as to how members are chosen and allow the
Board of Ethics authority to establish "voluntary expenditure
limits" . Through this reform, the Board of Ethics would be given
Charter Review Commission Minutes
November 7, 1994
Page 3
the power to fix the amount of money that is proper to be spent in
a Council or Mayoral election. Because of a ruling by the Supreme
Court, spending limits would not be legally binding unless all the
candidates agree to a voluntary spending limit and notification is
given 20-30 days prior to the election.
The Commission decided to have their next meeting on Monday,
November 28, 1994 at 4: 30 p.m.
The meeting adjourned at 6: 20 p.m.
elu
Lorraine Kraker, Secretary
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