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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-02-24 CRC MINS . . . ... MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE February 24, 1992 Council Conference Room 6:00 p.m. ------------------------------------------------------------------- MEMBERS PRESENT: Bob Campbell, Jack Blakely, Susan Fuller, Sharon Reid, Ted Hillock, John Dorso and Vickie Turner MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Assistant City Attorney Rudolf The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Campbell at 6:08 p.m. The roll was called and all members were present. A draft of the minutes for the meeting of February 18, 1992 was circulated for review. No action was taken because the item was not on the agenda. Item 1: Chairperson Campbell asked staff to report on the current salary of the Mayor in other comparable sized cities in San Diego County. Mr. Rudolf reported that the Mayor's current salary is $41,634.30 and Councilmembers' salaries are $16,652.12. The Mayor's salary is calculated in accordance with Charter Section 304, $37,200 base salary subject to cost of living increases by the City Council, or increases in excess of the cost of living if approved by a vote of the people. The most recent increase to the current amount was as a result of Council Resolution No. 15938 of November 6, 1990. There was no action taken by the Council to grant the Mayor a salary increase within the full cost of living increase cap for the period November 1991 through November 1992. The Councilmembers' salaries is forty percent of the Mayor's salary. Chairperson Campbell requested staff clarification whether the provision in the last sentence of Charter Section 304, subdivision (c) authorizing the Council to provide by resolution for the paYment to the Mayor of a monthly allowance for additional reimbursement for expenses could be utilized by the Council to provide additional salary for the Mayor. Member Reid agreed with staff's explanation that the cited provision would require documentation and accounting for actual expenses, and was not intended as a substitute for salary. Member Blakely inquired whether the base amount of $37,200 came from the existing Charter provision, because his recollection was the Committee's recommendation in 1988 was to do away with a fixed amount in the Charter. Mr. Rudolf reported that the Committee's recommendation to the City Council in 1988 was to delete the flat amount of $24,000 then in the Charter and replace it with language that would establish the Mayor's salary at sixty percent of the salary of a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors members' salaries at that time were fixed . . . Charter Review Committee Minutes Meeting of February 24, 1992 Page 2 at eighty percent of the current salary of the Judge of the Municipal Court. Pursuant to state law, the salaries of Municipal Court Judges was subj ect to an annual increase of up to five percent, depending on the average increase for state employees. Accordingly, had the Committee's recommended language been approved by the Council and the voters in the 1988 election, the Mayor's salary would have been approximately $37,200 plus automatic cost of living increases without Council action, annually thereafter. Member Reid felt that the Charter mechanism was satisfactory and that neither the responsibilities of the Mayor nor the circumstances of the City in general had substantially changed since 1988 to warrant revisiting that Charter mechanism. Chairperson Campbell and Member Hillock expressed concern that Member Reid's comments could be interpreted as an invitation to the Council to direct further review, and they felt there was no need for further review at all. MSC (Fuller/Dorso) to advise the Council that the Committee had considered the Council's request to recommend a Mayor's salary increase and determined that there was already a mechanism in place for the increase in cost of living on top of the base salary and that nothing was required to be changed in the Charter at this time. The motion passed 6-1, Member Reid voting no. Member Reid proposed an addition to the motion that the Committee saw no reason to increase the base salary at this time. Member Turner stated that she felt she did not have enough information with regard to comparable salaries or any other changes which might relate to the appropriateness of the base salary to intelligently vote on such a proposed addition. Member Hillock stated that if the Council was going to request a special meeting of the Committee, he would appreciate it if the Councilor particular Councilmember suggesting the meeting be more clear as to what specifically was desired to be reviewed by the Committee. Mr. Rudolf reported that the City Attorney was going to recommend alternative language for the Committee's recommended Option 1 change to Charter section 902 as set forth on the first page 5 in the city Attorney's Supplemental Report in the Council agenda package. The proposed underlined matter in the last sentence in Section 902 more clearly preserves the initial language of the section limiting the City Council's ability to authorize mail ballot instead of a regular election. Mr. Rudolf also reported that the City Attorney was going to recommend to the Council that if the Council approved the Committee's Option 1, that Charter Section 900 be deleted as a component of that recommendation and be . . . ~' Charter Review Committee Minutes Meeting of February 24, 1992 Page 3 treated as a separate technical change so that there would be no confusion by the voters thinking that there was an extension of terms involved in that proposition. Finally, Mr. Rudolf reported that the research into the ballot issues for the 1988 election revealed that Charter Section 307 had already been recommended for repeal and in fact repealed by the voters, so it could be deleted from this year's package and would be so recommended to the Council. The Committee consensus was that Member Hillock would be present at the City Council meeting tomorrow night to represent the Committee in the event there were questions from Council regarding the Committee's views on the ballot propositions. The meeting was adjourned by Chairperson Campbell at 7:07 p.m. Respectfully submitted, -)~~~~ ~-l D. Richard R~ (CharRev1)