HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988/06/20 Charter Review Commission Minutes
.
.
.
'J
.~ ~
{-
(
MINUTES OF THE CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE
June 20, 1988
Council Conference Room
7:00 p.m.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Members Present:
Chairman Campbell, Members Susan Fuller,
Jack Blakely, Sharon Reid, Carlos
Batara, Mary Frances Click
Members Absent
Charles Smith
Staff Present:
City Attorney Torn Harron
Chairman Campbell called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.
CLOSED SESSION - Skorepa v. City of Chula Vista.
Chairman Campbell noted that the first matter of business would
be the discussion of campaign contributions. Member Batara noted
that he doesn't necessarily agree with the City Attorney's
pos i tion that Propos i tion 73 puts an end to local regulation of
campaign expenditures. He noted that Propositions 73 and 68 will
have to be reconciled and there are some open legal questions.
Chairman Campbell moved that the specifics with regard to
campaign contribution regulations be placed in the Code not the
Charter. Member Click seconded the motion. Member Batara
questioned whether Chairman Campbell means to include the general
statement in the Charter. Member Fuller noted that the decision
of the Committee should be what to recommend to the City
Counc il. Chai rman Campbell noted tha t the Commi t tee had
previously and unanimously agreed to put the general language in
the Charter if it decided not to include specific regulations in
the Charter.
Chairman Campbell withdrew his motion for the purposes of getting
a clear statement before the Committee. Member Click agreed to
withdraw her second. Chairman Campbell then moved to put the
general statements supporting campaign contribution regulations
in the Charter. Member Click seconded it. Member Batara stated
that the Committee would be coming back with specific
recommendations to put into the Code. Member Blakely noted that
Council would not have to use the Charter Review Commi t tee and
could come up with a specific regulation on its own. Member Reid
questioned whether the enforcement provision should be placed in
the Charter. Member Click argued that only the general statement
should go into the Charter. The controversy over Propositions 73
and 68 exemplifies the need to be flexible in order to be able to
make changes as things become clearer. The motion passed
unanimously.
.
.
.
..~ . . t{
Charter ReView Minu es
June 20, 1988 Meeting
Page Two
(
Member Blakely suggested tha t the Commi t tee should meet
immediately after the election if the general statement passes in
order to give advice on specifics. Member Batara noted that a
"no" vote on the general statement would not mean that the City
could not pass regulations in the Code. Member Click suggested
that the Committee deal with the other items that are subject to
the July deadline and then come back to the issue of campaign
regulations.
Member Batara recommended the use of the League of California
Cities Model Ordinance as a basis for the Committee's
discussion. Members Blakely and Reid questioned whether the
Committee might be wasting its time reviewing specific
regulations if the general policy isn't approved by voters.
Member Batara wanted to look at the regulations without awaiting
election resul ts. Chairman Campbell agreed. t1ember Reid stated
tha t the Commi t tee should let the City Counci 1 know tha t the
purpose of putting the general statement on the ballot is to give
direction to future City Councils and that it is the Committee's
intention to continue work on specific regulations to be
recommended to the City Council for inclusion in the City Code.
YOUTH COMMISSION
Harron noted that the Council referred the question of whether to
retain the two-year limitation on members to the Youth Commission
or to make an exception. Har ron recommended that this need not
be addressed in the Charter because the real limitation is
actually contained in the Ci ty Code. Section 2.46.040 of the
Code limits the term of office for Youth Commissioners to two
years. If this term were extended to three or four years, there
would be no need to be concerned with the two-term limit in the
Charter.
FULL-TIME CITY COUNCIL
Chairman Campbell stated that the full-time City Council is not
appropriate now. At some time in the future, it may be necessary
but that time has not yet arrived. Member Fuller noted that this
question involves an issue of finances. Member Batara stated
that the problem in San Diego was that City Councilmembers
controlled their own budgets. Their staffs became campaign
staffs. As an alternative, each Councilmember might have one
full-time or part-time staff assistant specifically assigned to
him or her. The City Councilmember would appoint his or her own
assistant. Loyalty to the City Councilmember is very important.
Otherwise, the City Council has to rely on staff without
conducting its own investigation. Member Reid suggested that
this person would by definition be a politician and would be
perceived as a campaign aide. Chairman Campbell felt that this
proposal was awkward. If the work is too much, the next step
.
.
.
,
~'. (
Charter Review Committee
June 20, 1988 Minutes
Page Three
(,
should be to have a full-time Ci ty Council rather than to hire
assistants. Member Reid stated that our one "full-timer", the
Mayor, is underpaid. Presumably the other Ci ty Councilmembers
would be paid less. This might further cut down on the pool of
candidates. Harron noted the problem in San Diego relating to
Councilmembers building "shadow governments" within their own
staff. Member Blakely stated the sad thing is that all of the
City Council works full-time and they are not adequately
compensated. Member Fuller stated that she is strongly in favor
of the Ci ty Manager administer ing the Ci ty. The Ci ty Council
should give policy direction.
Member Reid made the motion that the Committee has considered the
question of full-time Council and found that it was not
appropriate to take further action at this time. Fuller seconded
the motion and it passed unanimously.
Member Batara asked if the Committee was willing to consider
assistance if the workload was deemed to be too heavy. Member
Fuller noted that no one on this Ci ty Council is timid about
asking for assistance and they haven't asked in this year's
budget. Member Blakely fel t that the issue is not workload but
the lack of compensation. Member Fuller noted that compensation
is the responsibility of the Charter Review Committee. Chairman
Campbell suggested that if the Committee were to discuss
salaries, it should first get more information from staff on all
sources of compensation for the City Council. Member Fuller
noted that she would also like a breakdown from the City Manager
of the cost of staffing City Council.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:29 p.m.
4322a