BREA : Officials’ Kin Face Appointment Ban

Relatives of City Council members will be disqualified from being appointed to city commissions under an ordinance tentatively approved by the council this week.

The ordinance, expected to be passed when the council meets Dec. 15, also provides for the tenure and manner of selecting members of the Planning Commission, Parks, Recreation and Human Services Commission and the Cultural Arts Commission.

City Atty. James L. Markman said the anti-nepotism ordinance is patterned after similar laws in other cities, particularly La Mirada, that prohibit appointment of relatives of council members to sensitive city posts.

The ordinance provides for a four-year term for all commissioners.

The terms of current commissioners will end on Dec. 31, and new appointees will hold office until Dec. 31, 1996.

Commissioners who will be appointed by the three council members elected in 1990 will keep their posts until Dec. 31, 1994.

Each of the five council members is allowed one appointee to each of the three commissions.

However, the appointee must get two more concurring votes from the other members of the council to get the post.

The nominating council member has up to 30 days to find a replacement if his or her first appointee is not confirmed.

Then, the council, by majority vote, makes the appointment.

Commissions hold monthly meetings and submit reports to the council.