SR-04-24-2012-3P0
City of City Council Report
Santa Monica
City Council Meeting: April 24, 2012
Agenda Item: 3°-'P
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rod Gould, City Manager
Donna Peter, Human Resources Director
Subject: Appointment and Agreement with Retiring City Clerk to Serve as Temporary
City Clerk
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the City Council
1. Appoint Maria M. Stewart the Temporary City Clerk upon her retirement.
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement in an amount
not to exceed $15,000 with Maria M. Stewart to act as the as- needed Temporary
City Clerk for election - related tasks once she retires with the Clerk's other duties
being assigned to the Assistant City Clerk during this interim period.
Executive Summary
The present City Clerk will retire in early May 2012. The Council will likely appoint a new
City Clerk in early summer 2012 following a competitive process. Staff recommends that
during the interim period the retired City Clerk serve as the Temporary City Clerk for all
matters pertaining to the November 2012 election at a total cost not to exceed $15,000.
Background
On February 28, 2012 the City's current Clerk, Maria M. Stewart, announced her intention
to retire in May 2012. On March 20, 2012 Council authorized an agreement with Alliance
Resource Consulting to assist with the recruitment of a new City Clerk.
Discussion
The search for a new Clerk is underway. Alliance Resource Consulting is in the process
of developing a recruitment profile and has begun initial outreach and recruitment efforts.
An active recruitment process will begin shortly, followed by candidate evaluations,
preliminary interviews by Alliance staff, selection panel interviews, and interviews with the
City Council who will make the final selection, likely in late June or early July 2012.
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The current City Clerk will retire in early May 2012, before a new City Clerk will be
appointed. A City of Santa Monica Municipal Election is scheduled for November 6, 2012.
The Records and Elections Department is already engaged in election - related work. In
order to promote continuity in the election process and provide the necessary resources
to the Department during the recruitment and hiring process, staff recommends that once
the current City Clerk has retired, she serve in an as- needed role as the Temporary City
Clerk. The Temporary City Clerk would handle, among other things, petition filings
regarding measures to appear on November ballot, a resolution calling for the November
2012 election, pre - filing work including education of potential candidates, and other
election - related processes and tasks that must take place in May and June. Because the
Temporary City Clerk would only work part -time, it is envisioned that the Assistant City
Clerk would fill in behind the Clerk's position and oversee the majority of the day -to -day
operations of the Records and Election Services Department, including attending and
recording the proceedings of all Council meetings.
It is estimated that Temporary City Clerk's election - related work would occur over
approximately 160 hours during about 10 weeks at a cost of $84.60 per hour. The total
agreement would not exceed $15,000. Once a new City Clerk is appointed by the
Council, the Temporary City Clerk's as- needed employment would cease.
Alternatives
The Council could choose to not appoint a Temporary City Clerk for the interim period, in
which case all of the duties of the City Clerk would be carried out by the Assistant City
Clerk.
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Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The agreement with Maria M. Stewart to work as the Temporary City Clerk on an as-
needed basis during the interim period will not exceed $15,000. Funds in the amount of
$15,000 are available in the FY11 -13 budget at account number 01211.511680.
Prepared by: Donna Peter, Director, Human Resources
Approved: Forwarded to Council:
Rod Gould —�
City Manager
C
Donna Peter
Director, Human Resources
Rod Gould
City Manager
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Reference Contract No.
9578 (CCS).