Mendota Municipal Code Ch. 2.04 City Council

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— The prior code of the city contained two Sections 2.01.009, which are codified in this chapter as Sections 2.04.090 and 2.04.100.

A. Time. Regular meetings of the council shall be held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 6:00 p.m. Such meetings shall immediately follow the meeting of the Mendota redevelopment agency when such meetings are held on the same date as the meeting of the council. In case the meeting date falls on a legal holiday, the regular meeting shall be held on the first business day thereafter.

B. Place. All regular meetings of the council shall be held in a place designated as council chambers. In the event the council chambers are in use or occupied said meeting may be moved to such other place as the council may direct.

(Prior code § 2.01.001)

(Ord. No. 24-03, § 2, 7-9-2024)

A special meeting may be called at any time by the mayor of by three members of the city council by delivering personally or by mail written notice to each member of the council and to each local newspaper of general circulation, radio or television station requesting notice in writing. Such notice must be delivered personally or by mail at least twenty-four (24) hours before the time of such meeting as specified in the notice. The call and notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted. No other business shall be considered at such meetings by the council. Such written notice may be dispensed with as to any member who at or prior to the time the meeting convenes files with the city clerk a written waiver of notice. Such waiver may be given by telegram. Such written notice may also be dispensed with as to any member who is actually present at the meeting at the time it convenes.

(Prior code § 2.01.002)

The city manager shall prepare an agenda of the council proceedings of all general meetings which agenda shall be prepared in accordance with the order of business and shall furnish each member of the council and the city attorney with a tentative agenda prior to the council meeting and at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the meeting time.

(Amended during 1995 codification; prior code § 2.01.003)

A. The Presiding Officer—Election and Duties. The presiding officer of the council shall be the mayor who shall be elected biannually at the first meeting following an election of councilmen, by the members, from their membership. The mayor shall preserve strict order and decorum at all regular and special meetings of the council. He shall state every question coming before the council, announce the decision of the council on all subjects and decide all questions of order, subject, however, to an appeal to the council, in which event a majority vote of the council shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order. He shall vote on all questions, his name being called last.

B. Call to Order—Presiding Officer. The mayor, or in his absence, the mayor pro-tem, shall take the chair precisely at the hour appointed for the meeting and shall immediately call the council to order. In the absence of the mayor or mayor pro-tem, the city clerk shall call the council to order, whereupon a temporary chairman shall be elected by the members of the council present. Upon the arrival of the mayor or mayor pro-tem, the temporary chairman shall immediately relinquish the chair upon the conclusion of the business immediately before the council.

C. Roll Call. Before proceeding with the business of the council, the city clerk shall call the roll of the members and the names of the councilmembers present shall be entered in the minutes.

D. Quorum. A majority of all the members elected to the council shall constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting of the council.

E. Order of Business. All meetings of the council shall be open to the public. Promptly at the hour set by law on the day of each regular meeting the members of the council, the mayor, the city clerk, the city manager and the city attorney shall take their regular stations in the council chambers, and the business of the council shall be taken up for consideration and disposition in the following order:

1. Roll call;

2. Pledge to the flag;

3. Approval of minutes;

4. Bids and hearings;

5. Resolutions and agreements;

6. Ordinances (introduction);

7. Ordinances (final reading);

8. Commission minutes;

9. Reports from council;

10. Reports from city manager and department heads;

11. Correspondence;

12. Demands against treasury;

13. Audience;

14. Adjournment.

F. Reading of Minutes. The clerk will read the minutes of the previous council meeting at each council meeting. Such reading of the minutes may, however, be dispensed with provided that the clerk has previously furnished each member with a copy thereof.

G. Rules of Debate.

1. Presiding Officer May Debate and Vote. The mayor or mayor pro-tem or such other member of the council as may be presiding may move, second and debate from the chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a councilman by reason of his acting as the presiding officer.

2. Getting the Floor—Improper References. Every member desiring to speak shall address the chair, and, upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine himself to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language.

3. Interruptions. A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it be to call him to order, or as otherwise provided in this chapter. If a member, while speaking, be called to order he shall cease speaking until the question of order be determined, and if in order, he shall be permitted to proceed.

4. Privilege of Closing Debate. The councilman moving the adoption of an ordinance or resolution may have the privilege of closing the debate.

5. Remarks of Councilmen—When Entered in Minutes. A councilman may request, through the presiding officer, the privilege of having a written abstract of his statement on any subject under consideration by the council entered in the minutes. If the council consents thereto, such statement shall be entered in the minutes.

H. Addressing the Council. Any person desiring to address the council shall first procure the permission of the presiding officer to do so; provided, however, that under the following headings of business, unless the presiding officer rules otherwise, any qualified and interested person shall have the right to address the council upon obtaining recognition by the presiding officer.

1. Written Communications. Interested parties or their authorized representatives may address the council by written communication in regard to matters then under discussion.

2. Oral Communications. Interested parties or their authorized legal representatives may address the council by oral communications on any matter concerning the city's business, or any matter over which the council has control; provided, however, that the preference shall be given to those persons who may have notified the city clerk in advance of their desire to speak in order that the item may appear on the agenda of the city council.

3. Public Hearing and Protests, etc. Interested persons or their authorized representatives may address the council on protests, petitions or communications relating to zoning, sewer and street proceedings, hearings on protests, appeals and petitions or similar matters, in regard to matters then under consideration, by presenting written materials to the city clerk.

