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Palm Desert clerk proposes rule changes to mayoral rotation and tie-breaking
Summary
City Clerk Anthony Mejias presented proposed amendments to clarify rotation priority when a council member declines mayor or mayor pro tem and to allow voluntary deferrals in tie situations; council members asked clarifying questions and asked staff to return the item for decision in October.
City Clerk Anthony Mejias presented two proposed changes to Palm Desert's mayoral appointment rules at the City Council's Sept. 11 study session, asking the council for direction on whether to amend the current rotation and tie-breaking procedures.
Mejias, the city clerk, said the first change would clarify how Resolution 24 13 treats a council member who declines service. "If the city council agrees, the proposed amendment would state if a member declines service as mayor or mayor pro tem, that member shall be deemed to have last served as mayor in the year in which service was waived," he said, explaining staff's recommendation to move a declination to the end of the rotation for future priority.
The second proposal would add a voluntary deferral option in tie situations. Under current practice, Mejias said, ties are broken by chance (for example, drawing lots). The new option would let tied members voluntarily defer to another member while retaining their rotation priority for the following year, instead of being forced into a random tie-breaker.
Council members asked how the deferral would work in practice. An unidentified council member asked whether, in a three-way tie where one member defers and the other two draw lots, the deferred member would re-enter the next tie; Mejias confirmed the deferred member would keep priority and could participate in the next tie-breaker year. Another council member asked whether a three-way tie was imminent; Mejias identified three members who could be tied under the clarified rule (Perdeto, Nastandi and Quintanilla).
During discussion, an unidentified council member urged adding a prohibition on back-to-back mayoral service to preserve rotation fairness. Mejias said the council could add a provision preventing a council member from serving as mayor in consecutive terms and that, if that rule left no eligible candidate, the council could open nominations.
Mejias said he would bring the council's direction and any drafted amendments back to the October meeting for a formal decision. The study session closed with council members thanking staff and confirming the next meeting time. There was no formal vote on the proposed changes at the Sept. 11 session.
The clerk cited Resolution 24 13 when describing the existing rotation rule; the proposed language and the deferral option will be drafted and returned to the council for final action at the October meeting.
