Fremont Municipal Code Art. I Uniform Regulations for Council-Established City Boards, Commissions and…

This article may be referred to as the “uniform regulations for council-established city boards, commissions and committees.” The purpose of this article is to provide uniform general regulations applicable to all the various boards, commissions and committees of the city established by the city council to advise the city council and to perform such other functions and duties as prescribed by the city council in other provisions of this code or pursuant to other action of the city council. Such uniform general regulations in this article include:

(a) Qualifications, compensation, terms of office, appointment and removal of members;

(b) Selection of the chairman and vice-chairman thereof;

(c) Establishment of the times, dates and places of meeting; and

(d) Other matters requiring or appropriate for uniformity of regulations. (Ord. 974 § 2, 2-5-74. 1990 Code § 2-3100.)

This article shall apply to the human relations commission, planning commission, recreation commission, historical architectural review board, civil service board, city beautiful committee, sister city commission, art review board, George W. Patterson House advisory board and such other bodies established by the city council from time to time. For purposes of this article, each such board, commission and committee shall be known as a subject body. (Ord. 974 § 2, 2-5-74; Ord. 1269 § 1, 9-5-78; Ord. 2225 § 1, 3-4-97. 1990 Code § 2-3101.)

(a) The members of each subject body shall be appointed and shall be subject to removal by the mayor with the approval of the city council.

(b) No person shall be eligible to be or to continue to be a member of a subject body unless he or she is a resident of the city, unless stated otherwise in this chapter.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no person shall be eligible to serve as a member of a single subject body for more than two full terms.

(d) No officer or employee of the city shall be eligible to be a member of a subject body, except for the sister city committee and the youth advisory commission. Members of the youth advisory commission may accept part-time employment with the city.

(e) The members of the subject bodies shall receive no compensation for the performance of their official duties unless compensation is expressly provided by action of the city council.

(f) The term of office of a member of a subject body shall be four years, commencing on the first day of January of the initial year of such term, and concluding on the thirty-first day of December of the fourth year. Each member shall hold office until his or her resignation, death, removal from office, ineligibility to hold office, or disqualification for noncompliance with the attendance requirements of this section, or, in other cases, until his or her successor has been appointed and qualified.

(g) The city manager shall designate a city employee to act as secretary to each subject body. The secretary shall have no vote and shall not be deemed to be a member of the subject body for purposes of subsection (f) of this section.

(h) Consecutive Unexcused Absences. A member of any subject body shall be ineligible to continue his or her membership if at any time during his or her term of office he or she has the following number of consecutive unexcused absences. If a member has the following number of consecutive unexcused absences during his or her term of office, he or she shall be automatically disqualified from continuing membership on the subject body.

As used in this subsection, “regular meeting” shall include all meetings regularly scheduled in accordance with the rules of the subject body; provided, however, that a meeting at which no business was transacted due to the lack of a quorum shall not be deemed to constitute a “regular meeting.” The secretary of the subject body shall review the attendance records of such body after each regular meeting, and if he or she finds that any member has become ineligible for continued membership due to lack of attendance pursuant to this subsection, he or she shall promptly notify the chairman of the subject body and the city clerk of such fact in writing. The city clerk shall advise the city council of such fact so that the vacancy may be filled promptly.

(i) Unexcused Absences During Six-Month Period. If a member of a subject body has the following number of unexcused absences during the first or last six months of a calendar year, he or she shall be automatically disqualified from continuing membership on the subject body:

As used herein, “regular meeting” shall have the same meaning as specified in subsection (h) of this section. The secretary of the subject body shall review the attendance records of such body after each regular meeting, and if he or she finds that any member has become ineligible for continued membership due to lack of attendance pursuant to this subsection, he or she shall promptly notify the chairman of the subject body and the city clerk of such fact in writing. The city clerk shall advise the city council of such fact so that the vacancy may be filled promptly.

(j) The attendance of a member of a subject body at a meeting shall be determined by the chair of the subject body. If a member attends over three-quarters of the meeting, the chair of the subject body shall determine that he or she attended the meeting. If a member fails to attend over three-quarters of the meeting, the chair of the subject body shall determine that he or she was absent from the meeting.

(k) The absence of a member of a subject body from a regular meeting of such subject body shall be excused pursuant to this subsection. The chair of the subject body shall determine if an absence is excused pursuant to this chapter. If the chair determines that an absence is not excused, the absence will be treated as unexcused for purposes of this chapter. The secretary of the subject body shall record a member’s absence as excused or unexcused. An absence shall be considered excused if, and only if, the absence is caused by any of the following:

(1) The member’s hospitalization;

(2) The member’s observance of a religious holiday;

(3) Death in the member’s immediate family;

(4) The member’s illness, including recovery from a medical procedure;

(5) Illness of the member’s immediate family member; or

(6) The member conducting official business of the subject body.

