BYLAWS
COUNTY MAYORS CONFERENCE
AND CITY SELECTION COMMITTEE
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND BYLAWS
ARTICLE I – NAME
This organization is an unincorporated, non-profit association and shall be known as the Contra Costa County Mayors Conference/City Selection Committee.
ARTICLE II – PURPOSE
SECTION I: The mission of the Contra Costa County Mayors Conference (hereinafter “Conference”) is to:
a. Act as the appointing authority for the purpose of making appointments to various statutory bodies, regional agencies, advisory groups, and joint powers authorities in conformance with the requirements of applicable laws and agreements.
b. Promote cooperation and good working relationships among all cities and towns (hereinafter “cities”) in Contra Costa County.
c. Promote cooperation and good working relationships among the cities and the county government of Contra Costa and its Board of Supervisors as well as all special districts, agencies, and joint powers authority organizations serving residents of Contra Costa County.
d. Support the League of California Cities in its core mission of promoting local control by preventing State and Federal pre-emption of city responsibilities and functions and by promoting legislation beneficial to cities.
e. Improve municipal services through education, interchange of information, inter-agency cooperation, and by assisting in the creation of cooperative and joint powers agreements, as appropriate.
f. Work to ensure that Contra Costa residents enjoy the best possible environment in which to live, work, and prosper.
SECTION II: The mission of the City Selection Committee (hereinafter “CSC”) is to appoint city representatives to boards, commissions, and agencies as required by law.
SECTION III: Limitations on Conference and CSC activities:
The Conference and the CSC shall not be used as a platform for special interest groups or individuals. Only ballot measures and State and Federal legislation directly affecting cities shall be presented to the Conference for endorsement or opposition. Requests from groups or individuals to have an item placed on the Conference or CSC (as applicable) agenda shall be evaluated based upon the criteria in this article. Such requests may be reviewed by the Chair in consultation with the Executive Director and may be referred by the Chair to the Executive Committee for further review. The Conference and the CSC shall not support or endorse any candidate for public office.
ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP
SECTION I: The membership of the Conference and the CSC shall be the incorporated cities and towns (hereinafter “city” or “cities”) in Contra Costa County.
SECTION II: At any business meeting the voting members of the Conference shall be the mayor of each member city or, in the absence of the mayor, the vice mayor or other member of the city council authorized to represent the mayor. The voting members of the CSC shall consist of the mayor of each city within Contra Costa County. When a mayor is unable to attend a meeting of the CSC, the mayor shall designate another member of the city’s legislative body to attend and vote at the meeting as the mayor’s representative. The members of the Conference and the CSC shall serve without compensation.
ARTICLE IV – ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS
SECTION I: The January meetings serve as the Conference and the CSC reorganization meetings.
SECTION II: The election of a Chair and Vice Chair of the Conference and of the CSC shall be held each year at the regular January meetings. The Chair and Vice Chair of each organization shall take office at the conclusion of the January meetings and shall serve a one-year term of office or until disqualified or until respective successors qualify.
SECTION III: The Chair and Vice Chair must each be an elected member of a city legislative body. The Chair of the Conference must be either a current mayor of a city or have served as Vice Chair of the Conference during the previous year. The Vice Chair of the Conference may be either a mayor or council member of a city. The Chair and Vice Chair of the CSC must each be a current mayor of one of the cities. In the event that either the Chair or Vice Chair of either organization ceases to be a member of the legislative body of a city, or if the Chair or Vice Chair of the CSC ceases to be the mayor of a city, the respective office shall be declared vacant and the nomination and election procedures set forth in Section IV of this article will be followed.
SECTION IV: For the office of Conference Chair, any mayor or the current Conference Vice Chair may place their self in nomination by submitting a written self-nomination to the Executive Director. Similarly, for the office of Conference Vice Chair, any mayor or council member may place their self in nomination by submitting a written self-nomination to the Executive Director. For the offices of CSC Chair and Vice Chair, any mayor may place their self in nomination by submitting a written self-nomination to the Executive Director. Further, any mayor desiring to nominate a qualified candidate for Chair or Vice Chair of either organization may submit a nomination in writing to the Executive Director. All such nominations shall be submitted no later than 15 days prior to the January meeting. The Executive Director shall provide a copy of all written nominations to all mayors no later than 10 days before the January meeting. If nominations for Chair and Vice Chair of either organization have been received prior to the deadline, then nominations will be closed and no additional nominations will be taken at the January meeting. If no nominations are received for a position, then nominations from the floor for a candidate qualified for that position will be accepted at the January meeting.
In the case of a special election because an officer is no longer able to serve, the election of a replacement officer will be conducted as soon as practical and consistent with the normal nomination and election procedures pursuant to which the vacancy is announced at one meeting, nominees are solicited, and the election is held at a subsequent meeting.
SECTION V: The duties of the Chair and Vice Chair of each organization are as follows:
a. The duties of the Chair are to preside at all meetings, maintain order, decide questions of parliamentary procedure, call special meetings as stipulated in these bylaws, and other such duties as are usually incident to such office and as elsewhere herein provided. For the Conference only, the Chair will appoint the Executive Committee, appoint other committees authorized by the membership, and designate the chair of each such committee.
b. The duties of the Vice Chair are to perform the duties of the Chair if the Chair is absent or unable to serve or if the office of Chair becomes vacant pursuant to Article IV, Section III. If the office of Chair becomes vacant before the expiration of the term of office, the Vice Chair shall become Acting Chair until the next appropriate meeting of the Conference, at which time a new Chair shall be elected following the procedures outlined in Article IV, Section IV. If the Vice Chair is elected Chair, a new Vice Chair shall be similarly elected.
SECTION VI: The city attorney of each Chair’s city shall be available to and through the Chair for advice pertaining to Conference or CSC matters.
ARTICLE V - MEETINGS
SECTION I: The Conference shall hold a regular meeting on the first Thursday of each month unless such meeting is rescheduled in advance to avoid a conflict with a holiday or other event that can reasonably be expected to create a conflict for a majority of mayors. Regular meetings of the CSC may be held concurrent with the Mayors Conference meetings as necessary to conduct business of the CSC. Special meetings of Conference shall be called upon request in writing to the Conference Chair by five or more member mayors. The Chair shall determine the date, time, place, and agenda of each such special meeting. Special meetings of the CSC shall be called as stipulated in Article VIII of these bylaws.
SECTION II: The hosting of regular meetings shall be rotated among the member cities. Cities may trade meeting dates between and among themselves for local convenience as long as the Executive Director and membership are notified in a timely fashion. A schedule of anticipated meeting dates and locations will be presented for approval each year.
· The business meeting shall be concluded prior to the serving of dinner or of alcoholic beverages.
· Formal entertainment shall not be a part of regularly scheduled Conference meetings.
· A dinner price limit will be established annually as a part of the budget process.
· Cities are discouraged from presenting gifts or favors to attendees.
SECTION III:
a. Conference. The voting delegates of a majority of the member cities shall constitute a quorum of the Conference for the transaction of business. When a quorum is not present, after any scheduled informational program and information-sharing items are concluded, any Conference business actions shall be postponed to a subsequent time and place as determined by the Chair and the meeting shall be adjourned.
b. CSC. Representatives of a majority of the number of cities within a county entitled to representation on the CSC shall constitute a quorum of the CSC; provided, however, that a majority vote of the representatives of the number of cities within a county entitled to representation on the CSC is necessary to appoint representatives to boards, commissions, or agencies. Whenever a quorum is not present at a meeting of any CSC, the meeting shall be postponed or adjourned to a subsequent time and place as determined by the Chair.
SECTION IV: The agenda for each Conference or CSC meeting shall be closed and posted on the Conference web site and mailed or emailed to each mayor and the respective Chairs and Vice Chairs no later than 10 days prior to each meeting date.
SECTION V: All business meetings of the Conference and CSC shall be open to the public and subject to the provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act (California Government Code 54950 et seq.).
SECTION VI: The most recent edition of Roberts Rules of Order shall constitute parliamentary authority for the Conference and the CSC unless a motion to suspend their use is approved by a two-thirds vote of the delegates at any business meeting of the Conference or the CSC.
ARTICLE VI – PROCEDURES AND VOTING
SECTION I: The business of the Conference and the CSC shall ordinarily be taken up for consideration in the following order unless a change is made by the Chair.
Call Conference to order and roll call
Informational program
Business of the CSC (if any at a particular meeting)
Call CSC meeting to order
Verification of CSC quorum
Approval of CSC minutes
Old business
New business
Public comment
Adjourn CSC meeting
Reconvene Conference meeting
Approval of Conference minutes
Old business
New business
Reports and comments from elected and appointed officials
Public comment
Adjourn Conference meeting
SECTION II: Provided a quorum is present, a majority vote of voting delegates present shall be required for the passage of all Conference and CSC (as applicable) matters unless otherwise provided for in these bylaws; provided, however, that with respect to the CSC, a majority vote of the representatives of the number of cities within a county entitled to representation on the CSC is necessary to appoint representatives to boards, commissions, or agencies. Absentee voting shall not be permitted. A vote to abstain shall be construed as a vote to abide by the will of the majority voting. A vote or opinion expressed by any delegate shall not be deemed to be representative of the majority opinion of the delegate’s city council unless the delegate so advises the Conference on the record. With respect to the CSC, when a mayor is unable to attend a meeting of a city selection committee, the mayor shall designate another member of the city’s legislative body to attend and vote at the CSC meeting as the mayor’s representative.
ARTICLE VII – CONFERENCE COMMITTEES
SECTION I: The Conference shall have an Executive Committee and, as deemed necessary and approved by the Conference, the Conference may also have special committees. Members of the Executive Committee or special committees shall serve without compensation.
SECTION II: Committees shall be permitted the flexibility to act on behalf of the Conference provided decisions are made within policy guidelines established by the Conference and, when deemed appropriate or necessary by the Chair, provided committee actions are ratified by the Conference at the next regular Conference meeting.
SECTION III: The standing members of the Executive Committee shall be the current Chair and Vice Chair of the Conference and the two most recent past Chairs of the Conference who continue in city office. In the event the CSC Chair is not the same person as the Conference Chair, the CSC Chair shall also be a member of the Executive Committee. In addition and to provide for broad representation from the membership, the Conference Chair may appoint up to three at-large members to the Executive Committee for one-year terms. To serve subsequent terms, at-large appointees must be re-appointed by the new Chair of the Conference. At-large appointees are not to be considered automatically “slated” to become Vice Chair of the Conference.
SECTION IV: The Executive Committee has the following responsibilities: To serve as the Budget and Finance Committee of the Conference; to conduct in October the annual review of the Executive Director; to manage, when necessary, the recruitment and recommendation to the Conference of a new Executive Director; and to provide advice to the Executive Director and Chair on programs for Conference meetings. As the Budget and Finance Committee, the Executive Committee shall review and recommend a Conference budget for approval by the Conference no later than November each year and shall review and recommend to the full Conference any additional expenditure not included in the budget.
SECTION V: From time to time, the Conference may authorize the formation of a special committee for a specific purpose and period of time. The Conference Chair shall appoint the members to any special committee. When so authorized and appointed, a special committee shall perform the functions specifically assigned. Such committees shall not terminate upon the annual reorganization of the Conference and shall continue in existence until discharged by the Conference Chair. Any special committee shall report its findings or actions to the Conference in writing; however, progress reports may be presented orally at any appropriate meeting and noted in the relevant meeting minutes.
ARTICLE VIII – CITY SELECTION COMMITTEE
SECTION I: Government Code, Section 50270, et. seq., as amended from time to time, governs the CSC.
SECTION II: The following rules and regulations are adopted as required by Government Code, Section 50270, et. seq., as amended from time to time. As they relate to the CSC, in the event of any conflict between these rules and regulations and the Government Code Section 50270, et. seq., the latter shall control.
1. MEMBERS AND OFFICERS:
a. The membership of the Contra Costa City Selection Committee (CSC) shall consist of the mayor of each city within Contra Costa County. When a mayor is unable to attend a meeting of the CSC, the mayor shall designate another member of the city’s legislative body to attend and vote at the meeting as the mayor’s representative.
b. The County Clerk or the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors or a deputy of either of these officers shall act as the permanent recording secretary for CSC appointments.
c. The members of the CSC shall serve without compensation.
