Dos Palos City Manager Dewayne Jones announced his plan to retire last summer. Now, the Dos Palos City Council is gearing up and making changes to help ease the process.
On Dec. 16, the city council unanimously voted to adopt Ordinance No. 450, amending Section 2.08.250 of Chapter 2.08 of Title 2 of the City of Dos Palos Municipal Code to update the voting threshold required for the removal of the city manager to a three-fifths vote.
The previous ordinance required a four-fifths vote to initiate the removal of the city manager by the council. The discussion surrounding this change started during the Nov. 18 city council meeting but was tabled due to a disagreement in language.
The original revision brought to the public during the November council meeting read as a simple majority.
However, Council Member Claudia Bautista argued to revise the language from a simple majority to a set three-fifths vote. “My concern is it could be interpreted differently or up for argument at some point,” she said.
The three-fifths revision brought up other concerns within that same council meeting about potential stalling regarding certain motions to be adopted or even voted upon.
Mayor Katy Reed expressed this concern, saying that council members could decide not to show up if they do not like the motion and potentially put a pause on the voting process. “Where, if it is a simple majority, if it’s on the agenda and it’s important, you show up,” she affirmed.
When the second revision was brought to the public, the three-fifths voted in December. Director of Public Works Gordon Bonds brought up the same concern as Reed.
It has been confirmed that the three-fifths language means that there must be three council members present to make the vote.
Not all five council members must be in attendance for the vote to occur. Therefore, three out of the five council members would need to be present in order for a motion to be voted upon.
These changes are part of a larger process that the Dos Palos City Council will go through as City Manager Jones phases out of his position. The council has been in the process of recruiting the new city manager for the past three months.
The public is not involved or aware of the Dos Palos City Council’s process regarding the appointment of the new city manager because the majority of the discussions occur during closed session.
The California Government Code 54957(b), which is part of the Brown Act, explicitly allows local legislative bodies like the city council to hold closed sessions to discuss the appointment, employment, evaluation, discipline or dismissal of a public employee.
Although it is unclear the status of the process because of the Brown Act, staff reports during the December council meeting indicated concerns.
As part of the staff reports, City Assistant Manager Manuela Sousa expressed disappointment in the city council.
“I’m disappointed by the way you have been handling the recruitment for the new city manager, going on three months, and I know that you guys have learned something from this, and I hope that you do better in the future,” she said.
