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01-20-2004 - Adjustments to all Elected Official SalariesTO: Andrew G. Pasmant, City Manager and City Council FROM: Artie Fields, Assistant City Manager • Memorandum AGENDA ITEM NO. E-1 DATE: January 20, 2004 SUBJECT: ADJUSTMENTS TO ALL ELECTED OFFICIAL SALARIES RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council provide staff direction regarding this matter. DISCUSSION: In'order to keep the salaries of elected officials at comparable levels to surrounding cities, the City Council is being asked to review its compensation. Staff is also preparing a report on the benefits received by the City Council and will provide the results at a later City Council meeting. City Council Salaries The base salary of the City Council has not been increased for 14 years, as provided within Government Code Section 36516 (c), which states. "Compensation of council members may be increased beyond the amount provided in this section by an ordinance or by an amendment to an ordinance but the amount of the increase may not exceed an amount equal to 5 percent for each calendar year from the operative date of the last adjustment of' the salary in effect when the ordinance or amendment is enacted. No salary ordinance' shall be enacted to or amended which provides for automatic future increases in salary." According to the Government Code, the City Council's monthly. salary could be raised from $765 to $1,590 per month, if the 5% maximum escalator were implemented alter the next municipal election in March of 2005. . If the City Council were to utilize the CPi index to determine its increases since 1990, their monthly salary would be raised to $1,082. In any event, the current City Council will not benefit from this increase unless they are on the City Council after the next municipal election in March 2005. As previously stated, the City Council received its last increase in 1990 at which time their salaries were increased from $694 to $765 per month. Salaries throughout Los Angles County vary among cities and the amounts depend upon the involvement, and philosophy of the City Council in the business affairs of the City. Salaries in the West Covina labor market range from $572 per month (Downey) to $1,125 per month (Ontario). Elected City Clerk Salary The City of West Covina has an elected City Clerk and an appointed Assistant City Clerk. One person holds both the elected City Clerk and the appointed Assistant City Clerk positions. The Assistant City Clerk is a full-time paid position and receives benefits. The elected City Clerk is part-time and the duties are listed on Attachment A. The salary of the City Clerk was increased from $100 to $150 a month in 1981. The average salary for elected City Clerks in the West Covina labor market is $511. The highest salary for an elected City Clerk in the West Covina labor market is provided by the City of Ontario. Xvhich is $745 a month. The lowest salary received by an elected City Clerk in the West Covina labor inarke't is provided by the City of Baldwin Park, which is $200 a month. It should be noted that none of the elected City Clerks in the West Covina labor market have the dual role of serving in a full-time administrative capacity. As such, staff is not recommending that the elected City Clerk position receive a salary increase at" this time. The salary of the Assistant City Clerk is currently being reviewed and will be discussed with the City Council during a closed session meeting regarding all department head salaries and benefits. The City Council has the statutory authority to increase the amount of compensation for the elected City Clerk during the term of office. Elected City Treasurer Salary The City Treasurer duties are listed on Attachment B. The salary of the City Treasurer, established in 1979, has always been $100. The average salary for elected City Treasurers in the West Covina labor market is $511. The highest salary for an elected City Treasurer in the West Covina labor market is provided by the City of -Ontario, which is $745 a month. The lowest salary received by an elected City Treasurer in the West Covina labor market is provided by the City of Baldwin Park, which is $200 a month. In preparation of this report, staff contacted the City Treasurer to inform her that the City Council would be considering an increase, to the City Treasurer salary. During this conversation, the City Treasurer informed staff that she did not believe that the duties of that position were sufficient enough to warrant an increase in salary. She also stated that she did not believe that the responsibilities warranted the need for the City to have an elected City Treasurer. The Finance Director concurs with the City Treasurer's comments regarding the City's need for an elected City Treasurer. The City Council has the statutory authority to increase the amount of compensation for the elected City Treasurer during the term of office. OPTIONS: The City Council could instruct staff to prepare an ordinance: 1. City Council Salaries - Adjusting the City Council salary by an aniount between $795 to $1,590, effective the day after the March 2005 municipal election or approve the maximum and set dates for staggered increases subsequent to the March 2005 municipal election. If the City Council were to utilize the CPI index to determine its increases since 1990, their monthly salary would be raised to $1,082. 