2. MEETINGS:
a. The CSC Chair may call a special meeting of the CSC at any time.
b. The CSC Chair shall call a special meeting of the CSC upon the written request of 50% of the mayors in the county. Such special meetings shall be called and held within 60 days after receipt of the written request.
c. When a position on a board, commission, or agency that is filled by the CSC falls vacant, the CSC shall meet to fill that vacancy within 60 days after such vacancy occurs.
3. NOTICE OF MEETINGS:
a. On the printed agenda of the CSC meeting prior to the meeting at which an appointment is to be made, there shall be printed an announcement of the meeting of the CSC, the position to be filled, the term of the appointment, any special qualifications required, and the date for filing a nomination or a statement of willingness to serve.
b. The Executive Director shall notify the County recording secretary of a pending CSC meeting. The recording secretary, in turn, shall follow the requirements of Section 50277 and 50278 of the Government Code as follows:
I. Within three weeks prior to the date fixed for a special meeting of the CSC, the executive director shall notify the recording secretary of the date, time, and place of the special meeting.
II. At least two weeks prior to the date of any meeting of the CSC, the executive director of the CSC shall give notice of the meeting to each member of the CSC. The executive director shall also give reasonable notice to each member of the CSC of the time, date, and place to which a meeting of the CSC is continued.
III. The Executive Director shall promptly report actions and approved minutes of the CSC to the County recording secretary.
4. PROCEDURES FOR NOMINATION AND VOTING:
CSC nomination and voting procedures shall be as established in these bylaws.
ARTICLE IX – CONFERENCE/CSC APPOINTMENTS
SECTION I: The Conference/CSC serves to appoint representatives to various statutory bodies, regional agencies, advisory groups, and joint powers authorities (hereinafter “agency”). A Conference/CSC appointee must be an elected member of the legislative body of a member of the Conference/CSC unless otherwise stipulated by law. No appointee may serve beyond the expiration of their elected term of office. The terms of office and any special qualifications of Conference/CSC appointees are set by each agency or as fixed by law. A good faith effort will be made to ensure that appointments appropriately represent all parts of the county.
SECTION II: Any qualified candidate seeking a Conference/CSC appointment may place their self in nomination by submitting to the Executive Director a one-page self-nomination listing their qualifications no later than 15 days prior to the Conference/CSC meeting at which the appointment is scheduled to occur. Similarly, a mayor may nominate a qualified candidate for a Conference/CSC appointment by submitting a written nomination to the Executive Director outlining the candidate’s qualifications by the deadline date noted above. Such nomination will be presumed to be a statement that the nominee is willing to serve. The Executive Director shall provide a copy of all written nominations to the mayors no later than 10 days before the scheduled election.
If written nominations are received by the deadline, no additional nominations will be accepted from the floor at the election meeting. If no nominations for an appointment are received prior to the 15-day deadline, any voting delegate may make a nomination from the floor. Such nominations will be accepted only if the nominee is qualified and agrees to accept the appointment.
SECTION III: If a quorum is present, a representative shall be appointed from among the nominees by vote of a majority of the delegates.
SECTION IV: Following approval of a Conference/CSC appointment, the Executive Director shall notify in writing both the appointee and the agency to which the appointment is made. Included with this notice of appointment shall be an excerpt from these bylaws covering Conference/CSC policies and guidelines for appointees. Acceptance of the appointment is deemed to be a commitment to the guidelines and an understanding that the appointee may be removed at the will of the appointing authority for a substantial breach of the commitment. In addition, for CSC appointments, the relevant portions of Article VIII, Section II shall apply.
SECTION V: To ensure effective representation of the Conference/CSC, an appointee is expected to:
a. Maintain regular attendance at meetings of the agency to which appointed. Regular attendance is understood to be no less than 70% participation at both meetings and relevant committee assignments. The Conference/CSC will consider three consecutive unexcused absences cause for removal.
b. When an alternate representative is provided, if possible, notify the alternate in advance of an expected absence and defer to the alternate’s vote.
c. Prepare for agency meetings with the necessary study and preparation required to serve effectively. Consistent lack of preparation deprives the Conference/CSC of effective representation and is cause for removal.
