Remarks by Ron deHarte
79 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 3 of 4
So we have an incredibly long list of public comment tonight. Timekeeping, who's their keeper tonight? So we have a one minute warning. It's a three minute comments. So when you get down to 30 seconds. But our first up to speak is Don Barrett.
All right. Means that is the last public comment. Please do. I don't want to be called out, so give me your card. We got to make it legit. And make it a comment, please. If you have a question, form it in the form of a comment.
Is that is that right? The city manager represents the city on a lot of. Yeah, I know that. But city council has a big role to play with regional government and representation and working with all of our local nine other cities in the Coachella Valley, primarily through.
Here's my comment. Primarily through what's called CVAG, the Coachella Valley Association of Governments.
I do not live next to him. I'm away. Okay, who's closing? Thank you, I appreciate your time.
You know, I'm not sure if Dieter was looking directly at me or directly at Jeffrey when he said no campaign speeches. Good job. Good way to start us off, Dieter. Thank you. Oh, we're already there. Look at that. This group's so good. So how did we get here? And I appreciate Dieter laid out the flow of what's gonna happen in the meeting. And really, this is an opportunity for you to share your thoughts and opinions with the working group. Council Member Bernstein is with us as the second council member participating in this event. Each of these events, we're having two council members…
Okay. All right. So we're going to open the floor if there's questions. Comments are going to come next. We've got mics. We'll come to you if you've got a question.
So as in any election, the city would pay for the election. And depending on timing, that will dictate how many offices are being elected at that time. Currently, we have three offices on the ballot, and that's costing the city of Palm Springs a certain dollar amount. So whenever this falls on the ballot, there will be a cost.
Do we have an answer on that that we can spread? Because I think like the we learned from the district to election, it was going to be $22,000. Oh, our city clerks right here. So for an example, for an example, when we were talking about holding the district to election or not run, we've also got it in the frequently asked question package.
$33,000 to $35,000 is the ballot cost. Now, if you're talking about what's the cost of adding a position on council, council members today get paid $41,000. And the mayor gets paid, I believe it's $49,000. So those... offices are currently paid at that rate. If you're adding another seat or another office, it's gonna be $41,000 or $49,000.
Sure. So any seat that's added is going to cost $41,000 for a council member's salary or $49,000 for a mayor's salary. So no one's saying there's going to be six added or seven added. That's what we're getting feedback from you if you'd like to see seven versus six versus five.
Yeah I think it's a great idea so maybe and and for the working group their summary you know to counsel on that report should include that so I think that's an excellent thing for the working group to make sure that whatever the findings are or the feedback is from the community a dollar value can be assigned to what the community is asking yeah okay there was a question over here or
That's in the FAQ, but we can touch on it.
So the numbers, the figures that you see in the FAQs, the city staff has put together you know, an estimate on what would the potential cost be to remodel and create another office within the five or six offices that exist. So we have to split an office, make them a little larger. We did that years ago when we added the districts. All the current council offices were made smaller to accommodate more people and an admin person. So the staff has estimated that at a one-time cost of $100,000 to $150,000. That's a one-time cost. The city will spend that. We've got to change offices for admin or…
So Jenny shared a couple. There's a strong mayoral form of government. And the strong mayor is the person who really becomes your city manager. So you wouldn't have that necessarily a city manager position. You may have a COO position or another assistant city manager that works with that mayor who is the strong mayor. If you are not even looking or going down that road, The current structure with the mayor as we have it today, the city manager has three assistant city managers or deputies, and then the city council manages, so five people manage the city manager.
Under under the elected mayor structure as other cities have done it that we're talking about it's all Council members, so that includes the mayor let's do it large would supervise the city manager, thank you.
I can't answer them for them, but there was a committee, a group of folks in the community that came together to bring a ballot initiative forward to create an elected mayor at large position.
Yeah, but I don't know the specifics. They do have a website.
So what folks say the benefit is it gives more representation and opportunity to different districts within the city to have a mayor that rotates. So your mayor isn't representing just one district at one year. that they rotate and each district that you elect, your district council member, will have an opportunity to represent your district and the city as mayor from time to time, every five years. And with that comes opportunity for people who may not be able to be elected in a citywide election but they can be elected in a district-wide election which is more neighborhood-focused. So those…
Or her or her so that's you know that feedback is good, so we raise that feedback and the Community of the working group here's that so that could be something that comes back in the report.
It was part of a wide community conversation when the districts were being formed. But the community didn't vote to go to a rotating mayor system like in 1982 when the community voted to elect their mayor at large and they elected Frank Bogart and then a handful of other notables. So the council's the one who decided. During this restructure with going to five districts that it would be best to do a rotation of mayors and one or another question on with the cv with the California voters rights act and CVRA
Yeah, I think what's important is that we recognize that in California, there is a solid emphasis and push to protect the voting rights of all of our citizens. So the CDRA, no matter what the Supreme Court has done, California is already looking at how do they protect the provisions in the California Voting Rights Act to ensure we can protect that minority representation. It's changing almost every day. Even Newsom signed a bill just a few days ago that strengthens some of the teeth in the California Voting Rights Act to help balance what the Supreme Court said. Palmdale actually has on the…
Well, that's a good question, and it's another question for our working group. We didn't change the charter when we went to a rotating mayor, even though the charter says that the city will elect a mayor at large. So would an effect happen the attorneys said the CBRA directive superseded the city's charter. So even though our charter said you have to elect your mayor at large, CBRA superseded it, and we have an asterisk now in our charter that says this happened in 2019, the charter says this, but CBRA says this, so that's why we are electing, rotating our mayor.
You get an extra, I'm saying $8,000, $9,000. Jeffrey, do you know? Yeah so you the the mayor gets paid a little bit more than the council member council members 41 000 a year and and I believe the mayor is something 47 48 49. Oh your comment will be after this we're just doing questions right now I know raise it as a question yeah can you phrase it as a question do you have a question sir I see you too we're coming yeah go
He was elected at large. Mayor Moon was elected at large.