Huntington Beach City Council Special Meeting on Charter Amendments – September 21, 2023

The Huntington Beach City Council held a special meeting on Thursday, September 21, 2023, at 6:00 PM to discuss potential charter amendments proposed by the Charter Ad Hoc Committee (Mayor Strickland, Mayor Pro Tem Van Der Mark, and Councilmember Burns) for the March 5, 2024, Statewide Primary Election. The meeting included a presentation from the Ad Hoc Committee, extensive public comments, and council debate on each proposal. No final decisions were made on the amendments; the council voted 6-0 (with Councilmember Burns absent) to receive and file the staff report, and the discussion will continue at a special meeting on September 28, 2023.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Approximately 46 emails were received, with 40 uploaded by the filing deadline. 25 speakers signed up in person.
• Overwhelming opposition to the proposed charter amendments was expressed. Speakers represented themselves as residents and homeowners, many with decades-long residency.
• Key concerns included: lack of evidence of voter fraud, high costs of implementing voter ID and running city elections, rushing the process for a March primary (low turnout), bundling of unrelated measures, potential lawsuits, and the perception that the council was ignoring public input.
• Some speakers supported specific items (e.g., cleaning up the city clerk qualifications, flag ordinance, measure C updates) but opposed the overall bundle.
• Several speakers requested that the council drop the amendments, slow down, and form a citizen-led charter review committee.
• A few speakers expressed support for voter ID and flag restrictions, arguing for election integrity and respect for the U.S. flag.

Discussion Items

Ad Hoc Committee Presentation (Mayor Strickland and Mayor Pro Tem Van Der Mark)

• Voter ID: Proposed requiring photo ID for in-person voting, aligned with county practices. Estimated cost of $1.1 million if the city must run its own elections; staff later clarified a range of $1.3–$1.65 million, excluding cybersecurity and tracking. Debate centered on whether voter ID suppresses turnout, legal risks under state law, and lack of demonstrated voter fraud.
• Additional Polling Locations: At least 20 residential polling places to increase in-person voting opportunities. The county currently provides 13 vote centers; staff questioned the need and feasibility of residential locations.
• Drop Box Monitoring: Camera or technology monitoring for ballot drop boxes to build confidence.
• City Attorney Changes: Clarify roles per state law, make the elected city attorney the exclusive legal counsel, protect attorney-client privilege, and prevent defunding of the office (similar to Long Beach charter). Councilmember Kalmick cited a case where the city attorney refused to share a settlement agreement with him as an individual councilmember, raising concerns about accountability.
• City Clerk Qualifications: Remove the bachelor’s degree requirement (currently a B.A. in business, public administration, or related field) because no other charter city requires a four-year degree for an elected clerk. Councilmembers disagreed on ambiguity; some argued for keeping qualifications to ensure competence.
• Investigations of Malfeasance: Require investigations of elected officials to be conducted by outside agencies to avoid conflicts of interest. Councilmember Kalmick suggested an ordinance might be a better vehicle.
• Flags: Enshrine current flag policy in charter, allowing only Olympic flags and others by unanimous council vote. Discussion deferred because Councilmember Burns was absent.
• Biennial Budget: Switch to a two-year budget for better planning and predictability, supported by the CFO. Councilmembers generally supported the concept.
• Clerk and Treasurer Election Cycle: Align elections with the city attorney (gubernatorial cycle). Mayor Strickland withdrew this item in favor of a vacancy election proposal.
• Property Tax/Real Estate Transactions: Require voter approval for transactions that forgo more than $100,000/year in property tax revenue, aimed at preventing deals like the 2020–2021 JPA that cost $500,000/year. Critics argued this would hamstring affordable housing and other beneficial projects; suggested an ordinance instead.
• Measure C Update: Loosen restrictions on park and beach improvements (e.g., restrooms, playgrounds) by removing dollar and square footage thresholds, and allow pre-development concepts to go to voters before detailed plans. Staff noted that defining “structure” remains a challenge. Councilmembers Moser and Bolton urged more time to draft precise language.
• Cancellation of Meetings: Allow the mayor to change meeting days/times without charter amendment. Council agreed to add guardrails for minimum meeting frequency.

Additional Proposals from Councilmembers

• Councilmember Kalmick: Proposed charter amendments to prohibit censorship of library materials (non-interference with administration) and to strengthen nepotism rules for elected officials. Language to be drafted for the next meeting.
• Councilmember McKeon: Suggested adding council staff (to allow hiring of administrative support), increasing council pay (pegged to a formula like 40% of a superior court judge’s salary), term limits for elected staff (city attorney, clerk, treasurer), and an independent legislative counsel for the council. Also proposed an ethics committee (by ordinance) and a charter provision allowing the city clerk to make minor technical amendments without a vote.

Key Outcomes

• Motion to Receive and File the Ad Hoc Committee Report: Passed 6-0 (Councilmember Burns absent; Councilmember Kalmick initially voted no, then changed to yes). This procedural motion did not approve any amendments.
• No Final Votes on Charter Amendments: The council will continue discussion at a special meeting on September 28, 2023, and potentially at the regularly scheduled meeting on October 3, 2023. The majority indicated they intend to finalize a package for the March 2024 ballot.
• Direction to Staff: Staff was asked to provide legal analysis, cost estimates, and draft language for several items (e.g., meeting cancellation, library non-interference, nepotism) for the next meeting.
• Next Meeting: Special meeting on Thursday, September 28, 2023, at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers.