Tonight, the Brentwood City Council will host a discussion regarding a requirement that within six months of being hired, the City Manager should live no further than 35-miles from the city.
The current requirement was revised in 2011 and tonight the Council will entertain a discussion on whether or not to revise the requirement after the recent resignation of former City Manager Paul Eldredge and the recruitment for a new City Manager.
Currently Section 2.36.020 of the Brentwood Municipal Code reads as follows:
“2.36.020 Appointment.
The city manager shall be appointed by the city council solely on the basis of his/her executive and administrative qualifications and ability. Residence in the city of Brentwood shall not be required as a condition of employment; however, no later than six months after employment, the city manager shall reside within a radius of thirty five miles of the Brentwood City Hall. No member of the city council shall receive such appointment during the term for which he/she shall have been elected nor within one year after the expiration of his/her term of office.”
According to the staff report, By way of legal background, Article XI, section 10 (b) of the California Constitution states that:
“[a] city . . . may not require that its employees be residents of such city; except that such employees may be required to reside within a reasonable and specific distance of their place of employment or other designated location.”
After looking into different methods of determining residency such as City Hall, School District Boundaries, and East Contra Costa Fire Protection District boundaries, based off court decisions, staff is suggesting there is no guarantee that any of the above distances would be upheld. However, it appears that the ECCFPD boundaries would be considered the most reasonable by a court.
According to the staff report, it says that in the role of City manager, among his or her duties the City Manager is the City’s Director of Emergency Services during times of disaster. Given this role, the need for the City Manager to be readily available when an emergency occurs, and the fact that the City is part of the ECCFPD; it would seem reasonable that the City Manager could be asked to reside within the District’s boundaries. Among other things, this residency would allow him or her to more easily take on required duties during an emergency. Related, given the shared boundary between Antioch and Brentwood and the frequent joint public safety operations between the two jurisdictions, it would also seem reasonable to include Antioch within the residency area.
Regarding other boundary suggestions (specific mileage distances or school district boundaries), except for fairly broad distances, there appears to be more of a possibility that a court would find them arbitrary and subject to being overturned.
The staff report also offers the suggestion that an alternative to setting City Manager residency requirements, the Council could remove the requirement completely. Under this option City Council residency expectations for the City Manager, if any, could be expressed during the recruitment and employment negotiation process.
According to staff, a residency requirement on a City Manager, the City might limit the number of candidates who apply for the position; particularly if they are longstanding residents of a community outside of the geographical area selected. This consideration, however, could be weighed against the need for the City Manager to be available in times of emergency, as well as his or her ability to easily participate in community events.
Full Staff Report
http://brentwood.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=38&event_id=318&meta_id=153981
