Report Prepared by: Steven S. Carrigan, City Manager
Title
SUBJECT: Discussion Regarding Potential Censure of Council Member Echevarria and Providing Direction to Staff Regarding Specific Allegations for a Written Censorship Resolution, if Any
REPORT IN BRIEF
Discussion and Direction Related to the Potential Censure of Council Member Echevarria.
RECOMMENDATION
If the City Council decides to proceed with a censure, provide direction to staff regarding specific allegations for a written censure resolution.
Body
DISCUSSION
Censure is an inherent power of a legislative body to express its opinion on the conduct of one of its members and allows the City Council to publicly disapprove of the conduct of one of its members. One way to think of censure is as an expression by the Council that the statements or conduct of one member does not reflect the opinion of the majority. If the Council believes a member has acted outside of the scope of his/her authority or otherwise engaged in inappropriate conduct, a censure expresses the Council's public disapproval of the conduct.
If the Council elects to censure a Council Member or other elected official, discussion and action must take place in open session. All Council discussions and the adoption of a censure resolution or other formal action requiring a Council vote must occur in open session with the vote of each member recorded.
Minimum due process standards are typically applied to a public body's censure of one of its members. While there is no specific requirements, the accepted process required for censure is (1) notice and (2) an opportunity to refute the allegations prior to a public vote to adopt the resolution.
If a Council majority decides to move forward with the process, it could direct staff to prepare a written resolution, which can be served and voted upon at a subsequent Council meeting. It is recommended that the Council discuss, identify, and provide direction to staff regarding which spec...
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