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ORDINANCE 208
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING STAGGERED TERMS FOR
COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO CITY COMMISSIONS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1.
Findings.
A.
The City of Saratoga has established a number of commissions to advise the City
Council in reviewing, establishing, and implementing City policy in a number of
areas. Commissioners provide an invaluable service to the City and their
participation in these civic affairs goes to the very heart of representative
democracy at the local level.
B.
The City Council has established common requirements regarding qualifications,
attendance, removal, vacancies, meetings, and rules of procedure for all City
Commissions.
c.
Currently, each Commission has new Commissioners appointed to four year terms
every other year. In one year, four Commissioners may leave a Commission and
be replaced by new Commissioners. In the next year there are no new
Commissioners and in the following year, three Commissioners may leave and be
replaced by new Commissioners.
D.
The City Council wishes to increase the frequency with which interested citizens
may apply for a seat City Commissions and to avoid the loss of significant
expertise at a single time. Therefore, this ordinance amends the Saratoga City
Code to provide that the terms served by the Commissioners on each Commission
shall be evenly staggered. Specifically, on each Commission, the terms of
approximately an equal number of Commissioners shall expire each year, and those
Commission seats will be open to qualified applicants.
E.
In order to make the transition from the current schedule of dates on which
Commissioner terms expire to the staggered schedule established by this
ordinance, section 2.2 of this ordinance authorizes the City Council to appoint
Commissioners to transitional terms of less than four years through 2006.
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Ordinance No. 208
Section 2. Adoption.
Section 2.1. Staggered Terms.
Article 2-12 of the Saratoga City Code is hereby amended by adding the following
paragraph (c) at the end of section 2-12.12:
"(c) For each Commission, the terms of the Commissioners shall be staggered such that
each year the four year terms of approximately an equal number of the Commissioners
shall expire. Where a Commission has seven Commissioners, the terms of two
Commissioners shall expire each year except that in the year after the first six Commission
terms have expired, only one term shall expire. The limitations set forth in this paragraph
(c) shall not apply to the Youth Commission.
Section 2.2. Transitional Terms.
Article 2-12 of the Saratoga City Code is hereby amended by adding the following
paragraph (d) at the end of section 2-12.12:
"(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this section, where the terms of Commissioners on
a Commission do not comply with paragraph (c) of this section, a Commissioner may be
appointed to a term less than four years for the purpose of making the terms of the
Commissioners on the Commission comply with paragraph (c). No term shall be reduced
after a Commissioner is appointed to serve the term, except as otherwise provided by this
Code. For purposes of paragraph (b) of this section, a term of less than four years
established pursuant to this paragraph is not a full term. This paragraph shall be of no
further force and effect after December 31, 2006.
Section 3. Publication.
This Ordinance shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation of the City of
Saratoga within fifteen days after its adoption.
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Ordinance No. 208
The foregoing Ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the
City of Saratoga held on the 17th day of July 2002 and adopted by the following vote following a
second reading on the 7th day of August 2002:
AYES:
Councilmembers Stan Bogosian, John Mehaffey, Ann Waltonsmith,
Vice Mayor Evan Baker, Mayor Nick Streit
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT None
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MAYOR, CITY OF SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA
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APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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CITY ATTORNEY
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Ordinance No. 208