Santa Cruz Municipal Code Art. VI Elective Officers (CA)

601 COUNCIL, NUMBER, TERM.

(a) The elective officers of this City shall consist of six Councilmembers and a Mayor, each of the members of which, including the Mayor, shall have the right to vote upon all questions before it. The terms “Council”, “City Council”, “legislative body”, or other similar terms as used in this Charter or any other provision of law shall be deemed to refer to the collective body composed of the Mayor and Councilmembers unless such interpretation would be clearly contrary to the intent and context of such other provision.

(b) Candidates for City Council shall be nominated from and by the electors of each of the six districts referred to in Article VII of this Charter. The term of office shall be four years. The term of each City Council member shall commence on the date of the City Council meeting, following his or her election, at which the council receives the certification of election results from the City Clerk.

(c) Candidates for Mayor shall be nominated from and by the electors of the City and elected by the voters of the City at-large. The term of office shall be four years. The term of Mayor shall commence on the date of the City Council meeting, following his or her election. at which the Council receives the certification of election results from the City Clerk.

(d) No member of the Council shall be eligible for re-election, or for election to a different Council district, for two years (i.e. one general election cycle) after the expiration of the second consecutive full term of the office for which such person was elected. However, this prohibition shall not bar (1) a Councilmember elected by-district from running for Mayor immediately after two terms as a Councilmember, or (2) the Mayor from running as a by-district Councilmember immediately after two terms as Mayor. With that said, in no event may any person serve on the Council (as either a Councilmember or the Mayor) for more than sixteen (16) consecutive years. (Amended 6/7/2022 [Ord. 2022-12 § 1]; 3-6-79; 11-2-2004 [Measure M])

602 QUALIFICATIONS.

(a) A person shall be eligible to be nominated for, or to hold office as a Mayor, only if such person is a registered qualified voter of this City, and shall have been for at least thirty (30) days preceding nomination or appointment, a resident of the City of Santa Cruz, or of territory annexed thereto.

(b) A person shall be eligible to be nominated for, or to hold office as a member of the Council, only if such person is a registered qualified voter of this City, and shall have been for at least thirty (30) days preceding nomination or appointment, a resident of the district from which that person has been nominated or appointed. (Amended 6/7/2022 [Ord. 2022-12 § 1]; 3-6-79)

603 SALARY.

The salary of City Councilmembers commencing on January 1, 1999 and continuing thereafter unless adjusted in accordance with this Section shall be $1,000.00 per month. The salary of the Mayor commencing on January 1, 1999 and continuing thereafter unless adjusted in accordance with this Section shall be $2,000.00 per month.

At any municipal election, the question of whether City Councilmembers or the Mayor shall receive compensation for services, and the amount of compensation, may be submitted to the electors. If a majority of electors voting at the election favor it, all of the Councilmembers and the Mayor shall receive the compensation specified in the election call. Compensation of Councilmembers and the Mayor may be increased beyond the amount provided in this Section or decreased below the amount in the same manner.

Compensation of Councilmembers and the Mayor may be increased beyond the amount provided in this Section by an ordinance enacted by the City Council or by an amendment to an ordinance enacted by the City Council but the amount of the increase may not exceed an amount equal to five (5%) percent for each calendar year from the operative date of the last adjustment of the salary in effect when the ordinance or amendment is enacted. No salary ordinance shall be enacted or amended by the City Council which provides for automatic future increases in salary.

Any amounts paid by the City for retirement, health and welfare, and Federal Social Security benefits shall not be included for purposes of the determining salary under this Section provided the same benefits are available and paid by the City for its employees.

(Amended 11-3-81; 11-4-86; 11-3-98)

604 PRESIDING OFFICER – MAYOR.

(a) The Mayor shall be elected at-large, shall preside at the meetings of the Council, be a voting member of the Council, shall have a voice and vote in all Council proceedings, and shall be recognized as the titular head of the City government for all ceremonial purposes and by the Governor for purposes of military law but shall have no regular administrative duties.

(b) The Mayor shall have the discretion to set City Council agendas and to change the order of business on the agendas provided, however, that an item may be added to a future City Council agenda at the direction of three members of the City Council.

(c) The Mayor shall have the primary but not exclusive responsibility for interpreting the policies, programs, and needs of the City government to the people, and, as occasion requires, the Mayor may inform the people of any change in policy or program.

(d) The Mayor shall perform such other duties consistent with the office as may be prescribed by this Charter or as may be imposed by the City Council.

