Voters May Decide Council Term Limits

Term limits for City Council members may be on the November ballot.

At its meeting Tuesday night, the council directed City Manager Daniel E. Keen to start work on a term-limits proposition for voter approval or rejection.

Councilwoman Eva Miner Bradford, who introduced the term-limits proposal, said she would favor limiting council members to two consecutive terms of four years each.

“That’s what the citizens of La Palma voted for in 1982,” she said.

An initiative passed in 1982 sought to limit council membership to two terms.

A state court, however, ruled that state law did not allow such a policy in general-law cities such as La Palma.

General-law cities derive their basic powers from state statutes rather than a city charter.

Last year, the Legislature enacted a law that allows both general-law and charter cities to adopt term limits.

The new statute, however, requires a citywide referendum on any term-limit proposals.

City Atty. Joel D. Kuperberg said the new law allows either the council or residents to propose term limits.

If the council takes the initiative, the procedure is to draft an ordinance, hold a public hearing on it, then submit the ordinance to a vote at the next general election.

“I would like city staff to prepare an ordinance in order to meet the November ballot deadline,” Bradford said when making her motion, which passed unanimously.