Recommend the City Council:

1. Adopt Resolution NO. 20-247 calling a General Municipal Election be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020; requesting the Placer County Board of Supervisors consolidate the election with any other election conducted on said date; allow for arguments and rebuttals; elect councilmembers in Districts One, Three and Five; and request election services from the Placer County Clerk/Registrar of Voters; and
2. Adopt Resolution NO. 20-248 to 20-256  approving measure language for inclusion on the November 3, 2020 General Municipal Election ballot.

City Councilmember Election

Roseville Charter Section 6.01 requires municipal elections for the selection of officers and for such other purposes as the City Council may prescribe, and states such elections shall be held in the city on the date specified by the State of California.  The section further states the elections shall be conducted in each even-numbered year.  Said election scheduled for November 3, 2020 shall be held to vote on proposed charter amendments approved by the City Council, and to fill vacancies for the following city councilmembers whose terms will expire.

The City Clerk Department will provide election packets for Roseville residents interested in running for City Council beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, July 13, 2020. The election packets will include nomination papers, campaign finance reporting forms, candidates statement of qualifications, and an explanatory election guide for candidates.  The deadline to file election materials in order to be considered a candidate is Friday, August 7, 2020.  If an incumbent does not seek re-election, an extended candidate filing period could cause the deadline be moved to August 12, 2020.

A candidate for City Council must be a citizen of the United States, be 18 years of age, reside in the district, and be a registered voter in the district, in which the candidate seeks election at the time nomination papers are issued. 

Before accepting a campaign contribution, a candidate must file a form with the City Clerk accepting the campaign contribution limit. Candidates are limited to campaign contributions of $500.00 from any single source.

Proposed Ballot Measures to Be Submitted to the Voters

Eight ballot measures were considered and approved by the Roseville City Council at the June 3, 2020 City Council meeting as follows:

• Shall the City Charter be amended to:  (1) bring Sections 1.05 and 7.19 into compliance with State law; (2) bring Sections 2.14 and 8.07 into compliance with the Roseville Municipal Code; (3) bring Sections 4.01 and 4.06 into compliance with the City’s existing practices; (4) repeal Section 7.23; and (5) bring Sections 2.02 and 3.01 into compliance with Chapter 2.06 of the Roseville Municipal Code regarding district-based municipal elections? 

• Shall Section 2.02 of the City Charter be amended to specify that a partial term on the Council of less than 2 years does not count as a term for purposes of term limits but that a combination of an appointment followed by an election, which together exceeds 2 years, to a vacant Council seat shall count as a term for purposes of term limits?

• Shall Section 2.03 of the City Charter be amended to:  (1) outline the process for the selection of the next vice mayor; (2) establish a district-based rotational process for the seating of the mayor and vice mayor starting in 2022: and (3) specify that the term of the mayor and vice mayor is two years?

• Shall Section 4.02 of the City Charter be amended to:  (1) allow special meetings of the Council to also be called by the City manager or City attorney consistent with the City’s existing practices; (2) require 72 hours’ notice for special meetings if feasible instead of 24 hours’ notice; and (3) allow notice of special meetings to be served on councilmembers electronically?

• Shall Section 7.21 of the City Charter be amended to:  (1) raise the sealed bid limit from $19,500 to $75,000; (2) eliminate the annual inflationary or deflationary adjustment to the bid limit; and (3) allow bids to be published on-line consistent with the City’s existing practices?

• Shall provisions of Article 8 of the City Charter regarding personnel administration be amended as follows:  (1)  Shall Section 8.01 of the City Charter be amended to address filling vacancies on the personnel board and to clarify that an appointment to an unexpired term shall not count towards the term limit consistent with the City’s existing practices? (2)  Shall Section 8.04 of the City Charter be amended to allow for the adoption of personnel rules to provide for waivers or modifications of the formal applicant examination process?

• Shall provisions of Article 10 of the City Charter regarding municipally-owned utilities be amended as follows:  (1)  Shall Section 10.01 of the City Charter be amended to prohibit the City from providing retail potable water to new service areas outside the City limits after January 1, 2021? (2)  Shall Section 10.02 of the City Charter be amended to remove from the Council the authority to delegate to the City manager the ability to establish nonresidential electric rates and to clarify that the Council may establish such rates by ordinance?

• Shall Article 11 of the City Charter be added establishing the Roseville Independent Redistricting Commission and vesting in the commission the exclusive authority to redraw Council electoral district boundaries after every federal decennial census?