(e) The City shall maintain a “Council-Manager” form of government, and the Mayor possesses only such authority over the City Manager and the administrative branch as he or she possesses as one member of the Council.

(f) The Council shall elect a Vice-Mayor, who shall serve in such capacity at the pleasure of the City Council. The Vice-Mayor shall perform the duties of the Mayor during the Mayor's absence or disability. The Vice-Mayor shall be elected by the Council at the second meeting in November in each non-election year, and at the first regularly or specially scheduled evening Council meeting following the County election official’s certification of the general municipal election results in each election year. The Mayor and Vice-Mayor so elected shall serve until their successors have been elected. Nothing herein shall prevent a Councilmember from serving consecutive terms as Vice-Mayor. (Amended 6/7/2022 [Ord. 2022-12 § 1]; 3-6-79; 11-4-86; 11-6-90; 11-8-16 [Measure G])

605 COUNCIL VACANCIES.

A councilmember vacancy from whatever cause arising, shall be filled by appointment by the City Council, or by special election called by the Council.

If a vacancy is filled by appointment, the appointee shall be a qualified person from the district in which the vacancy has occurred and shall hold office until the second regularly scheduled evening meeting following the next municipal election and until a successor is elected and takes the oath of office. At the next general municipal election following any vacancy, a Councilmember shall be elected to serve for the remainder of any unexpired term.

If a vacancy is filled by special election, the person receiving the highest number of votes in the subject district shall, upon taking the oath of office, serve for the remainder of the unexpired term of the former incumbent and until a successor has been elected and takes the oath of office.

In the event a vacancy has not been filled by appointment or an election called within sixty (60) days after such office shall have been declared vacant, the Council shall forthwith call an election to fill such vacancy.

A vacancy in the office of Mayor from whatever cause arising, shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by a special election called by the City Council to be held not less than 88 days nor more than 103 days after the effective date of the vacancy, except the special election may be conducted within 180 days of the effective date of the vacancy in order to consolidate with the City's general municipal election. An election shall not be ordered, and the office of Mayor shall remain vacant, if the term expires within the timeframe for holding a special election.

A City Council or Mayoral office shall become vacant and shall be so declared by the Council if a person elected or appointed fails to take the oath of office within sixty (60) days after the election or appointment, is absent from all regular meetings of the Council for sixty (60) days unless expressly permitted by the City Council in its official minutes, ceases to be an elector of the City, or is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude. (Amended 6/7/2022 [Ord. 2022-12 § 1]; 3-6-79; 11-3-92)

606 POWERS OF COUNCIL.

All powers of the City shall be vested in the City Council, subject to the provisions of this Charter and to the Constitution of the State of California.

607 VOTING.

The Council shall pass ordinances and adopt resolutions by ayes and noes, entered upon its minutes, and a roll-call may be had upon any order or motion on demand of any member. All members present at any meeting must vote unless disqualified, in which case the disqualification shall be publicly declared and a record thereof made.

608 ORDINANCES.

The enacting clause of every ordinance shall be: “Be it ordained by the City of Santa Cruz as follows:”. No ordinance, except an emergency ordinance, or an ordinance which takes effect upon adoption referred to in this article, shall be finally adopted by the Council on the day of its introduction, nor within five (5) days thereafter, nor at any time other than a regular meeting, nor until its publication as required in this Charter. In the event that any ordinance is altered after its introduction, the same shall not be finally adopted except at a regular meeting held not less than five (5) days after the date upon which said ordinance was so altered. The correction of typographical or clerical errors shall not constitute the making of an alteration within the meaning of the foregoing sentence.

609 REPEAL OR AMENDMENT OF ORDINANCES.

No ordinance or portion thereof shall be repealed except by ordinance. No ordinance shall be revised, re-enacted, or amended by reference to its title only; but the ordinance to be revised or re-enacted, or the Section or Sections thereof to be amended, or the new Section or Sections to be added thereto, shall be set forth and adopted according to the method provided in this Section for the enactment of ordinances, and such revision, re-enactment, amendment or addition, shall be done by ordinance only.

610 AUTHENTICATION OF ORDINANCES.

All ordinances shall be signed by the Mayor and attested by and filed with the City Clerk. Each ordinance shall be headed with a brief title which shall be indicative of the purport thereof. Ordinances shall be numbered consecutively when adopted.