2. Elected City Clerk and Treasurer Salary - The City Council could adjust the salary of the City Clerk or City Treasurer to a higher amount. 3. The City Council could receive and file this report as informational. 4. The City Council could select or deny any combination of the itenis listed in this report. FISCAL IMPACT: The fiscal impact will depend upon the options chosen by the City Council. Selection ol' any of the aforementioned options will require a new appropriation from the General Fund. Prepared by: Artie A. Fields Assistant City Manager Y: Personnel — City Council — Benefits and Salary Council Report • • ATTACHMENT A CHAPTER ONE WHAT IS THE CITY CLERK? CLERK: ONE OF THE OLDEST GOVERNMENT PROFESSIONS The municipal clerk, along with the tax collector, is the oldest of public servants. The office can be traced to biblical times and even before. St. Paul and his followers during his missionary work in Persia (now Westem Turkey) owed their safety to the action of a town clerk. As related in Acts XIX, 23-25, the artisans of Ephesus who made the idols of the time, feared the effect of Paul's missionary work on their trade. They incited a mob to seize two of Paul's followers. The town clerk, however, spoke out against this action and insisted that charges laid against these men had to be settled in the proper manner and before the proper authorities. There was no justification for riotous conduct. With that, he dispersed the crowd. Ancient Greece had a city secretary who read official documents publicly. At the opening of a meeting, one of his duties was to read a curse upon anyone who should seek to deceive the people. The early keepers of the archives were often called remembrancers, and before writing came into use, their memory was the public record. The title as we know it, is derived from the middle ages. A "Clerk" was any member of a religious order, a "cleric" or "clergyman." Since, for all practical purposes, the scholarship of the Middle Ages was limited to the clergy, the name "clerk" came to be synonymous with "scholar." The Office of Clerk can be traced back to the year 1272 A.D. in the History of the Corporation of Old London In the 1500's in England there was not only the "Towne Clarke" but also the "Clerc Comptroller of the King's Honorable Household." In 1603, there was a "Clarke General of the Armie." King Henry the Eighth had a "Clarke of the Spicery" and King Charles had his "Clerk of the Robes." When the early colonists came to America, they set up forms of local government to which they had been accustomed, and the office of clerk was one of the first established. The colony at Plymouth appointed a person to act as a recorder. Over the years, municipal clerks have become the hub of government, the direct link between the inhabitants of their towns and their government. -The clerk is the historian of the community, for the entire recorded history of the town and its people is in the clerk's care. . The eminent political scientist, Professor William Bennett Munro, writing in one of the first textbooks `on municipal administration, stated: "No other office in municipal service has so many contacts. It serves the mayor, the city council, the city manager (when there is one), and all administrative departments, without exception. All of them call upon it, almost daily, for some service or information. Its work is not spectacular, but it demands versatility, alertness, accuracy, and no end of patience. The public does not realize how many loose ends of city administration this office pulls together." Those words, written more than 40 years ago, are even more appropriate today. 1 1 The International Institute of Municipal Clerks In California there are two ways to become a City Clerk. One is to be elected by the voters of the community. and the other is to be appointed by either the City Council or City Administrator or City Manager. This may be the case for either charter or general law cities. Government Code Section 36501 sets forth the governing officers of the city, one of which is a City Clerk. In order for the office to be appointed the question must be at sometime put to a vote of the people (G.C. 36508). Statistically, in the State of California approximately 30% of the City Clerks are elected to their office. This figure includes both general law and charter cities and was established during a survey conducted by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. The elected City Clerk is responsible to the voters directly. Government Code Section 36502 states that a person is not eligible to hold office as a City Clerk unless at the time of assuming such office the person is an elector of the