Berkeley Municipal Code Ch. 3.02 Automatic Termination of Appointments

A. "Commissioner" shall be defined as a voting member of any board, commission or committee established by the City Council, notwithstanding the manner in which such voting member is appointed.

B. "Alternate Commissioner" shall be defined as a commissioner who is designated by the Mayor or a Councilmember to serve as a recurring temporary appointee only when there is an approved leave of absence for a Commissioner appointed by the Mayor or a Councilmember, subject to the provisions of this Chapter. Alternate Commissioners may only be appointed to serve on commissions that are designated by Council resolution. (Ord. 7442-NS § 1, 2015; Ord. 5021-NS § 2, 1977)

A. The term of any commissioners, as defined in Section 3.02.010,except one serving on the Police Review Commission, who has been absent from three consecutive regular meetings of the board, commission or committee on which such commissioner serves, shall automatically expire as set forth in this section.

B. The secretary of the board, commission or committee shall report to the City Clerk the third consecutive absence from regular meetings of any commissioner no later than one week after the third absence. The appointment of the commissioner shall expire on the date the fact of the third consecutive absence is reported to the City Clerk. Within one week after receiving such notification, the City Clerk shall notify any commissioner whose appointment has automatically terminated and report to the appointing Councilmember, or Council, that a vacancy exists and that an appointment shall be made to fill the vacancy.

C.

1. The secretary of each board, commission or committee shall report on each January 1st and July 1st the attendance record of each member of said body to the City Clerk for the six month period immediately preceding each January 1st and July 1st.

2. For commissions that meet on a quarterly schedule as determined by the City Council, the secretary shall report on January 1st the attendance of each member of the commission to the City Clerk for the twelve month period preceding each January 1st.

D. The City Clerk shall note any commissioner reported as being absent from 50 percent or more of all regular meetings held during the six month period reported. The appointment of the commissioner shall expire on the date the attendance is reported to the City Clerk. Within one week after receiving such attendance report, the City Clerk shall notify any commissioner whose appointment has automatically terminated and report to the appointing Councilmember, or Council, that a vacancy exists and that an appointment should be made to fill the vacancy. (Ord. 7223-NS § 1, 2012; Ord. 5940-NS § 1, 1989; Ord. 5576-NS § 1, 1983; Ord. 5021-NS § 1, 1977)

The following circumstances shall not count as absences for the purposes of Section 3.02.020:

A. A member of a board, commission or committee may be granted a leave of absence not to exceed three months by the appointing Councilmember, the appointing Commission, or the Mayor, when the appointment is made by the Council as a whole, and a temporary vacancy shall thereupon exist for the period of such leave of absence. Notice of the leave of absence must be filed with the City Clerk prior to the absence.

1. During the period of such temporary vacancy, the appointing Councilmember, the appointing Commission, or the Mayor, when the appointment is made by the Council as a whole, may fill such vacancy by a temporary appointment to said commission; provided, however, that the period of such temporary appointment shall not exceed the period of the temporary vacancy. At the expiration of a leave of absence so granted, the member shall automatically resume full membership on the board, commission or committee.

2. Alternatively, the appointing Councilmember or Mayor may select one of their Alternate Commissioners to serve temporarily as provided for in Section 3.02.030(A)(1) when a leave of absence is granted for one of their appointees.

B. Commissioners may request that an absence be excused due to a conflict between the date of a scheduled commission meeting on which the commissioner sits and a religious or cultural holiday. Such a request shall be made in writing on a form provided by the City and submitted to the secretary prior to the meeting for which the commissioner’s absence is to be excused. The request shall not be subject to the approval of the commission but shall be accepted upon request. The secretary shall then excuse that absence and exclude it from the attendance report sent semi-annually to the City Clerk.

The definition of a religious or cultural holiday shall be left to the individual commissioner. However, the following list may be considered illustrative of the religious and cultural holidays for which a commissioner may seek an excused absence: Al Hijrah New Year, Ash Wednesday, Chinese New Year, Diwali, Easter Sunday, Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha, Good Friday, Hanukkah, Holi, Kwanzaa, Palm Sunday, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, St. Patrick’s Day and Yom Kippur.

C. Members of the Police Accountability Board may be granted a leave of absence upon the filing of a notice for leave of absence with the City Clerk by the nominating Councilmember or the Mayor for their nominee. All other conditions and regulations for leaves of absence in this Code and adopted by resolution, that are not inconsistent with the City Charter, shall apply. (Ord. 7911-NS § 1, 2024; Ord. 7757-NS § 1, 2021; Ord. 7442-NS § 2, 2015; Ord. 7311-NS § 1, 2013; Ord. 6610-NS § 1, 2001; Ord. 5021-NS § 3, 1977)

A. Each Councilmember and the Mayor may select up to five individuals to serve as their Alternate Commissioners. Alternate Commissioners shall be qualified and appointed as provided for in the Municipal Code and supplemental regulations adopted by resolution.

B. Alternate Commissioners shall be eligible to serve in such capacity only when a vacancy on a designated commission is the result of an approved leave of absence and the Councilmember or Mayor has delivered written notification to the City Clerk Department for temporary appointment of the selected Alternate Commissioner.

C. A Councilmember or the Mayor may, but is not required to, appoint an Alternate Commissioner to fill a temporary vacancy.

