Interpretations of Robert’s Rule of Order also created confusion, he noted.A Brown Act change in 1996 further complicated the issue.Vice Mayor Gabino Aguirre asked if previous council appointments would have to be reviewed and Berger noted that a 90-day statue of limitations applied in almost all cases. The appointment of John Turturro to the Planning Commission within the last 90 days could be revisited or left unchallenged.The mayor’s authority on appointments is still limited, said Berger, and although the president appoints ambassadors the action still needs Senate confirmation.Appointment systems vary from city to city; councilmembers can appoint one applicant each to run concurrently with their own term as an example.“There are policy decisions that need to be quantified,” said Berger.
A decade wrong: Council may implement appointment moratorium
August 27, 2003
Santa Paula City Council
A moratorium may be imposed on council appointments to the Santa Paula Housing Authority, Recreation and Planning commissions until the appointment process can finalized and legally adopted.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesA moratorium may be imposed on council appointments to the Santa Paula Housing Authority, Recreation and Planning commissions until the appointment process can finalized and legally adopted.City Councilman Rick Cook suggested that the council consider such a moratorium after it was discovered that the council had been making appointments that did not adhere to the city’s municipal law for about a decade.Santa Paula Housing Authority Chairwoman Flo Zakrajshek said “it used to be that any council member could make a recommendation to the mayor for the housing authority,” but the process started to warp in the early 1990s.“Then when Murray Warden was interim city manager,” the process and timing of appointment terms was changed. “And, it hasn’t been straightened out since. . .but I’m sure now that they’ll come up with a satisfactory way to handle it.”During the selection process for the latest round of Planning Commissioners City Attorney Karl Berger discovered an inconsistency in use for about 10 years.“I’m surprised to see what the council has been doing is inconsistent with what the code states,” noted Berger at the Aug. 11th meeting.In 1993, the mayor and a randomly selected council member served as an appointment committee who would recommend candidates to the full council, which often were acted upon.
