Resolution No. 2011-086RESOLUTION NO. 2011-86
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
VERNON CALLING AN ELECTION ON A DATE TO BE SET
PURSUANT TO STATE LAW AND ORDERING THAT A MEASURE
BE SUBMITTED TO THE VOTERS OF THE CITY TO AMEND THE
CITY CHARTER TO INCLUDE TERM LIMITS FOR CITY
COUNCIL MEMBERS
WHEREAS, on April 19, 2011, the City Council of the City of
Vernon enacted Resolution No. 2011-69; and
WHEREAS, Section 6 of Resolution No. 2011-69 directed the
City Administrator to review term limit provisions of adjacent
jurisdictions and recommend a term limit proposal for the City of
Vernon; and
WHEREAS, having received and considered said survey and
recommendation, the City Council of the City of Vernon wishes to
propose to the voters of the City whether term limits should be imposed
on City Council members.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF VERNON AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: ELECTION.
Pursuant to its right, power, and authority under the laws of
the State of California and the Vernon City Charter, the City Council
hereby calls a municipal election to be held on the ballot measure
described in section 2 of this resolution, on a date to be set in
accordance with state law.
SECTION 2: BALLOT MEASURE.
(a) The City Council does hereby order submitted to the
voters at such election the following measure:
Measure
Shall the Vernon City Charter YES
be amended to limit the
number of terms a City
Council member may serve at
NO _
two terms, with a lifetime
ban thereafter?
(b) The text of the proposed amendment to be submitted to
the voters is attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by
reference.
SECTION 3: ELECTION PARTICULARS.
In all particulars not recited in this Resolution, the
election shall be held and conducted as provided by law for holding
municipal elections. The ballots to be used in the election shall be
in the form and content required by law..
SECTION 4: IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS.
The City Council hereby directs the City Clerk to transmit a
copy of the measure to the City Attorney. The City Attorney shall
prepare an -impartial analysis for the measure pursuant to California
Elections Code Section 9280.
SECTION 5: FURNISHING OF ALL NECESSARY SUPPLIES.
The City Clerk is authorized, instructed, and directed to
procure and furnish any and all official ballots, notices, printed
matter, and all supplies, equipment, and paraphernalia that may be
necessary to properly and lawfully conduct the election.
2
SECTION 6: CERTIFICATION OF PASSAGE.
The City Clerk of the City of Vernon shall certify to the
passage, approval and adoption of this resolution, and the City Clerk
of the City of Vernon shall cause this resolution and the City Clerk's
certification to be entered in the File of Resolutions of the Council
of this City.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 26th day of May, 2011.
ATT T:
Wi lard G Y
uch City Clerk
Name: Hilario Gonzales
Title: Mayor / rmy ^' ' E
3
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
) ss
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )
I, Willard G. Yamaguchi, City Clerk of the City of Vernon, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution, being Resolution
No. 2011-86, was duly passed, approved, and adopted by the City Council
of the City of Vernon at a special meeting of the City Council duly
held on Thursday, May 26, 2011 and thereafter was duly signed by the
Mayor or Mayor Pro-Tem of the City of Vernon.
Executed this 31 day of May, 2011, at Vernon, California.
-1 (SEAL)
4illa d G. 61agucy, City Clerk
4
EXHIBIT A
EXHIBIT A
BALLOT MEASURE AMENDING THE
CHARTER OF THE CITY OF VERNON
The People of the City of Vernon do hereby amend the Charter of
the City of Vernon as follows:
1. Chapter 3.4 of Article III of the Charter of the City of
Vernon is amended in its entirety to read as follows:
"CH: 3.4 Election and Terms
The regular election of councilmembers shall be held
on the second Tuesday of April in each year,
commencing in 2010. The terms of council members shall
be staggered so that each council member shall serve a
five year term and one council member shall be elected
each year; provided, however, that in order to effect
the election of council members according to staggered
terms as set forth above, upon adoption of this
section by the voters, the City Council shall assign
each Council position a number, with "the Council seats
which expire in 2010 assigned numbers 1, 2 and 3 by
lot, and Council seats which expire in 2012 assigned
numbers 4 and 5 by lot. Council seat number 3 will be
subject to election for five year terms commencing in
2010. Council seat number 1 will have its term
extended one year to 2011, and will be subject to
election for five year terms commencing in 2011.
Council seat number 2 will have its term extended two
years to 2012, and will be subject to election for
five year terms commencing in 2012. Council seat
number 4 will have its term extended one year to 2013,
and will be subject to election for five year terms
commencing in 2013. Council seat number 5 will have
its term extended for two years to 2014, and will be
subject to election for five year terms commencing in
2014.
No person may serve more than two terms of office as
member of the City Council. This limitation on the
number of terms of office shall apply prospectively
only and terms of office that began before the
effective date of this chapter shall not apply to the
two term limit. The completion of any unexpired term
to which a councilmember was elected shall not be
considered a term for the purposes of this chapter.
