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Soledad council considers merging and shrinking Measure Y and S oversight committees to fix quorum problems
Summary
Staff told the council that Measure Y and Measure S citizen oversight committees have struggled to obtain quorum; options discussed included merging the committees, reducing Measure S membership from nine to five, changing term limits, offering a small per-meeting stipend and improving onboarding; council asked staff to return with ordinance and procedural options.
City staff told the council that both Measure Y and Measure S oversight committees have experienced persistent quorum problems, canceled meetings and member turnover that prevented regular oversight of how voter-approved funds are spent.
"We only have two eligible members" on both committees in recent months, City Manager Megan Hunter said, describing multiple canceled meetings and term expirations. Staff outlined several options: return Measure S from nine members to five, merge the two oversight bodies into a single board that "wears two hats" when reviewing each measure, shorten or remove term limits, provide a modest per-meeting stipend (the planning commission stipend was cited as a local precedent), and invest in onboarding and outreach to sustain participation.
Councilmembers spoke in favor of several options — including a merger and reducing membership counts — and emphasized clearer onboarding and outreach to attract applicants (including students and youth council members for community-hour credit). City Attorney confirmed that reverting Measure S to a five-member board or combining committees would be legally feasible under current ordinance language, but any formal changes would require returning with ordinance language and procedural steps.
No ordinance changes were approved this evening; staff will return with a proposed package of changes and recommended next steps (a timeframe of July was discussed for a follow-up report and possible action).