(l) The secretary of the subject body shall report member attendance at the subject body for the first and last six months of a calendar year to the city clerk. The report shall include, for each member of the subject body, their name, number of excused absences in the six-month period, and number of unexcused absences in the six-month period.

(m) If a member of a subject body is removed therefrom for failure to comply with the attendance requirements of this chapter, such person may apply for reinstatement before the city council. After examining the evidence, the city council may reinstate such person as a member of the subject body. This subsection shall not be construed to require the city council to give any person who has been removed from a subject body for insufficient attendance any priority or preference in appointment to such body over other persons who may desire to be appointed to such body.

(n) When an office of a subject body becomes vacant, the mayor with the approval of the city council shall appoint a qualified person to such office for the remainder of the unexpired term.

(o) Each subject body shall, at its first regular meeting held for the transaction of business during a calendar year, elect a chairman and a vice-chairman for such calendar year. When a vacancy exists in the office of chairman or vice-chairman, the subject body shall elect a member to serve in such capacity for the remainder of the calendar year.

(p) Each subject body shall establish rules as to the time, place, and dates of its regular meetings, and shall adopt such rules and regulations as it deems necessary to conduct its operations, including rules of procedure. Such rules and regulations shall not be inconsistent with the ordinances and regulations of the city or with the laws of the state. Upon adoption or amendment, such rules and regulations shall be submitted to the city council for review, and the city council shall have the power to approve, disapprove, or modify them as it deems necessary.

(q) Each subject body shall prepare reports of its activities to the city council when the city council directs such subject body to do so. Each report shall be filed with the city clerk. (Ord. 974 § 2, 2-5-74; Ord. 1164 § 1, 4-12-77; Ord. 1184 § 1, 7-12-77; Ord. 1587 § 1, 2-21-84; Ord. 1741 §§ 1, 2, 9-16-86; Ord. 1749 §§ 1, 2, 10-28-86; Ord. 1809 § 1, 1-5-88; Ord. 1947 § 1, 12-4-90; Ord. 1911 § 1, 2-20-90; Ord. 2114 § 1, 3-7-95; Ord. 2134 § 1, 10-3-95; Ord. 2225 § 2, 3-4-97; Ord. 2274 § 1, 1-27-98; Ord. 2351 §§ 1 – 3, 9-7-99; Ord. 2421 § 1, 3-27-01; Ord. 2-2008 § 1, 2-12-08; Ord. 07-2024 § 2, 9-17-24; Ord. 08-2024 § 1, 10-1-24. 1990 Code § 2-3102.)

(a) Any subject body, established by the city council, may establish and specify the functions, purposes and operating procedure of standing committees or subcommittees composed solely of its own membership.

(b) Subject to approval of the city council, any subject body, established by the city council, may establish citizens advisory committees, or expand the membership of its standing committees to include citizens advisors, to advise the subject body in the carrying out of its functions. Any proposal by any such subject body to establish or expand a committee as aforesaid shall be submitted in writing to the city council, and shall specify the advisory functions, rules of operation and number and type of membership proposed. The council shall approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove each such proposal.

(c) Appointment of citizen advisory members to such citizen advisory or standing committees which have been approved by the city council shall be made by the city council from a written list of nominees submitted by the subject body, which list shall contain a total number of names equal to or exceeding three times the number of positions to be filled and the resident address of each nominee. The qualifications of each nominee shall also be included in any such list of nominees.

(d) At least one member of the subject body shall be a member of any such standing committee approved by the city council. The membership of any citizen study committee may include a member or members of the subject body or may be exclusively composed of citizen members. Each such citizen study committee shall be dissolved by the subject body upon the completion of the study or studies assigned by the subject body, and may be dissolved prior thereto in its discretion. The membership of a citizen member of a standing committee shall terminate upon completion of the study or studies which caused his/her appointment or may be terminated prior thereto, in the discretion of the subject body. (Ord. 974 § 2, 2-5-74; amended during 2012 reformat. 1990 Code § 2-3103.)

The city clerk shall maintain an accurate roster of the names of the members of all subject bodies. Inasmuch as the terms of office of the members of the subject bodies are staggered, the city clerk shall maintain accurate records as to the commencement date and the termination date of the term of office of each member. (Ord. 974 § 2, 2-5-74. 1990 Code § 2-3104.)