A-1
The City Council shall be the final judge of
election results and the qualifications of its
members. The City Council shall canvass the returns of
an election on the first Tuesday following a city
council election or such other date within fifteen
days of the election as may be provided by ordinance.
The terms of each elected council -member, shall begin
at the hour of the completion of the canvass of the
election returns. In the absence of death, removal
from office or disqualification, each councilmember
shall serve until expiration of his or her term and
until a successor qualifies."
2. The City Clerk is directed to certify to the passage of this
Charter Amendment and to file it in the Office of the Secretary
of State forthwith, and to take such other actions as are
necessary to give effect to its passage.
PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE VOTER THIS DAY OF ,
Hilario Gonzales, Mayor
ATTEST:
Willard G. Yamaguchi, City Clerk
A-2
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
DATE: May 31, 2011
TO: Mark Whitworth, City Administrator/Fire Chief
FROM: Willard Yamaguchi, City Clerk/Interim City Attorney
FE: Resolution No. 2011-86 — A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Vernon
Calling an Election on a Date to Be Set Pursuant to State Law and Ordering That a
Measure Be Submitted to the Voters of the City to Amend the City Charter to Include
Term Limits for City Council Members
Transmitted herewith is a copy of Resolution No. 2011-86 referenced above, which was approved by
City Council on May 26, 2011.
Thank you.
WY:dj
Attachment
c: Ana Barcia
Resolution No. 2011-86
RECEIVE®
MAY 2 3 2011
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
STAFF REPORT
Office of the City Administrator
DATE: May23, 2011
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Mark C. Whitworth, City Administrator
RE: Resolution No. 2011-69: Implementing Resolutions and Ordinance
On April 19, 2011, the City Council of the City of Vernon enacted Resolution No. 2011-69.
That Resolution directed the City Administrator to undertake analyses and make related
recommendations to revise certain policies and programs, including, among others a review of the
salaries paid to City department heads; the creation of a policy for City -owned housing; consideration
of Councilmember term limits; a review of Councilmember salaries and benefits; and the retention of
a firm to provide political -compliance training and review for City officials.
The five attached staff reports set forth the City Administrator's analyses and
recommendations, as directed by Sections 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 of Resolution No. 2011-69. The staff
reports recommend that the City Council:
• Adopt a resolution establishing and adjusting salaries for certain City department heads in
line with those of comparable jurisdictions, based on a survey that was conducted;
• Adopt an ordinance creating a City of Vernon Housing Commission, which would be
charged with recommending a housing policy for City Council approval;
• Adopt a resolution calling for an election for a charter amendment establishing term limits
for City Councilmembers of two 5-year terms with a lifetime ban thereafter;
• Adopt a resolution reducing Councilmember salaries to $25,000 and eliminating certain
health benefits; and
• Approve the retention of the law firm of Reed & Davidson to provide annual Political
Reform Act, Public Records Act, and Brown Act training for City Officials and reviewing
the City's policies relating to those statutes.
Recommendation
Adopt the recommendations in each of the attached staff reports provided by the City
Administrator, pursuant to Resolution No. 2011-69.
1
DATE: May 23, 2011
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Mark C. Whitworth, City Administrator
RE: Resolution No. 2011-69, Section 6: Survey and Recommendation Regarding
Councilmember Term Limits
On April 19, 2011, the City Council of the City of Vernon enacted Resolution No. 2011-69.
Section 6 of the Resolution directed the City Administrator to review "term limit provisions of
adjacent jurisdictions, including the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles" and to report
back to the City Council within ninety days of the Resolution with a recommendation for a term limit
proposal for the City of Vernon.
This report provides a survey of the different approaches to term limits neighboring
jurisdictions have applied to City Councilmembers. As discussed further below, although only about
20 percent of California cities have term limits for City Councilmembers, a significantly higher
proportion of charter cities and cities neighboring Vernon have enacted term limits. Vernon
Councilmembers currently are elected to five-year terms, without term limits. Based on the results of
our survey, the City Council's stated goals that Vernon remain competitive and establish revised
policies and programs, and consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of term limits, this
report recommends that a Charter amendment be submitted to the voters that would enact term limits
of two terms for Vernon Councilmembers, with a lifetime ban thereafter.
Survey Data/Results
In preparing this report, staff surveyed Councilmember term limits enacted by jurisdictions
within a five -mile radius of the City of Vernon, including the City of Los Angeles and the County of
Los Angeles. Staff also reviewed statewide studies on the popularity of term limits and their relative
merits.
As indicated in Table 1 below, seven of the sixteen (44 percent) jurisdictions within a five -
mile radius of Vernon have enacted term limits. Limits range from two to three four-year terms.
When term limits are reached, the Councilmembers or Supervisors are barred from running for that
office, either for a period of years or for life. The five cities adjacent to Vernon are noted with
asterisks. Three of those cities have enacted term limits. Four of the seven surveyed jurisdictions with
term limits have charters.