611 EFFECTIVE DATE OF ORDINANCES.

No ordinance shall become effective until thirty days from and after the date of its adoption, except the following, which shall take effect upon adoption:

(a) An ordinance calling or otherwise relating to an election;

(b) An improvement proceeding ordinance adopted under some law, or procedural ordinance;

(d) An emergency ordinance adopted in the manner herein provided.

612 EMERGENCY ORDINANCES.

Any ordinance declared by the City Council to be necessary as an emergency measure for preserving the public peace, health, safety or property, and containing a statement of the reasons for its urgency, may be introduced and adopted at one and the same meeting if passed by at least five (5) affirmative votes.

613 PUBLICATION OF ORDINANCES.

The City Clerk shall cause each proposed ordinance, other than an emergency ordinance or an ordinance which takes effect upon adoption, to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation at least three (3) days before its adoption; or, as an alternative method of publication, the Council may order copies of any proposed ordinance to be posted at least three (3) days prior to its adoption in three (3) prominent places in the City, one of which may be the City’s Internet web page, and cause a single publication in a newspaper of general circulation of a notice setting forth the title of the ordinance, a short statement of its contents, the date of its introduction and a list of the places where copies of the proposed ordinance are posted.

The City Clerk shall cause each emergency ordinance or ordinance which takes effect upon adoption to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation within fifteen (15) days after its adoption.

(Amended 3-6-79; 11-2-2004 [Measure N])

614 REGULAR MEETINGS.

The City Council shall hold regular meetings at least twice each month, at such times as it shall fix by ordinance or resolution and may adjourn or readjourn any regular meeting to a date certain, which shall be specified in the order of adjournment and when so adjourned, each adjourned meeting shall be a regular meeting for all purposes.

616 PLACE OF MEETING.

All meetings shall be held in the Council Chambers of the City Hall, except when, by reason of special circumstances, the Council, Mayor or City Manager determines that the public interest will best be served by holding a meeting elsewhere within the City. If, by reason of fire, flood or other emergency, it shall be unsafe to meet in the place designated, the meetings may be held for the duration of the emergency at such place as is designated by the Mayor or City Manager, or, if the Mayor or City Manager should fail to act, by four members of the City Council.

(Amended 11-3-81; 11-8-94)

617 QUORUM. PROCEEDINGS.

Four members of the City Council shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a less number may adjourn from time to time. The City Council shall judge the qualifications of its members as set forth by the Charter and shall judge all election returns. Each member of the City Council shall have the power to administer oaths and affirmations in any investigation or proceeding pending before the City Council.

The City Council may establish rules for the conduct of its proceedings and punish any member or other person for disorderly conduct at any meeting.

It shall have the power and authority to compel the attendance of witnesses, to examine them under oath, and to compel the production of evidence before it. Subpoenas may be issued in the name of the City and be attested by the City Clerk. Disobedience of such subpoena, or the refusal to testify (other than upon constitutional grounds) shall constitute a misdemeanor.

618 CODIFICATION OF ORDINANCES.

Any and all ordinances of the City which have been enacted and published in the manner required at the time of their adoption, and which have not been repealed, may be compiled, consolidated, revised, indexed, and arranged as a comprehensive ordinance code, and such code may be adopted by reference by the passage of an ordinance for such purpose. Such code need not be published in the manner required for other ordinances, but not less than three copies thereof shall be filed, for use and examination by the public, in the office of the City Clerk, at least five days prior to the adoption thereof. Subsequent amendments to Sections of the code shall be enacted in the same manner as herein required for the amendment of ordinances generally.

Detailed regulations pertaining to any subject, such as the construction of buildings, plumbing, electrical construction or other subjects which require extensive regulations, after having been arranged as a comprehensive code, may likewise be adopted en masse or substantially so by reference in the manner hereinabove provided.

619 VIOLATION OF ORDINANCE. PENALTY.

A violation of any ordinance of the City shall constitute either a misdemeanor or an infraction, either of which may be prosecuted in the name of the people of the State of California, or may be redressed by civil action. The Council shall specify any violation of ordinances which are to constitute misdemeanors, and all other violations shall constitute infractions. The Council may, by ordinance, establish a minimum fine and/or a maximum fine or penalty for any violation of a City ordinance, provided, however, that in the absence of such an ordinance, the maximum fine or penalty shall be that established by the general laws of the State of California for misdemeanors or infractions, respectively.

(Amended 3-6-79; 11-4-86)