Culver City Municipal Code Ch. 3.01 City Council

Section

General Provisions

Meetings

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Pursuant to the City Charter and Cal. Gov't Code § 36516, the salary of each Council member is hereby established at One Thousand Two Hundred Sixty-One Dollars and Twenty-Six Cents ($1,261.26) per month.

('65 Code, § 2-1.A) (Ord. No. CS-723 § 2; Ord. No. CS-980 § 1; Ord. No. 83-0004 § 1; Ord. No. 85-002 § 1; Ord. No. 85-016 § 1; Ord. No. 87-004 § 1; Ord. No. 89-024 § 1; Ord. No. 91-021 § 1; Ord. No. 2024-007 § 1)

In the event of a local emergency, declaration of a state of emergency, or a state of war emergency, the City Council may be reconstituted and vacancies filled pursuant to § 3.09.025(B) of this code.

(Ord. No. 2010-004 § 1)

No person elected to the position of Council member shall accept or hold any position as a City employee until two years have elapsed after such person has left the office to which he or she was elected.

(Ord. No. 2008-003 § 1)

A. The Council shall appoint two (2) of its members and one alternate as members of the Council Committee on Finance and Judiciary, whose duty it shall be, on behalf of the Council, to review demands the City Treasurer has denied, and to sign demand sheets. Should the Treasurer deny a demand, the Committee may refer the matter to the City Council who may in their discretion order the Treasurer to pay such demand from City funds.

B. The demand, payroll and Section 8 checks of the City shall bear the signatures of the Mayor and City Treasurer.

('65 Code, § 2-3) (Ord. No. 96-006 § 1)

Cross-reference:

Finance and revenue, see Ch. 3.07

MEETINGS

All official, regular and adjourned meetings of the City Council shall be held in the City Hall on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 7:00 p.m., unless otherwise specified by resolution of the City Council. In the event there is a need to hold a closed session, the City Council meeting for closed session purposes will convene at a time either prior to or after the regular Council session on the same date, with the regular Council session to commence at 7:00 p.m. If any regular meeting shall fall on a legal holiday, no meeting shall be held on such holiday, but shall be held on the next succeeding day thereafter that is not a holiday at 7:00 p.m. LEGAL HOLIDAY, as used in this section, shall mean New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day and the following day, and Christmas.

('65 Code, § 2-1) (Ord. No. CS-333 § 1; Ord. No. CS-688 § 1; Ord. No. CS-757 § 1 (1); Ord. No. 93-005 § 1; Ord. No. 2004-012 § 1; Ord. No. 2006-009 § 4; Ord. No. 2018-016 § 1)

A. Changing place of meeting.

1. After any such meeting has been opened in the Council Chambers, the Mayor or the City Council, as provided in § 608 of the Charter, may, if it is deemed necessary, change the place of the meeting by reason of emergency, overcrowding, public safety, or for such other emergency as comes within the intent of Charter § 608.

2. Upon such action by the Mayor or the City Council, the Council shall publicly recess such meeting to immediately reconvene at another place within the City Hall, within the Veterans Memorial Building, or such other building within the City of Culver City where it may transact any business lawfully brought before it and may therefrom lawfully adjourn.

('65 Code, § 2-1.1)

B. Notification of change of meeting place. In the event of the determination to move the meeting place, such shall be publicly announced immediately upon making such decision and the notice specifying the place to which the meeting has been adjourned shall be posted at the Council Chamber entrance so as to be plainly visible from the outside of the Council Chambers.

('65 Code, § 2-1.2) (Ord. No. CS-757 § 1 (1.1, 1.2))

All matters to be submitted to the City Council shall be delivered in written form to the City Manager, whereupon he shall arrange an agenda of such matters, furnishing a copy to each member of the Council, City Clerk and City Attorney prior to the Council meeting.

('65 Code, § 2-6) (Ord. No. CS-333 § 4; Ord. No. 2006-009 § 22 (part))

A. The Mayor shall be the presiding officer and shall assume his place and duties as such immediately following his election. He shall state questions coming before the Council, announce its decision on subjects and decide all questions of order, subject, however, to an appeal to the Council as a whole, in which event a majority vote shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order. He shall move, second and vote on all questions, and on roll call his name shall be called last.

B. The Mayor shall sign all ordinances and resolutions adopted and contracts approved by the City Council at meetings at which he is in attendance. In the event of his absence, the Mayor Pro-Tempore shall sign such documents as have been adopted and approved by the Council. A contract may be signed by any person designated by the City Council.

('65 Code, § 2-7) (Ord. No. CS-333 § 5; Ord. No. 87-007 § 1)

Cross-reference:

Selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor, duties, see Charter § 606

In case a quorum should not be present at any meeting of the Council and there is important business to be transacted or disposed of without delay, any two (2) members of the Council may cause written notice to be served personally upon the absent members, together with the request for their immediate attendance. Upon service of such notice upon him, it shall be the duty of such absent member or members to at once attend the meeting, unless prevented by sickness or death in the immediate family, or for other cause deemed sufficient to excuse his attendance by the other members of the City Council.

