Local Measure P on the Nov. 2 gubernatorial ballot will ask
Morgan Hill residents,
”
Shall the offices of City Clerk and City Treasurer be
appointed?
”
Local Measure P on the Nov. 2 gubernatorial ballot will ask Morgan Hill residents, “Shall the offices of City Clerk and City Treasurer be appointed?”
If the measure passes with a majority vote, it will change the way in which the two positions are filled for the first time since the city was founded. The offices of city clerk and city treasurer have been held by elected officials since 1906.
Supporters of Measure P say having a city clerk and city treasurer who are appointed by the council is the best way to ensure the seats are occupied by qualified and trustworthy people, and will save money for the city in the long run, in the form of election costs every four years.
Councilman Greg Sellers said changing the municipal seats from elected to appointed is a growing trend among California cities.
“I’m going to vote ‘Yes,’ because (the responsibilities of the two offices) are highly professional services that have evolved from the basic duties they were 100 years ago,” Sellers said. “We’ll be vulnerable if we don’t have somebody that has experience.”
Plus, he added that perhaps by appointing someone to the seats would reduce some of the “redundancy” in city hall, as many of the duties allowed for city clerks and city treasurers by state law – including meeting minutes and tracking city finances – are already performed by city staff.
However, those who plan to vote ‘No’ on Measure P say the voters should continue to be trusted, and elections for the positions will ensure the offices are independent from the city council and city manager.
The fact that the current city clerk – Irma Torrez – and city treasurer – Mike Roorda – are qualified and have performed their jobs without controversy shows that the voters can elect adequately experienced office holders, Morgan Hill resident Frank Manocchio said.
“I think the extra layer of independent oversight that is afforded the voters is a good thing,” said Manocchio, who wrote the ballot argument against Measure P. “(When they’re elected) you have somebody that’s not afraid to speak out, instead of somebody that serves at the pleasure of the city manager and city council.”
He added that an official who is appointed by the council or city manager will be less likely to speak against the official city hall line because they will be worried about keeping their job.
The council voted 4-1, with Councilwoman Marby Lee opposed, in July to put the measure on the Nov. 2 ballot. Councilmembers all agree that the decision to place the measure on the ballot is not a referendum on the current office holders, but is rather in response to the changing nature of the offices and statewide trends.
City attorney Danny Wan said if the measure is approved, the city council and staff would work out details such as whether the positions would be part-time or full-time, necessary qualifications, compensation options and other logistics. While the measure would give the council the authority to make appointments to the city clerk and city treasurer positions, the council could at some point delegate that responsibility to the city manager, Wan said.
Also if the measure wins a majority of the vote, the first appointees to the positions would begin their jobs after the current office holders’ terms expire at the end of 2012.
All cities in California are required to have a city clerk and city treasurer. The city clerk’s duties include overseeing elections, ensuring council actions are in compliance with public information laws, organizing and overseeing public records, and related municipal services.
The city treasurer is responsible for the investment of the city’s $85 million portfolio, which consists mainly of unspent capital improvement dollars. The official’s decisions do not require approval by the city manager or council, but he routinely consults with city hall finance staff before making any investments, city staff said.
Most California cities currently appoint their city clerks and city treasurers, according to city staff. Out of 478 incorporated towns and cities in the state, 154 (about 32 percent) have elected city clerks and 174 (about 36 percent) have elected city treasurers.
The city of Campbell will have an identical measure for its voters on the Nov. 2 ballot. The only qualifications to serve as either city clerk or city treasurer in Campbell are to be at least 18 years old and a resident of the city, assistant to the city manager Al Bito said. In recent years, Bito added, the traditional duties of Campbell’s city clerk and city treasurer have been performed by staff people at city hall, and independent auditors keep track of the city’s finances annually.
Current qualifications to run for city clerk and city treasurer in Morgan Hill are not much different from those of Campbell – candidates must be at least 18 years old and a registered voter of Morgan Hill.
The city of Morgan Hill currently pays about $6,400 annually in staff related costs for its elected city clerk and city treasurer. That figure could reach as high as $38,000 if each official selected the maximum medical and dental benefits, city staff said.
Councilman Larry Carr noted that regardless of what kind of compensation the potential appointees to the seats would receive, the city would save about $50,000 every four years in election costs. He added that Torrez and Roorda have performed well in the two seats, and they have run unopposed in past elections.
“Those are both very critical positions that need to have a certain skill set to them,” Carr said. “Making them elected, they become politicians. Those operations are too critical to the city for them to be political.”
Councilwoman Marby Lee, who is running for mayor Nov. 2, voted against submitting the question as a ballot measure earlier this year, but is willing to accept the voters’ choice.
“I didn’t see an outcry from the public on the need to make it appointed,” Lee said.
