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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESO 9091Resolution No. 9091 Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Calling a Special Election for November 2, 2010 Submitting to the Electorate for Special Election a Measure to Amend Article III, Section 3 of the Charter to Change City Council Elections to Even-Numbered Years and Extend the Terms of Current Council Members to Five Years WHEREAS, Article IX , section 1 of the Charter of the City of Palo Alto authorizes the City Council to propose and submit Charter amendments to the voters of the City for approval at any established municipal election date; and WHEREAS, over the past three years, the City has faced budget challenges and has extensively examined ways to reduce costs in all areas of City operations; and WHEREAS, expenses to the City for election costs to place local measures on the ballot in odd-numbered years are generally higher than they would be in even-numbered years because costs for local measures are reduced when they coincide with countywide and statewide general elections, which occur in even-numbered years; and WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to propose a Charter Amendment to change council election years from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years in order to help reduce election costs to the City; and WHEREAS, the proposed Charter amendment also proposes extending the terms of current council members by one year in order to implement the proposed change to even- numbered years, as the Council has determined that the most practical transition is to allow current Council Members to continue in their offices until their successors are elected and qualified in an even-numbered year, so that the terms of Council Members Burt, Espinosa, Schmid, and Yeh would be extended from 2011 to 2012, and the terms of Council Members Holman, Klein, Price, Scharff, and Shepherd would be extended from 2013 to 2014; and WHEREAS, elections will be held on November 2, 2010, in certain school districts and certain special districts in Santa Clara County; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Education Code section 5342 and Part 3 of Division 10 of the Elections Code commencing at section 10400, such elections may be partially or completely consolidated. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Palo Alto does hereby RESOLVE as follows: SECTION 1. Special Election. Pursuant to Elections Code sections 1405 and 9255 there is called and ordered to be held in the City of Palo Alto, California, on Tuesday, November 2, 20 lOa special municipal election. Pursuant to Article IX of the Charter of the City of Palo Alto, this Council orders the following question to be submitted to the voters at the Election: 100803 sh 8261377 1 CITY OF PALO ALTO MEASURE __ _ To consolidate with county and State elections and help reduce the City's election costs, shall Article III, section 3 of the Palo Alto City Charter be amended to change the City's general municipal elections to each even-numbered year, with the next election scheduled for 2012, and to extend the terms of all current council members by one year in order to complete the transition to even-numbered year elections? For the Amendment Against the Amendment SECTION 2. Adoption of Measure. If a majority of qualified electors voting on such measure shall vote in favor of City of Palo Alto Measure "_", the amendment to Article II, Section 3 of the Charter shall be deemed ratified and shall read as follows: Section 3. Time of Election A regular election shall be held in the city of Palo Alto on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year, commencing with the year 2012, and the same shall be known as the general municipal election. All other municipal elections that may be called under the authority of this charter, or by the general laws, shall be known as special elections. Notwithstanding four-year city council member term limit set forth in Article III, section 2 of this charter, any city council members whose term of office would have expired prior to 2012 shall continue in their offices until December 31, 2012 or until their successors are elected and qualified. Notwithstanding four-year city council member term limit set forth in Article III, section 2· of this charter, any city council members whose term of office would have expired prior to 2014 shall continue in their offices until December 31, 2014, or their successors are elected and qualified. SECTION 3. Notice of Election. Notice of the time and place of holding the election is hereby given, and the City Clerk is authorized, instructed and directed to give further or additional notice of the election in time, form, and manner as required by law. SECTION 4. Impartial Analysis. Pursuant to California Elections Code section 9280, the City Council hereby directs the City Clerk to transmit a copy of the measure to the City Attorney. The City attorney shall prepare an impartial analysis of the measure, not to exceed 500 words in length, showing the effect of the measure on the existing law and the operation of the measure, and transmit such impartial analysis to the City Clerk on or before August 17, 2010. II 100730 sh 8261377 2 SECTION 5. Ballot Arguments. Pursuant to Elections Code section 9286 et seq., August 10,2010 at 5:30 p.m. shall be the deadline for submission of arguments in favor of, and arguments against, any local measures on the ballot. If more than one argument for and/or against is received, the priorities established by Elections Code section 9287 shall control. SECTION 6. Rebuttal Arguments. The provisions of Elections Code section 9285 shall control the submission of. any rebuttal arguments. The deadline for filing rebuttal arguments shall be August 17,2010. SECTION 7. Consolidation Request. The Council of the City of Palo Alto requests the Governing Body of any such other political subdivision, or any officers otherwise authorized by law, to partially of completely consolidate such elections and to further provide that the canvass be made by any body or official authorized by law to canvass the returns of the election, except that in accordance with Article III, section 4, of the Palo Alto Charter, the City Council must meet and declare the results of said elections; and that this City Council consents to such consolidation. SECTION 8. Request for County Services. Pursuant to section 10002 of the California Elections Code, the Council of the City of Palo Alto hereby requests the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County to permit the Registrar of Voters to render services to the City of Palo Alto relating to the conduct of Palo Alto's General Municipal and Special Elections which are called to be held on Tuesday, November 2,2010. The services shall be of the type normally performed by the Registrar of Voters in assisting the clerks of municipalities in the conduct of elections including, but not limited to, checking registrations, mailing ballots, hiring election officers and arranging for polling places, receiving absent voter ballot applications, mailing and receiving absent voter ballots and opening and counting same, providing and distributing election supplies, and furnishing voting machines. Subject to approval of the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County of the foregoing request, the City Clerk is hereby authorized to engage the services of the Registrar of Voters of the County of Santa Clara to aid in the conduct of said elections including canvassing the returns of said election. Further, the Director of Administrative Services is authorized and directed to pay the cost of said services provided that no payment shall be made for services which the Registrar of Voters is otherwise required by law to perform. SECTION 9. Transmittal of Resolution. The City Clerk is directed to submit a certified copy of this resolution to the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara and to the Registrar of Voters. II II II II 100730 sh 8261377 3