('65 Code, § 2-8) (Ord. No. CS-333 § 8; Ord. No. 2006-009 § 5)

The minutes of the City Council, or journal of their proceedings, shall be kept by the City Clerk and shall be neatly typewritten in a book kept for that purpose, with a record of each particular type of business transacted set off in paragraphs, with proper sub-heads.

('65 Code, § 2-9) (Ord. No. 749 § 1; Ord. No. 2006-009 § 6)

The proceedings of the Council shall be governed by the latest edition of Rosenberg's Rules of Order, on all matters pertaining to parliamentary law, but no ordinance, resolution, proceeding or other action of the Council shall be invalidated, or the legality thereof otherwise affected, by the failure or omission to observe or follow said rules. This section shall also apply to the City's Commissions, Boards and Committees.

('65 Code, § 2-10) (Ord. No. CS-333 § 23; Ord. No. 2024-004 § 1)

(A) Any person may address the City Council at a public meeting on an item within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council. The City Council may establish public comment procedures, including time limits, which shall be included in the posted agenda.

(B) This section shall also apply to the City's Commissions, Boards and Committees.

('65 Code, § 2-11) (Ord. No. CS- 333 §§ 13, 14, 15; Ord. No. 94-018 § 1; Ord. No. 98-017, § 1; Ord. No. 2024-004 § 2)

Unless a member of the Council states that he is not voting, his silence shall be recorded as an affirmative vote.

('65 Code, § 2-12) (Ord. No. CS-333 § 16)

A. Decorum. The purpose of the rules of decorum is to promote mutual respect, civility, and orderly conduct among elected and appointed City officials, City staff, and members of the public. Other rules and standards of decorum and civility may be established by resolution of the City Council.

1. By Council members. While the City Council is in session, the Council members must preserve order and decorum including, but not limited to, treating everyone courteously, listening to others respectfully, providing fair and equal treatment for all persons and matters coming before the City Council, and allowing other Council members and members of the public to speak without intimidation or interruption, except as otherwise herein provided.

2. By members of the public. Members of the public are expected to observe the rules of order and decorum established by the City Council, including, but not limited to treating others courteously, listening to others respectfully, and allow Council members and others to speak without intimidation or interruption.

a. No person shall disrupt a City Council meeting.

b. As used in this section, "disrupting" means engaging in behavior during a City Council meeting that actually disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting and includes, but is not limited to, one of the following:

i. A failure to comply with reasonable and lawful regulations adopted by the City Council pursuant to Cal. Gov’t Code § 54954.3 or any other law.

ii. Engaging in behavior that constitutes use of force or a true threat of force.

c. "True threat of force" means a threat that has sufficient indicia of intent and seriousness, that a reasonable observer would perceive it to be an actual threat to use force by the person making the threat.

('65 Code, § 2-13)

B. Removal. The Presiding Officer of the City Council or their designee may remove, or cause the removal of, an individual for disrupting the meeting.

1. Prior to removing, or causing the removal of, an individual, the Presiding Officer or their designee shall warn the individual that their behavior is disrupting the meeting and that their failure to cease their behavior may result in their removal. The Presiding Officer or their designee may then remove, or cause the removal of, the individual if they do not promptly cease their disruptive behavior. This paragraph does not apply to any behavior described in § 3.01.145.A.2.b.ii.

C. Enforcement. The Chief of Police or designee shall be ex-officio Sergeant-at-Arms of the City Council. They shall carry out all orders and instructions given them by the Presiding Officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum in the Council Chambers.

D. Commissions, Boards and Committees. This section shall also apply to the City's Commissions, Boards and Committees.

('65 Code, § 2-14) (Ord. No. CS-333 §§ 17, 18; Ord. No. 2024- 004 § 3)

A. Submission of ordinances. No ordinance shall be prepared for presentation to the Council unless ordered by a majority vote of the Council, except that the Mayor, City Manager and City Attorney may present ordinances and resolutions to the City Council on the initiative of any of those officers.

B. Prior approval by administrative staff. All ordinances, resolutions and contract documents shall, before presentation to the Council, have been approved as to form and legality by the City Attorney or his authorized representative, and shall have been examined and approved for administration by the City Manager or his authorized representative, where there are substantive matters of administration involved.

('65 Code, § 2-15) (Ord. No. CS-333 § 21; Ord. No. 2006-009 § 22 (part))

It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully make or file, on his own behalf or for any other person, a false or misleading application or statement under any form of oath to the City Council or any City officer, in relation to any matter or issue in which the City has an interest in the protection of the public welfare or interest.

('65 Code, § 2-17) (Ord. No. CS-473; Ord. No. 2006-009 § 7)