4. Addressing the Council After Motion is Made. After a motion is made by the council, no person shall address the council without first securing the permission to do so.

5. Manner of Addressing Council—Time Limit. Each person addressing the council shall stand up, shall give his name and address in an audible tone of voice for the record. All remarks shall be addressed to the council as a body and not to any member thereof. No questions shall be asked a councilman except through the presiding officer. Time limit may be established by the presiding officer.

6. Members May File Protests Against Council Action. Any member shall have the right to have the reasons for his dissent from, or protest against, any action of the council entered on the minutes.

(Amended during 1995 codification; prior code § 2.01.004)

A. By Council Members. While the council is in session, the members must preserve order and decorum, and a member shall neither, by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the council nor disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the council or the presiding officer, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. No councilmember shall absent himself from the meeting after it has been called to order without first requesting and having been granted leave to do so by the presiding officer.

B. By Other Persons. Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks or who shall become boisterous while addressing the council shall be forthwith declared out of order and asked to relinquish the floor by the presiding officer, unless permission to continue be granted by a majority of the council.

C. Enforcement of Decorum—Penalty for Violation. The city manager or his representative shall be ex officio sergeant-at-arms of the council. He shall carry out all orders and instructions given him by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum in the council chamber. Any person in the audience who uses loud, boisterous or profane language at a council meeting or language tending to bring the council, or any councilman into contempt, or any person who persistently interrupts the proceedings of the council, or refuses to keep quiet or take a seat when ordered to do so by the presiding officer, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) or by imprisonment in the city jail for a period of not more than thirty (30) days, or by both fine and imprisonment.

(Amended during 1995 codification; prior code § 2.01.005)

A. Preparation of Ordinances. All ordinances shall be framed by the city attorney.

B. 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 and reviewed by the city manager.

C. Introduction for Passage or Approval. Ordinances, resolutions and other matters or subjects requiring action by the council must be introduced and sponsored by a member of the council, except that the city manager may present ordinances, resolutions and other matters or subjects to the council, and any councilman may assume sponsorship thereof by moving that such ordinances, resolutions, matters or subjects, be adopted; otherwise they shall not be considered.

D. Reports and Resolutions to be Filed with City Clerk. All reports and resolutions shall be filed with the clerk and entered on the minutes.

E. Rules of Orders. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter the latest editions of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of the meetings of the council.

F. Adjournment. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and decided without debate.

(Amended during 1995 codification; prior code § 2.01.006)

A. The ordinance codified in this chapter is enacted pursuant to Government Code section 36516, which authorizes the city council to provide each member of the city council receives a prescribed salary based on the City of Mendota's population determined by the last preceding federal census, or a subsequent census, or estimate validated by the department of finance.

B. As of the date of the most recent amendment of the ordinance codified in this chapter, the last preceding federal census determined the City of Mendota's population is less than thirty-five thousand (35,000).

C. Based on the above-cited authorities, each member of the city council of the City of Mendota shall receive a salary in the amount of nine hundred fifty dollars ($950.00) per month.

D. Subject to the limitations contained in Section 2.04.090 of this chapter, city council salaries shall be payable from and after the operative date of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived at the same time and in the same manner as the salaries are paid for other officers and employees of the City of Mendota.

(Prior code § 2.01.007)

(Ord. No. 25-02, § 2, 8-5-2025)

Government Code section 36516 provides that the city council's compensation may also be increased or decreased by an affirmative vote of the majority of electors of the City of Mendota voting in any municipal election.

(Prior code § 2.01.008)

(Ord. No. 25-02, § 3, 8-5-2025)

A change in compensation does not apply to a member of the city council during their term of office; however, this prohibition shall not prevent the automatic adjustment of the compensation of all members of the city council serving staggered terms whenever one or more members becomes eligible for a salary increase by virtue of beginning a new term of office.

(Prior code § 2.01.009)

(Ord. No. 25-02, § 4, 8-5-2025)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 25-02, § 5, adopted Aug. 5, 2025, repealed § 2.04.100, which pertained to exception to restriction during term of office and derived from prior code § 2.01.009.

The salaries prescribed in this chapter are and shall be exclusive of any amounts paid by the city for retirement, health and welfare, and social security benefits provided the same benefits are available and paid by the city for its employees. The salaries and benefits prescribed in this chapter are and shall be exclusive of any amounts payable to each member of the council as reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of official duties for the city.

(Prior code § 2.01.010)

No councilmember shall disclose or publish in any way, any matter discussed or considered in any executive session.

(Prior code § 2.01.011)

The city council shall act only as a body, by giving direction to the city manager at regular or special council meetings. No individual councilperson shall give direction to city employees or department heads outside such meetings. All councilpersons shall have full authority to investigate the manner in which the affairs of the city are administered.

Inquiry only for the purposes of a formal investigation will be made by council members of employees during business hours of the city offices. Councilmembers shall not contact employees without the knowledge of the city manager and shall not contact employees on their personal communication devices, including home email or private cellular phones. Emergency communication by councilmembers with staff responsible for responding to emergencies shall only be through the appropriate contact telephone numbers, such as police dispatch or public works emergency number and not directly to individual staff members.

(Ord. No. 12-07, § 2, 8-14-2012)