Table 1: Term Limits in Neighboring Jurisdictions
Alhambra
3 consecutive 4 year terms;
3 year break thereafter
Charter Art III, § 11.5
Bell*
None
n/a
Bell Gardens
None
n/a
Commerce*
3 consecutive 4 year terms;
lifetime ban thereafter
Term Limits Ord.,
approved Mar. 8, 2011
Compton
None
n/a
Cudahy
None
n/a
Downey
2 consecutive 4 year terms;
lifetime ban thereafter
Charter Art. V,
§ 500.1(a)(1)
Huntington Park*
3 consecutive 4 year terms;
2 year break thereafter
By Ordinance as verified
by City Clerk
Inglewood
None
n/a
Los Angeles City* 1 3 consecutive 4 year terms; I Charter Art. II, §§ 205-06
lifetime ban. thereafter
(changed from 2 to 3 term
max in 2006)
Los Angeles County
3 consecutive 4 year terms;
Charter Art. II, § 4; Art.
lifetime ban thereafter
IV, § 12
Lynwood
2 consecutive 4 year terms;
Municipal Code § 2-1.6.2
lifetime ban thereafter
(added by 2008
resolution)
Maywood* I None I n/a
Montebello None n/a
2
Monterey Park
None
n/a
Pico Rivera
None
n/a
South Gate
None
n/a
These findings are consistent with those of the City of Thousand Oaks in its recently -issued
Term Limits Initiative Impact Analysis Report.' That report found that a total of 383 of California's
481 cities (80 percent) do not have term limits for Councilmembers. For the 20 percent of the cities
with term limits, the term limits ranged from one term for mayor to four consecutive terms for
Councilmembers. The report noted two trends with respect to term limits.
First, the report concluded that term limits are far more common in large cities with fulltime
mayors and Councilmembers. Eight of the ten largest cities in California (Los Angeles, San Diego,
San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Long Beach, Oakland, and Anaheim) have term limits. The report
found that the "lower a city's population, the less likely it is to have term limits." Of the five cities
adjacent to Vernon, only one (Commerce) has apopulation less than 30,000, the approximate median
population for California cities.2
Second, the report shows that charter cities are much more likely to adopt term limits than
general law cities. Table 2, below, taken from the Thousand Oaks report, shows that a charter city is
three times as likely to have enacted term limits as a general law city.
Table 2: Charter Cities a General Law Cities
Analysis
Proponents of term limits argue that they limit the potential for and appearance of abuse of
power by elected officials remaining in power for extended periods, introduce new leadership with
new ideas and policies, broaden the base of potential candidates, increase responsiveness to the public,
1 Memorandum from Scott Mitnick, City Manager, to City Council re: Thousand Oaks Councilmembers Term Limits
Initiative Impact Analysis Report & Scheduling for November 6, 2012 Election (Apr. 12, 2011), available at
www.toaks.org/civica/filebanVblobdload.asp?BloblD=20230.
2 Populations as of January 1, 2010: Los Angeles (4,094,764); Huntington Park (64,219); Bell (38,867); Maywood
(30,034); Commerce (13,581). State of California, Department of Finance, January 2010 Cities and Counties Ranked by
Size, Numeric, and Percent Change, May 2010, available at
http://www.dof ca.gov/researcb/demographic/reports/estimates/cities ranked/2010/View.php.
provide voters with more choices and encourage broader representation of different constituencies.
Opponents argue that term limits erode the effectiveness of Councilmembers in their final "lame
duck" term, result in a loss of highly -experienced and responsive leaders, and create incentives for
short-term decision making.
Although term limits are still uncommon statewide (20 percent), a significantly higher
percentage of charter cities have enacted term limits (40 percent). A significantly higher percentage of
cities neighboring Vernon also have enacted term limits. Although smaller cities generally are less
likely to impose term limits on Councilmembers, because capable new leadership often is less
available and cities do not want to lose experienced Councilmembers, Commerce and Lynwood
recently reached the conclusion that the value of term limits outweigh their costs. Commerce enacted
its term limit ordinance in 2011, and Lynwood passed its term limit resolution in 2008.
These survey results demonstrate a growing trend among Vernon's neighboring cities with
charters to adopt term limits as a best management practice for good governance. Based on these
survey results; the City Council's stated goals in Resolution 2011-69 that Vernon remain competitive
in today's environment and establish revised policies and programs; and consideration of the various
arguments in favor of and against term limits, it is believed that the public benefits of term limits
outweigh the costs and that the City Council should initiate the process to submit a charter amendment
to the voters creating term limits for Councilmembers.
Neighboring jurisdictions employ term limits ranging from two to three four-year terms (i.e.,
between eight and twelve years of service). Vernon Councilmembers are elected to five-year terms.
Vernon Charter, Art. III, § 3.4. A two -term limit (i. e., ten years of service), with a lifetime ban
thereafter, would place Vernon squarely in the range of neighboring jurisdictions with term limits.
Recommendation
Adopt the attached resolution ordering the submission to the voters of a proposed amendment
to Chapter 3.4 of the City Charter creating term limits for Councilmembers of two five-year terms,
with a lifetime ban thereafter, commencing upon the expiration of each Councilmember's current
term; and direct the City Administrator to establish a date for the election in accordance with
California law.
El