D. Appointment as an Alternate Commissioner does not prevent a Councilmember or the Mayor from appointing that Alternate Commissioner to sit as a Commissioner on any commission as provided for in Article 2 of Chapter 2.04.

E. All regulations and requirements of the BMC that apply to a Commissioner as defined in 3.02.010.A. also apply to Alternate Commissioners except Section 3.02.040.

F. Councilmembers or the Mayor may dismiss an Alternate Commissioner without appointing a replacement provided that the Alternate Commissioner has served the term minimum described in Section 2.04.075. Dismissal of an Alternate Commissioner must be submitted by the appointing Councilmember in writing to the City Clerk Department.

G. The Police Accountability Board shall have one alternate commissioner, approved by the full council by majority vote, and subject to all membership, service, and training requirements of the City Charter for regular members of the Board. All other conditions and regulations for alternate commissioners in this Code and adopted by resolution, that are not inconsistent with the City Charter, shall apply. (Ord. 7757-NS § 2, 2021; Ord. 7442-NS § 3, 2015)

Commissioners shall serve not more than eight consecutive years on a commission, notwithstanding interruption of service due to the following:

A. Absence from the commission due to termination pursuant to Berkeley Municipal Code Section 3.02.020;

B. Absence from the commission due to any leave(s) of absence pursuant to Berkeley Municipal Code Section 3.02.030;

C. Absence from the commission due to termination pursuant to the provisions of the Conflict of Interest Code, for failure to file the required Statement of Economic Interests, and subsequent reappointment.

Termination of appointment pursuant to this section shall be eight years from the date of the initial appointment. Commissioners cannot be reappointed to their respective boards or commissions until a two-year break in service has occurred.

Notwithstanding the above, if the term of a member of the Mental Health Commission would terminate prior to expiration of the term the member was appointed to, this section shall not require that such member be terminated prior to the member serving the full term to which the member was appointed.

This provision shall become effective December 1, 1990, and shall apply to all appointments made on or after that date. (Ord. 6624-NS § 1, 2001; Ord. 6201-NS § 1, 1993; Ord. 6009-NS § 1, 1990)

A. The Council finds and declares that:

1. Citizen advisory boards and commissions (collectively "commissions") bring to bear significant expertise on issues that come before the City.

2. Sitting on a volunteer advisory commission is a significant commitment of time and energy, which prevents many qualified individuals from sitting on commissions.

3. Individuals who are particularly qualified in a particular area will often have employment that is in some way related to the issues that come before the advisory commissions on which they sit.

4. Although the Council has provided that advisory commissions are subject to the City’s Conflict of Interest resolution, in light of their advisory status and the need to attract qualified commissioners, advisory commissions should not be subject to every possible prohibition related to conflicts of interest.

5. It is the purpose of this section to establish a fair and workable standard for determining when outside activities for compensation are incompatible with membership on an advisory commission, to establish the obligations of members of advisory commissions with respect to outside activities for compensation, to provide a process for determinations relating to incompatibility of outside activities for compensation and to establish remedies.

B. Pursuant to its authority under Government Code Section 1126(b), the City Council establishes and declares that outside activities for compensation shall not be considered incompatible with membership on City commissions other than those listed in subsection (I), but members of such commissions shall recuse themselves with respect to commission actions relating to any outside activity for compensation to the extent the action involves any specific employment responsibilities for which they receive compensation.

C. The City Attorney shall employ the standards set forth in the preceding subsection in making determinations under Government Code Section 1126 with respect to members of commissions other than those listed in subsection (I). Whenever the City Attorney issues a written opinion under Government Code Section 1126, that opinion shall be immediately transmitted to the City Clerk and the affected commissioner.

D. If the affected commissioner notifies the City Clerk in writing of their disagreement with the City Attorney’s opinion within 14 days after the opinion is transmitted to them, the City Clerk shall place the matter on the Council’s agenda at the earliest possible time and shall notify the affected commissioner of the date and time of the meeting at which the Council will consider the matter.

E. The Council shall allow the affected commissioner an opportunity to address it, shall determine whether to affirm or overrule the City Attorney’s opinion and may make any order consistent with this section and Government Code Section 1126.

F. If the commissioner fails to comply with the City Attorney’s opinion or, on appeal, the order of the City Council, the commissioner’s seat shall be deemed automatically vacated as of the date of the Council’s order.

G. From the date the City Attorney’s opinion is issued and transmitted to the board or commissioner who is its subject, until completion of Council proceedings under this section, that commissioner shall comply with the incompatibility standard set forth in subsection (B) as applied in the City Attorney’s opinion. Thereafter, the commissioner member shall comply with the order of the Council.

H. Prior to accepting any appointment to any commission, the nominee shall disclose to the appointing Councilmember every employment, activity or enterprise for compensation that falls within the scope of the authority of the board or commission for which they have been nominated.

I. The standard set forth in subsection (B) of this section applies to commissioners appointed by the Council to all City boards and commissions except the Board of Library Trustees, the Fair Campaign Practices Commission, Homeless Commission, Housing Advisory Commission, Human Welfare and Community Action Commission, Landmarks Preservation Commission, Planning Commission, Police Review Commission, and Zoning Adjustments Board.

J. Nothing in this section affects any disclosure, disqualification or eligibility requirement of under any provision of federal, state or local law other than Government Code Section 1126(b). (Ord. 6643-NS § 1, 2001)