city and was a registered voter of the city at the time nomination papers were issued to the candidate as provided in Section 22842 of the Elections Code. In making this elective office appointive, general law cities follow Government Code Sections 36508-36509. In charter cities this may be in the form of a provision of the charter or the charter may state that this practice follows general law. Either way this decision is a result of a vote of the people. Should this appointive office have been part of the petition for incorporation of a city, (G.C. 36511) a separate vote of the people is not necessary. Vacancies occurring in the elected office of the City Clerk are filled by appointment. Should the City Council fail to fill the vacancy within 30 days, an election shall be called immediately. The person appointed or elected to fill the vacancy holds office for the time unexpired term of the former incumbent (G.C..36512). Vacancy is defined in Government Code Section 1770. The City Clerk can be removed from office through procedures outlined in Government Code Section 3060 et seq. Compensation for elected clerks is fixed by ordinance -or resolution "Bonds are required to be executed to the city upon assumption of office in an amount recommended by the City Attorney and fixed by resolution of the City Council (G.C. 36519, 36520). The appointed City Clerk is responsible to the City Council and/or the City Manager. Each city is somewhat different from the next in the appointive procedure. Generally, however, the recommendation is made by the City Manager and accepted by the City Council. The appointive powers of the City Council come into action. at the adoption of the election results where the question was decided in favor of appointment (G.C. 36508 - 36511). Whether appointed or elected, the City Clerk is required to accomplish certain duties. These duties are partially spelled out in Government Code Section 40801 et seq". The local determination as to whether fiscal duties are actually performed by the City Clerk is almost always a function of the size of the City. The trend clearly has been to transfer all or most of these functions to a Director of Finance or other fiscal officer. Each City Clerk should ascertain which of these functions still falls under his/her responsibility. 71e following is excerpted from the Government Code. , Be sure to refer to the specific code sections as these are amended periodically. These duties may be assigned to other staff persons in some cities, however, they are still the responsibility of the City Clerk. 1-2 CODE DESCRIPTION 36814 Record of proceeding; books: index. The City Clerk shall keep an accurate record of the proceeding of the legislative body in books bearing appropriate titles and devoted exclusively to such purposes, respectively. The books shall have a comprehensive general index. 40802 Accounting officer; financial records The City Clerk is the accounting officer of, the city and shall maintain records readily reflecting the financial condition of the city. (See Section 40805.5 below.) 40804 Financial statements; publication or posting. The City Clerk shall cause a summary of the city's financial report required by Section 53891, in a form prescribed by the State Controller, to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation, pursuant to Article I (commencing with Section 6000) Chapter 1, Division 7, Title 1 of the Government Code. If there is no such newspaper, he shall cause copies of the statement to be posted in three public places in the city designated by ordinance as the places for posting of public notices. 40805 Financial statements; time for printing or posting. The report shall be published or posted not later than one hundred twenty (120) days after the close of the fiscal year for which the report is compiled. 40805.5 Transfer of accounting and financial duties of City Clerk to Director of Finance The financial and accounting duties imposed upon the City Clerk by Sections 40802 through 40805 may be transferred to a Director of Finance when such office has been established and the powers and duties thereof defined by ordinance. 40806 Ordinance book: certificate. The City Clerk shall keep a book marked "ordinances" and record in it all city ordinances with his certificate annexed to each, stating: (a) It is a true and correct copy of a city ordinance. (b) The ordinance number. (c) It has been published or posted pursuant to law. 40807 Record of ordinance; evidence. The record with the certificate is prima facie evidence of the contents of each ordinance and of its passage and publication. It is admissible as such evidence in any court or proceedings. 40808 City records: use in court: custody. The official city records in the custody of the City Clerk shall not be filed in any court proceeding or other action, but shall be returned to the custody of the City Clerk. 