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Cathedral City staff recommends keeping current commission chair selection; council signals no change
Summary
City staff briefed the Cathedral City Council on how commission chairs and vice chairs are chosen, comparing Cathedral City code with other Coachella Valley cities and recommending no immediate change; council members expressed consensus to leave the current practice in place.
City staff told the Cathedral City Council on Feb. 12 that the city’s municipal code and practice for selecting commission chairs and vice chairs are consistent with most other Coachella Valley cities and recommended no immediate change.
The presentation, requested by the council in November, reviewed Cathedral City Municipal Code Chapter 2.06 and noted that commissioners are appointed to three-year terms, may serve two consecutive terms, and that commissions elect their own chair and vice chair by a vote of commission members. Staff reported that Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Desert Hot Springs, Rancho Mirage, Coachella and La Quinta use the same member-vote approach; Indian Wells and Indio use seniority-based or rotation systems.
"This report is for information and discussion only," a staff member said, summarizing the review and noting that a change would require a municipal code amendment and staff and legal time.
The staff presentation listed eight commissions that receive council appointments: the Planning Commission, Architectural Review Committee, Historic Preservation Commission, Parks and Community Events Commission, Public Arts Commission, Finance Advisory Committee, Mobile Home Fair Practices Commission and the Board of Appeals. Staff noted one commission had not met since July 2024 because of lack of membership and quorum, which prevented following regular procedures.
Council members who spoke during the study session said they saw no problem with the current method. One council member argued that commissioners, most of whom are volunteers, should be empowered to select their own leadership so commissions can choose members who are willing and effective in leadership roles. "If it's not broke, don't fix it," another council member said.
Council discussion also touched on practical limits: commissioners are advisory for most bodies, with duties differing across commissions; the Planning Commission carries greater decision-making responsibilities and benefits from stable leadership. Staff told the council that in most historical cases commissions selected chairs and vice chairs by unanimous vote; a few instances showed split votes or separate votes for chair and vice chair.
No formal direction or ordinance change was adopted at the Feb. 12 study session. Staff said that if the council wished to change the appointment process, the city attorney would need to prepare a municipal code amendment and staff time would be required to implement it.
Background: staff said the council approved its current mayor/mayor pro tem rotation at the first meeting in December each year and that council members appoint commission members, with the full council ratifying appointments. Staff also identified Andy Firestein, Development and Community Development Director, and John Corella, Public Works Director, as regular staff liaisons to commissions.
The study session item was presented as an informational review; the council left the matter without initiating a code change.