d. Follow the policy positions of the Conference/CSC and avoid personal points of view or conflicts of interest by: 1) Abiding faithfully to policy positions taken by the Conference/CSC and voting in conformity with such policy positions. If an appointee feels unable to support a policy position of the Conference/CSC, the appointee shall immediately inform the Conference or CSC Chair and submit their formal resignation for consideration by the Conference or CSC at the next regular meeting. 2) In the absence of relevant policy positions expressed by the Conference/CSC, voting according to their best judgment as a representative of all Contra Costa cities. As a rule, countywide impact should outweigh individual city considerations. 3) When voting on matters where a single-city, personal, or private interest may exist, openly declaring a perceived conflict of interest and abstaining from voting. 4) Never asserting, directly or by inference, that an individual viewpoint, opinion, or action is the position of the Conference/CSC unless the Conference/CSC has deliberated and taken a formal position on the matter.
e. Report annually, at a minimum, and preferably more frequently, to the Conference/CSC on matters of importance to the cities in general.
SECTION VI: At any time, on written notice to the Chair of the respective appointing organization by five or more member city mayors, the question of removal of an appointee shall be placed on the appropriate agenda. Such notice must appear on the agenda of the meeting in the month immediately before the date when action shall be taken. The mayors requesting such removal shall provide a written statement explaining the reasons for the proposed removal, which the Executive Director will provide as a part of the agenda for the meeting at which it is proposed to take action. Such action to remove an appointee requires a roll-call majority vote. For CSC appointees, all such notices and action must be at meetings of the CSC.
ARTICLE X – BUDGET AND DUES
The Conference budget year shall be the calendar year. The Executive Director shall present a proposed budget to the Executive Committee no later than October of each year. The Executive Committee shall review the proposed budget and recommend a budget to be adopted by the full Conference no later than November of each year.
Upon adoption of the budget by the Conference, bills shall be prepared and sent to each city, pro-rating operating costs on the basis of the latest available population estimates for each city as provided by the State. These bills shall also incorporate the cost of two meals for each city for each of twelve meetings and become due and payable upon receipt.
The Executive Director shall provide periodic reports of actual expenditures compared to the budget to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall review and pass upon any additional expenditures not provided for in the budget.
ARTICLE XI – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SECTION I: The Conference may contract with a qualified individual to perform the duties of Executive Director of the Conference/CSC.
SECTION II: The duties of the Executive Director shall include but not be limited to:
· Arranging for suitable meeting places and maintaining liaison with host cities.
· Preparing and distributing agendas, minutes, and other materials pertinent to the business of the Conference/CSC.
· Maintaining records of the Conference/CSC.
· Maintaining liaison with other groups, organizations, and agencies whose interests and actions are important to the Conference/CSC.
· Preparing an annual budget for adoption by the Conference no later than its November meeting each year, billing for and collecting the dues to support the budget, and accounting for the budget to the Executive Committee and Conference.
· Arranging monthly programs in consultation with the Executive Committee.
· Preparing and presenting to the Conference an annual meetings schedule.
· Maintaining a web site announcing the monthly meetings and other appropriate matters, including the Conference/CSC bylaws.
· Communicating Conference/CSC appointments to all appropriate agencies and to the appointees. Maintaining a current roster of such appointments on the web site.
· Maintaining on the web site a roster of elected officials for the Cities and other public agencies representing Contra Costa citizens.
· Serving as a deputy County Clerk of the Board of Supervisors for purposes of recording meetings of the CSC.
· Other duties as assigned.
SECTION III: The Executive Committee shall recommend appointment of the Executive Director. A majority vote of Conference delegates shall be required to appoint or terminate the services of the Executive Director.
SECTION IV: The Executive Committee shall undertake a performance review of the Executive Director in October each year.
ARTICLE XII – AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS
These bylaws may be amended from time to time by a majority vote of the delegates at a regular Conference meeting, only after such amendment has been proposed at a regular meeting and carried over until the next regular meeting for final action.
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Originally Adopted: 1951
Amended: 07/03/1986;
06/06/1991;
02/02/1994;
11/02/1995;
03/01/2001;
10/05/2017;
The above amended and restated bylaws were introduced on December 5, 2019 and adopted on January 9, 2020 by both the Contra Costa Mayors Conference by unanimous vote of the 18 city and town delegates present and voting (Orinda absent on 1/9/2020) and the Contra Costa City Selection Committee by unanimous vote of the 17 city and town delegates present and voting (Orinda absent and San Ramon not having a mayor or mayor-appointed alternate present on 1/9/2020).
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