40809 Ordinance: proof of passage and publication. This article does not prevent the proof of the passage and publication of ordinances in the usual way. 40810 Ex officio assessor. The City Clerk is the ex officio assessor unless the legislative body provides for the assessment and collection of city taxes by county officers or otherwise. 40812 Additional duties. He shall perform such additional duties as are prescribed by ordinance. 40813 Deputies. The City Clerk may appoint deputies, for whose acts he/his bondsmen are responsible. The deputies shall hold office at the pleasure of the City Clerk and receive such compensation as is provided by the legislative body. 40814 _Oaths, affidavits; depositions certifications. The City Clerk and his/her deputies may administer oaths or affirmations and take and certify affidavits and depositions pertaining to city affairs and business which may be used in any court or proceedings in the State. The acknowledgment of an 1-3 • • instrument may be made before a City Clerk and his deputies within the City in which they were election or appointed." Additionally, the statutes of the State of California prescribe the basic functions and duties of City Clerks in General Law Cities. Clerks in Charter Cities customarily have the same duties, but individual charter provisions may provide for variations or additional duties for that specific clerk and city. Government Code provides that the City Clerk shall perform such-additional"duties as are prescribed by ordinance. Thus, the duties and responsibilities of city clerks are not necessarily the same even in General Law Cities, and the City Clerks are subject to the exact requirements of his/her own city. The following is a partial list of the duties which are customarily performed by the City Clerk with Government Code sections shown where applicable: CODE DESCRIPTION 40808 1. Maintain Custody of Records a. Certification of copies b. Indexing and filing 34090- 34090.7 C. Destruction 36814 2. Serve as Clerk of the Council 3. Act as Secretary or Assistant Secretary to the Redevelopment Agency 36814 40801 4. Record and Maintain Proceedings of Council Meetings 36932 36933 5. Attest, Publish (or Post), Index, File Ordinances 40806 6. Attest, Index, File Resolutions 40811 7. Maintain Custody of City Seal 36507 8. Administer and File Oaths of Office 40814 9. Administer Oaths, Affirmations and Acknowledgments EC 10. Conduct Elections EC 11. Receive Petitions Relating to Initiative, Referendum or Recall 36001 et seq. 12. Conduct Annexation Proceedings 43623 43625 13. Countersign General Obligation Bonds 37105 14. Attest to Subpoenas 34080 15. File affidavits of Completion 1-4 i 34092 16. File Name Change Instruments for Various Purposes 17. Duties Concerning Improvement District Proceedings 18. Duties Concerning Street Vacations 19. Duties Concerning Filing of Claims 20. Give Notice of Public Hearings (Post/Publish/Written Notification) 21. Process Veterans Exemption 36520 22. File Official Bonds 43903 23. Receive Objections to Public Destruction of Bonds 81000- 91015 24. Serve as filing officer for the Political Reform Act of 1974 regulations (campaign disclosure forms and statements of economic interest) 25. Maintain Appointive List as required under Maddy Appointive List Act (For Boards and Commissions) There are many duties which are frequently the responsibility of City Clerks in both General Law and Charter Cities. A partial list follows: 1. Receive documents addressed to the City Council and/or to the City 2. Prepare agenda and city council chambers prior to meetings 3. Answer citizen inquiries made by mail, telephone or in person 4. Administer the City Clerk's Office 5. Maintain Municipal Code Book 6. Maintain tickler files 7. Receive and open bids 8. Register voters 9. Issue permits, collect fees and special taxes 10. Act as secretary to the Mayor, Council and/or City Manager or Administrator 11. Act as Secretary to various boards or commissions 12. Notarize documents - Acknowledgments 13. Accept subpoenas 14. Act as City Archivist and/or Historian 1-5 ATTACHMENT B CITY TREASURER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILIMS The office of the City Treasurer is created by the California Government Code and is an elected officer in the City of West Covina. While the duties of the City Treasurer are defined in various State statutes, the basic functions of the office are to receive and safely maintain City funds, and to sign on checks (warrants) authorized by the City Council. Historically, the City has delegated these duties to full-time City staff. Since the City Treasurer is a part-time elected position, the training and expertise found in City personnel best serve to fulfill the duties required of the. City Treasurer. It is through a coordinated effort that the City's financial functions, including the duty of the City Treasurer, are accomplished. The City Council, as the policy makers of the City, authorize creating positions to augment the duties if the City Treasurer and fulfill the obligations as defined above. As a general rule, the City: Treasurer serves a limited role of reviewing reports prepared by city staff and executing essential documents related to this office.