DISCUSSION OF A POTENTIAL POLICY RELATED TO CITY OF STOCKTON CHARTER SECTION 406, INVESTIGATIONS
RECOMMENDATION
Receive information related to Charter Section 406 and provide staff direction on any additional information the Legislation and Environmental Committee would like to receive and/or a recommendation for the City Council if appropriate.
SUMMARY
Staff received direction to agendize a discussion before this Committee to consider establishing a policy to govern the process for Council utilization of Charter 406 Investigations (Attachment A).
DISCUSSION
Background
The code language was adopted in 1992 and has remained unchanged since its passage (Attachments B and C). Very little factual history is available. The 1992 resolution declaring the vote results from the election includes the questions posed to the voters, but none focus on the language of 406. Therefore, we have no information regarding the initial purpose or intent.
However, the substance of Charter Section 406 is clear in allowing Council authority to review the financial transactions and the official acts and conduct of any office or department of the City government.
Present Situation
Staff direction was to agendize a discussion to consider the establishment of a policy to govern the process for Council utilization of Charter 406 Investigations.
In preparation for that discussion, staff reviewed and compared City of Sacramento and City of San Jose as both cities have charters with similar provisions.
City of Sacramento
Sacramento adopted language identical to the language later adopted by Stockton in 1992. Currently, this investigatory authority can be found in Section 34 of the City of Sacramento Charter. At some point, Sacramento modified that language as follows:
"The city council or any duly appointed committee of the members of the council may make investigations into the affairs of the city government and the conduct of any department, office, agency, officer or employee thereof, and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, and require the production of evidence."
In 2016, Sacramento approved an ordinance, now codified in Chapter 2.22 (Attachment D), which further clarified the duties of the Office of Public Safety Accountability, which included in part, Section 2.22.030(E) provides that the office shall:
"Assist the city council, or any duly appointed committee of the council, in performing its investigative functions under section 34 of the charter."
The annual reports of the OPSA focus on Police and Fire. However, the language in Section 2.22.030(E) is broad but we could not find any examples of the Sacramento City Council exercising its section 34 power.
City of San Jose
Like Stockton and Sacramento, section 416 of the San Jose Charter allows the Council to investigate affairs of the city and any City department. Additionally, section 411 of the Charter makes these investigations a clear exception to the prohibition against the interference with administrative matters (Attachment E).
While staff could not find any sample 416 investigations, we did find two memorandums from the San Jose mayor calling for these investigations as an alternative to auditor investigations (Attachment F). These memorandums were presented and discussed at the San Jose Rules and Open Government Committee, but staff could not locate any publicly available action stemming from those discussions.
Sample Policy
Attached is a sample policy provided by the Vice Mayor for review and consideration (Attachment G). Staff was unable to locate any alternative sample policies fleshing out the process for Charter Investigations. However, staff is including recommended revisions to the provided policy consistent with the Charter 406 language (Attachment H).
Next Steps
Staff seeks input and/or direction from the Committee on next steps.
Attachment A - City of Stockton Charter Section 406
Attachment B - City Council Resolution 92-0736 Election Results
Attachment C - 1992 Charter - Article IV
Attachment D - City of Sacramento - Chapter 22
Attachment E - 2024 San Jose City Charter Excerpt - Article IV
Attachment F - City of San Jose Memoranda
Attachment G - 406 Sample Policy
Attachment H - 406 Sample Policy (Staff Redline)
Updated 1.31.2025 6:02:22 PM UTC