Watsonville Municipal Code Art. IV The Council (CA)

SECTION 400 POWERS VESTED IN THE COUNCIL.

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

SECTION 401 NUMBER AND METHOD OF ELECTION.

The Council shall consist of seven (7) members, each of whom shall have the right to vote on all questions coming before the Council. The Council members shall each be elected by plurality from one of seven (7) districts drawn on the basis of one-person one-vote from the most recent decennial United States census. Only registered voters residing within the district shall be qualified to vote for a candidate seeking to represent that district.

SECTION 402 TERM OF OFFICE.

Except as otherwise provided in this Section, Council Members shall hold office for a term of four (4) years from and after the second Tuesday following their election and continuing until their respective successors qualify. If, at any municipal election for members of the Council, there shall be no choice between candidates within a District by reason of two (2) or more candidates having received an equal number of votes, then the Council shall proceed to determine the election of such candidates by lot. No Council Member shall be eligible for reelection for two (2) years after the expiration of the second consecutive full term for which such person was elected, except that any incumbent Council Member in office on the Tuesday following adoption of this amendment is eligible to serve one additional term before the two term limit shall apply.

SECTION 403 ELIGIBILITY.

A person shall be eligible to be nominated for, or appointed to the office of Council Member, only if thirty (30) days preceding the opening date for the filing of nomination papers or the appointment to fill a vacancy such person is a resident and a registered qualified voter of this City and the District of the City or of territory annexed thereto which the person seeks to represent. A member of the Council shall forfeit such office upon ceasing to reside in the District or to remain a registered qualified voter. The Council shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of its members as defined in this Section.

SECTION 404 COUNCIL MEMBER TO HOLD NO OTHER OFFICE.

No member of the Council shall hold any other public office or City employment except as is otherwise provided in this Charter. No member of the Council shall be appointed to any City position, office or employment during the term of office until one (1) year after the expiration of the term except to fill a vacancy in the office of Mayor. Nothing in this Section shall prevent a Council Member or the Mayor from resigning office to accept either an elective or appointive office under the government of a county, state or of the United States, or any governmental agency, other than the City of Watsonville. Nor shall the provisions of this Section prohibit any such officer from being a Notary Public or a member of the armed services of this State or of the United States. [§ 404 Amended by voter petition initiative on 11/5/24. Measure W]

SECTION 405 COMPENSATION.

The members of the Council shall receive reimbursement for expenses incurred while performing official business of the City as authorized and approved by the Council. In addition, each member of the Council shall receive such an amount as may be fixed by ordinance, not to exceed the amount provided in the schedule set forth in Section 36516(a) of the Government Code, as may be amended. Council Members shall be eligible for benefits in addition to salary as permitted by the Government Code. [§ 405 Amended by voter petition initiative on 11/5/24. Measure W]

SECTION 406 VACANCIES.

California Government Code Section 1770 as it now exist or may hereafter be amended lists the conditions upon which a vacancy is created. If a vacancy shall occur in the office of a Council Member, then the vacancy shall be filled only by the election of a new Council Member to be held at either a General Municipal Election or a Special Municipal Election which the Council must cause to be held no later than ninety (90) days from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy.

A Council Member elected to fill a vacancy shall serve for the remaining period of the unexpired term of office that the new Council Member was elected to fill. [§ 406 Amended by voter petition initiative on 11/5/24. Measure W; Amended by voter petition initiative on 6/3/14. Measure H]

SECTION 407 INTERFERENCE IN ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS PROHIBITED.

Neither the Council nor any of its members shall interfere with the City Manager’s execution of powers and duties, or order or request, directly or indirectly, the appointment by the City Manager, or by any subordinates, of any person to any office or employment, or their removal therefrom. Except for the purpose of obtaining information, the Council and its members shall deal with the administrative branch of the City government solely through the City Manager, or the designated deputy, and neither the Council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinate of the City Manager, either publicly or privately. [§ 407 Amended by voter petition initiative on 11/5/24. Measure W]

SECTION 408 MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL.

