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Butte County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
Measure L
Shall the City Charter be amended ?
City of Chico

Majority Approval Required

Pass: 18634 / 64.80% Yes votes ...... 10123 / 35.20% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Results as of Nov 20 2:20pm, 100.0% of Precincts Reporting (38/38)
60.2% Voter Turnout (28757/47744)
Information shown below: Impartial Analysis | Arguments | Full Text

Shall Section 605 of the Charter of the City of Chico be amended to provide that the City Clerk shall be appointed by the City Council?

Impartial Analysis from the City Attorney
Section 605 of the Charter of the City of Chico currently provides that the City Council appoints the city manager, a city attorney and the members of the City's boards and commissions. The city clerk is currently appointed by the city manager.

If this measure is passed, Section 605 of the Charter will be amended to provide that the City Council also appoints a city clerk. In that event, the city clerk would be appointed directly by, and report to, the City Council instead of the city manager. The passage of this measure would not affect the duties of the city clerk as otherwise set forth in the Charter, the Chico Municipal Code or State law.

A "Yes" vote is in favor of adopting the proposed Charter amendment. A "No" vote is against adopting the Charter amendment. A majority of "Yes" votes is required for the amendment to be enacted.

The above statement is an impartial analysis of Measure L. If you desire a copy of the measure, please call the elections official's office at 530-896-7250 and a copy will be mailed at no cost to you.

s/ Lori Barker, City Attorney, City of Chico

  News and Analysis

Chico Enterprise Record - ChicoER.com

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Arguments For Measure L
Both sides of the aisle agree there are good reasons to vote YES on Measure ___. Between 1872 and 1994, the Chico City Clerk was either elected or appointed by the City Council. In 1994 the City Clerk was moved under the supervision of the City Manager. Measure ____ corrects this mistake by asking that the voters return the City Clerk to the City Council. This move will restore authority to the City Clerk to assure transparency for the public and timely meeting agendas.

Recently, the City Manager announced his retirement, providing a natural opportunity to move the City Clerk from his office to the responsibility of the City Council. This will result in full authority over meeting agendas to assure that filing deadlines are honored and that public documents are available timely before scheduled meetings. It would remove any barriers to Council Members requesting items be placed on Council agendas for public discussion.

Measure ____ will result in increased accountability by having an officer responsible to the Council within the city organization. This would improve Council and public access to information needed to make informed decisions. This increases transparency within the organization. It would assure that there is never a concentration of power under any of the officers directly responsible to the City Council, which includes the City Manager and the City Attorney.

The City Clerk has always been the support staff to the Mayor and the Council. Measure ____ will formalize that relationship and recognize the importance of elected representatives of the people having the support needed to carry out the will of the electorate. Please vote YES on Measure___.

s/ Scott Gruendl, Council Member
s/ Mark Sorensen, Council Member
s/ Mary Goloff, Council Member
s/ Robert W. Evans, Council Member

FOR INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Scott Gruendl
2368 England St., Chico, 95928
Phone: 530-624-0756 Email: scott_gruendl@yahoo.com

(No arguments against Measure L were submitted)

Full Text of Measure L
RESOLUTION NO. 39-12

RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICO PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY CHARTER AND CALLING A GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2012, TO SUBMIT THAT AMENDMENT TO THE VOTERS

BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Chico as follows:

1. This Council has, on its own motion, and in accordance with Government Code § 34458, proposed an amendment to the Charter of the City of Chico in the form of a ballot measure asking the voters whether section 605 of the Charter of the City of Chico should be amended to provide that the city clerk shall be appointed by the City Council.

2. Pursuant to Section 500 of the City Charter and Elections Code § 9222 a general municipal election is hereby called to be held on November 6, 2012, to submit a measure to the voters as follows:

Shall Section 605 of the Charter of the City of Chico be amended to provide that the City Clerk shall be appointed by the City Council?

YES [ ] NO [ ]

3. The text of the proposed Charter amendment is as follows:

Section 605. Appointment of officers and commission members.

The Council shall have the power and authority to appoint a city manager, a city clerk, a city attorney, and the members of the various boards and commissions. All other officers and department heads shall be appointed by the city manager, subject to confirmation by the council; except that the park director shall be appointed by the city manager subject to confirmation by both the council and the Bidwell Park and Playground commission, the airport manager shall be appointed by the city manager subject to confirmation by both the council and the airport commission, and any assistant city attorney or deputy city attorney shall be appointed by the city attorney subject to confirmation by the council.

4. Pursuant to Elections Code § 10403, the Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte is requested to order consolidation of this general municipal election with the statewide election called for November 6, 2012, in all precincts within the City of Chico.

5. Pursuant to Elections Code § 10002, the Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte is requested to authorize the County Clerk to cause all necessary ballots to be printed, prepare and distribute all sample ballot pamphlets and all absentee ballots, appoint all necessary election officials, make arrangements for precinct polls, procure and furnish to election officials all necessary supplies and equipment, and perform all other acts required to conduct this election on behalf of the City of Chico.

6. Pursuant to Elections Code § 10411, the Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte is further requested and authorized to canvass the returns of the election.

7. The City Clerk is directed to set a date for the submission of arguments for and against the measure, pursuant to the Elections Code, and to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the Board of Supervisors and the County Clerk of the County of Butte.

THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION WAS ADOPTED at a meeting of the City Council of the City of Chico held on June 19,2012, by the following vote:

AYES: Evans, Goloff, Gruendl, Sorensen, Walker NOES: Holcombe, Schwab ABSENT: None ABSTAIN:None

ATTEST:

s/ DEBORAH R. PRESSON, City Clerk

APPROVED AS TO FORM:

s/ LORI J. BARKER, City Attorney

I, DEBORAH R, PRESSON, City Clerk of the City of Chico, hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of the document on file in the City Clerk's office.

s/ DEBORAH R. PRESSON, MMC, City Clerk


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Created: December 17, 2012 13:43 PST
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