Additional Measure for City Council Consideration

The City Council requested the following measure be brought back for consideration at the June 17, 2020 City Council meeting. The City Council is requested to consider a percentage of vote necessary to fill a vacancy.

Shall Section 3.09 of the City Charter regarding councilmember vacancies be repealed and replaced as follows: (1) To add in as a grounds for vacancy when a councilmember moves out of their electoral district in order to come into compliance with Chapter 2.06 of the Roseville Municipal Code regarding district-based municipal elections; (2) To add in an anticipated vacancy provision to allow Council to initiate the process to fill a vacancy prior to the actual vacancy occurring; (3) To add in provisions outlining the process for filling vacancies on the Council in the following order of priority: (a) the district candidate who received the next highest number of votes if they received at least ______ of votes cast; (b) appointment by the Council; or (c) election; (4) To specify that a person seated on the Council without an election shall hold office until the next feasible election; (5)  To specify that a person elected to fill a vacant seat shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term; (6)  To specify that vacancies for mayor and vice mayor seats are filled by advancing the normal rotation for such positions?

Written Arguments and Rebuttals

Pursuant to California Elections Code §9282, for measures placed on the ballot by the legislative body, primary arguments in favor or opposition may be filed in the following order:

1. The entire City Council; or  

2. A member or members of the City Council authorized by that body; or

3. An individual voter who is eligible to vote on the measures, or a bona fide association of citizens, or a combination of voters and associations;

4. Chair of Charter Review Commission – customary to provide select arguments in favor of issues recommended by majority vote of Charter Review Commission; and

5. Primary arguments shall not exceed 300 words.

Filing Period:

• Opens July 20
• Closes August 7
• 10 day examination period follows

Pursuant to California Elections Code §9285, rebuttal arguments to primary arguments may be filed in the following order:

1. The author or a majority of the authors of primary arguments may submit a rebuttal argument; and

2. Rebuttal arguments shall not exceed 250 words.

Filing Period:

• Opens August 7

• Closes August 17
• 10 day examination period follows

Placer County Clerk/Registrar of Voters Services

California Elections Code §10002 authorizes a governing body of any city to request the Board of Supervisors of the County to permit the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters to render specified service to the city and to assist in conducting an election.   Placer County is requested to render specified services as follows:

1. Provide copies of all district maps and additional maps the City requires; and
2. Provide one set of voter lists (district/precinct/street order) at the close of registration; and
3. Print and mail sample ballots and official ballots; and
4. Provide and deliver all precinct supplies; and
5. Provide information for publication of polls and central counting; and
6. Issue absentee ballots; and
7. Publish all required election notices; and
8. Count ballots; and
9. Provide statement of vote; and
10. Verify nomination signatures.

City Clerk Services

Per Charter Section 2.13, the City Clerk Department will conduct all aspects of elections not specified above, including, but not limited to:

1. Issue and file candidate nomination papers and election mandated paperwork; and
2. Proof sample/official ballots; and
3. Collect all campaign finance forms required by the Fair Political Practices Commission and the City of Roseville; and
4. Process argument and rebuttals; and
5. Prepare resolution canvassing voted to be adopted by the City Council.

Cost estimates for the 2020 election and associated services is $165,000. This amount is only an estimate as the City will pay a cost equal to the amount Placer County charges depending on the amount of items on the ballot for all state, district and jurisdictions within Placer County. The amount is also dependent on the number of Roseville district candidates appearing on the ballot and the measures the City Council places on the ballot.  Costs for the election are included in the City Clerk Elections 2020/2021 budget, set for adoption at the June 17, 2020 City Council meeting.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) does not apply to activities that will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, or is otherwise not considered a project as defined by CEQA Statute §21065 and CEQA State Guidelines §15060(c)(3) and §15378. Calling a General Municipal Elections meets the above criteria and is not subject to CEQA. No additional environmental review is required for this action.

With regard to the Charter Amendments, staff has reviewed the proposed project pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15002(k) (General Concepts), the three-step process for deciding if a project is subject to CEQA, and if so which CEQA document to prepare. Then subsequently based on that, reviewed the proposed project relative to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 (Review for Exemption), which  identifies procedures for determining if a project is exempt from CEQA. With respect to the proposed project (Charter Amendments), the activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. The proposed changes to the City Charter are strictly administrative and financial in nature, and it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed project may have a significant adverse effect on the environment. Thus, the action is considered to be exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption).

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Dominick Casey, City Manager