The Council shall provide for the time, place and manner of holding its meetings by ordinance, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Section. Copies of such ordinances shall be kept on file in the office of the City Clerk where they shall be available for public inspection. Except as is otherwise provided by the laws of this State, all meetings of the Council shall be open to the public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting thereof. The Council shall hold at least one (1) meeting each month.

A special meeting may be ordered at any time by the Mayor whenever the public business may require it, or upon the written request of any three (3) members of the Council. Whenever a special meeting shall be called, notice of such meeting shall be given as provided in Chapter 9, Part 1, Division 2, Title 5 of the Government Code of the State of California. [§ 408 Amended by voter petition initiative on 11/5/24. Measure W]

SECTION 409 PARTICIPATION.

Within the established rules for the conduct of its official proceedings, no person shall be denied the right personally, or through counsel, to present grievances or offer suggestions for the betterment of municipal affairs at any meeting of the Council. [§ 409 Amended by voter petition initiative on 11/5/24. Measure W]

SECTION 410 QUORUM.

A majority of the entire membership of the Council shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a less number may adjourn from time to time. In the absence of all the members of the Council from any meeting, the City Clerk may declare the same adjourned to a stated day and hour.

SECTION 411 RULES AND PROCEDURES.

The Council shall establish rules for the conduct of its proceedings and to preserve order at its meetings. It shall cause a record of its proceedings to be maintained which shall be open to public inspection.

SECTION 412 ADMINISTERING OATHS: SUBPOENAS.

Each member of the Council shall have the power to administer oaths and affirmations in any investigation or proceeding pending before the Council. The Council 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 upon other than constitutional grounds shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punishable in the same manner as violations of this Charter are punishable.

SECTION 413 DISTRICT BOUNDARIES.

The boundaries of the seven (7) Districts shall be subject to alteration and change under the provisions of this Section. Following the taking of each federal decennial census, commencing with the 1990 federal decennial census, but no earlier than three (3) months and no later than six (6) months following receipt by the City Clerk of a written publication containing an enumeration of population by blocks derived from such census, the Council shall by ordinance redistrict the City into seven (7) numbered Districts. Such ordinance shall be adopted according to the provisions of Article VI and shall become effective at the expiration of thirty (30) days after adoption of the ordinance; provided, however, that if such ordinance becomes effective on or after the first day on which nomination papers may be filed for an election to the office of member of the Council, then such ordinance shall not apply, or be deemed to apply, to that election or to the person elected to the office of member at such election.

Except as provided hereinabove, such Districts shall be used for all elections of members of the Council, including their recall, and for filling any vacancy in the office of member of the Council, subsequent to the effective date of such ordinance and until new Districts are established. Districts so formed shall be as nearly equal in population as practicable according to such federal decennial census. Any territory heretofore or hereafter annexed to or consolidated with the City but not included within a District shall, prior to or concurrently with completion of the proceedings therefore, be added to an adjacent District or Districts by the Council by ordinance, which shall become effective at the expiration of thirty (30) days after adoption and shall apply to all elections held on and after its effective date.

Any ordinance adopted by the Council and establishing, changing, or altering the boundaries of any District shall describe the new boundaries by reference to a map on file in the office of the City Clerk and/or by a metes-and-bounds description.

In any redistricting, the Council shall make the Districts as nearly equal in population as may be practicable, and may, in establishing the boundaries of the Districts, give consideration to a:

(a) natural boundaries, street lines and/or City boundaries;

(b) geography;

(d) community of interests within each District; and the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 1973.

Upon any decennial redistricting pursuant to the provisions of this Section, each incumbent member of the Council who no longer resides within the District to which they were elected as a result of such redistricting will continue to hold office and to represent the District to which the member was elected prior to such redistricting until the first Tuesday following the next General Municipal Election at which time a new member shall be elected to serve the remaining period of the unexpired term, if any, notwithstanding any provision of Section 403 requiring a member to be a resident of the District represented by such members.