The City Council voted 3-2 this week to have the city manager hire and supervise the next city clerk. Council members Gary Miller and Mike Varipapa cast the dissenting votes.
Prior to the decision, five citizens urged the council to hire and supervise the city clerk position.
But staff must now draft an ordinance making the decision city law, so the issue will return to the council.
Miller and Varipapa advocated having the council hire and supervise the clerk. Council members Sandra Massa-Lavitt and David Sloan advocated having the city manager do the hiring and supervision.
Mayor Ellery Deaton advocated a “hybrid” compromise to have the council hire the clerk and have the city manager supervise the position, but no one seconded the motion.
Last November, Seal Beach residents voted to change the City Charter to make the city clerk’s office an appointed rather than an elected position. The charter change passed narrowly by a vote of 52 percent in favor versus 48 percent against.
City Clerk Linda Devine announced her retirement shortly before the November 2014 election.
What the election did not decide was who would hire the city clerk and who would supervise the city clerk.
Patty Campbell, who was among the citizens who supported reclassifying the city clerk’s position, urged the council to hire and supervise the next person to hold the job. Campbell said the city clerk should operate independently.
Campbell was the only advocate of reclassifying the city clerk’s office who addressed the council Monday night.
Elizabeth Kane, who was among the opponents of changing the position, said she agreed with everything Campbell said, advocating city council supervision of the position.
Paul Yost said he was concerned that if the city clerk answered to the city manager and a member of the public requested information about the city manager, how would the public know the request would be granted or that the information was accurate.
“We want the city clerk to answer to the City Council,” said Mike Buhbe.
“We’re not going away,” Buhbe said.
When the time came for the council to decide the issue, rival factions of the council made motions and substitute motions in support of their views of the issue.
District Four Councilman Miller said the city clerk was a professional. He said former City Clerk Linda Devine did not need supervision; she needed help because she was working by herself. He said he would like the city clerk to have a staff of one.
Varipapa supported Miller’s position and said that voters had expected the city clerk to be appointed by and answer to the council.
District Two Councilman David Sloan said it would be efficient to have the city manager hire and supervise the city clerk.
The council voted 3-2 against Miller’s proposal to have the city clerk be hired by and answer to the council.
No one seconded Deaton’s proposal to have the council hire the city clerk and have the city manager provide day-to-day supervision of the office.
District Five Councilwoman Massa-Lavitt said having the city clerk answer to the city manager was the most efficient way to structure the job.
During council discussion, Deaton said she was willing to abandon her hybrid proposal. Ultimately, she cast her vote with those of Sloan and Massa-Lavitt.
“I tried hard to work for a compromise and find consensus,” Deaton said. “But it makes sense to have one person supervise a department head than five people who meet twice a month.”
Last December, the council unanimously appointed then-Executive Assistant Tina Knapp to serve as acting city clerk.
