Los Gatos Municipal Code Art. II Town Council

The regular meetings of the Town Council will be on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7:00 p.m.; however, when the day fixed for any regular meeting of the Town Council falls upon a day designated by law as a legal or national holiday, the meeting will be held on the next succeeding day not a holiday. The Town Council may cancel a regular meeting by a vote of a majority of the Council. The Town Council may establish additional regular meetings by adopting a calendar of scheduled meetings at least thirty (30) days prior to such meetings. A current, adopted calendar of Council meetings shall be posted in the office of the Town Clerk.

(Code 1968, § 2-1; Ord. No. 1858, §§ I, II, 6-3-91; Ord. No. 2020, § VI, 9-16-96; Ord. No. 2082, § I, 4-16-01; Ord. No. 2232, § I, 6-16-14)

State Law reference— Meetings of town council, Gov. Code §§ 36805 to 36814, 54950 to 54960.

All regular meetings of the Town Council shall be held in the Council chamber in the Town Hall in the Town, unless the Council chamber is not usable for a public meeting, in which case the Council may establish an alternative meeting place in the Town limits.

(Code 1968, § 2-2; Ord. No. 2020, § VII, 9-16-96)

(a) Understanding that the purpose of the meetings of the Town Council is to conduct the people's business for the benefit of all the people, in the event that any meeting of the Town Council is willfully interrupted by a person or group of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of the meeting impossible, the Mayor, Vice-Mayor or any other member of the Town Council acting as the chair, may order the removal of the person or persons responsible for the disruption and bar them from further attendance at the Council meeting, or otherwise proceed pursuant to Government Code section 54957.9 or any applicable penal statute or Town ordinance. For purposes of these rules "willfully interrupt" includes, but is not limited to, doing any of the following after being directed by the chair to cease and being warned that continuing to do so will be a violation of law:

(1) Addressing the Town Council without first being recognized.

(2) Persisting in addressing a subject or subjects other than that before the Town Council.

(3) Repetitiously addressing the same subject.

(4) Continuing to speak after the allotted time has expired.

(5) Failing to relinquish the podium when directed to do so.

(6) As a speaker, interrupting or attempting to interrupt members of the Town Council or members of the Town staff.

(7) From the audience, interrupting or attempting to interrupt, a speaker, members of the Town Council or members of the Town staff, or shouting or attempting to shout over a speaker, members of the Town Council or members of the Town staff, or displays such as clapping, stamping, loud talking, hissing and booing.

(8) Violations of rules of conduct established by the Town Council.

(b) The Town Council may establish rules for the conduct of its proceedings by resolution.

(c) Nothing in this section or any rules of conduct that may be adopted by the Town Council shall be construed to prohibit public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs or services of the Town or of the acts or omissions of the Town Council or Town staff.

(d) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section 2.20.020 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(e) If any subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this section 2.20.020 is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this section. The Town Council hereby declares that it would have passed this section and each subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more subsections, sections, clauses or phrases had been declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Code 1968, § 2-3; Ord. No. 2074, § I, 11-6-00)

(a) Purpose. This section is enacted pursuant to section 36516 of the Government Code of the State, authorizing the Town Council to provide by ordinance that each member of the Town Council shall receive a prescribed salary.

(b) Amount. Each member of the Town Council shall receive, as salary, five hundred and seventy dollars ($570.00) per month, as prescribed in section 36516 which shall be payable at the same time and in the same manner as the salaries are paid to other officers and employees of the Town.

(c) Effective date. Any increase in compensation shall become effective for all members of the Town Council no sooner than that calendar month that next succeeds the beginning of a new term of office for any member of the Town Council following the adoption of such increase.

(d) Reimbursement. The salaries prescribed in this section are and shall be exclusive of any amounts payable to each member of the Town Council as reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred by the member in the performance of official duties for the Town.

(Code 1968, § 2-3.1; Ord. No. 2135, § I, 12-20-04; Ord. No. 2269, § I, 2-6-18)

Pursuant to Government Code section 54957.2, when the Town Council holds a closed session, it may, by ordinance or resolution, designate the Town Manager, the Assistant Town Manager, the Acting Town Manager, or any other qualified employee of the Town to attend each closed session of the Council and keep and enter in a minute book a record of topics discussed and decisions made at the meeting. The minute book made pursuant to this section and section 54957.2 is not a public record subject to inspection pursuant to the California Public Records Act and shall be kept confidential. The minute book shall be available only to members of the Town Council or, if a violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act is alleged to have occurred at closed session, to a court of general jurisdiction. Such minute book may, but need not, consist of a recording of the closed session.

(Code 1968, § 2-3.2; Ord. No. 1818, § I, 4-16-90; Ord. No. 2072, § I, 9-5-00)

The Town Council shall elect a Mayor and Vice Mayor annually at a special meeting in December of each year after receipt of election results from the Registrar of Voters. The special meeting shall occur prior to the second regular meeting in December to enable the newly elected Mayor the opportunity to recommend appointments of Council Members to various Boards and Committees at the second regular meeting in December.

(Code 1968, § 2-3.3; Ord. No. 2289, § I, 9-17-19, eff. 1-1-20)

(a) The term of office for each member of the Town Council shall be four (4) years.

(b) No person shall serve more than two (2) consecutive terms as a member of the Town Council.

(c) Any person who has served two (2) consecutive terms shall not serve again, either by election or appointment, until at least four (4) years have elapsed since that person last held office.

(d) For purposes of this section, any person appointed or elected to the Town Council to fill an unexpired term of two (2) years or less in length shall thereafter be eligible to serve two (2) consecutive terms upon the expiration of the partial term for which that person was appointed or elected.

(e) Applying prospectively to terms commencing on or after the effective date of this ordinance, any portion of a term of office longer than two (2) years shall be deemed to be a full term for the purpose of the limit imposed by this section.

(f) Any member of the Town Council who resigns from or otherwise leaves office during a term shall be deemed to have served the entirety of that term for the purpose of the limit imposed by this section, regardless of the length of time remaining in the term.

(Ord. No. 2315, § 3, 11-3-20)