Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council Regular Meeting of October 23, 2018
Title
POLICY ON PROCEDURE FOR VOTING
ON BOARDS/COMMISSIONS APPLICANTS
(City Clerk Elaine Doerfling)
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
City Clerk recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution to establish a policy on procedure for voting on Boards/Commissions Applicants (Attachment 1).
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Background:
At the Regular Meeting of July 14, 2015, then-Councilmember Michael DiVirgilio directed staff to return (when feasible according to work flow) with a policy and procedure for voting on Boards/Commissions applicants during Council meetings. The direction was a result of having employed different voting systems at different meetings, which created confusion on multiple occasions (Attachment 2).
Past voting procedures have included:
• Voting sheet (one vacancy) - Councilmember selections are written down, collected, tallied and announced by the City Clerk.
• Voting sheet with weighted vote (multiple vacancies) - Councilmember selections are ranked by preference, collected, tallied and top selections are announced by the City Clerk.
Analysis:
Voice-voting is more efficient than using voting sheets. Councilmembers individually voice their selections while the City Clerk keeps tally and then announces the result. Under this method, there should be no tie votes unless there is one Councilmember absent, as each vote is weighted equally for a five-member Council.
If more than one applicant is being appointed, each appointment would be voted on separately. Once an applicant has been appointed, their name would be removed from the list for consideration of the remaining appointments. Considering each appointment separately rather than using the weighted vote system leaves less room for confusion as to how the votes are ranked.
When only four Councilmembers are present, a tie vote may occur. In accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, a tie vote means the motion is lost and the vote must be reconsidered. Councilmembers may choose to comment upon why they made their particular nomination prior to reconsidering the vote. The vote may be reconsidered until a majority vote is reached.
Attachments:
1. Draft Resolution for voting on Boards/Commission Applicants
2. Example of past voting - July 11, 2017 meeting video
Respectfully Submitted by: Linda Abbott, Deputy City Clerk and
Ann Yang, Executive Assistant to the City Manager
Concur: Elaine Doerfling, City Clerk
Concur: Nico De Anda-Scaia, Assistant to the City Manager
Approved: Suja Lowenthal, City Manager