A. 
Regular Meetings. Regular meetings of the City Council shall be held on the first and third Tuesday of each month. When the first or third Tuesday falls on a holiday, the City Council meeting shall be held on the Wednesday following the Tuesday holiday. No City Council meetings shall be held on Federal, State or City holidays. Regular City Council meetings, unless otherwise posted, shall be held in the City Council Chambers located at 11711 West Drive commencing at a time designated by the City Council Meeting Guidelines and Procedures, and may be changed by resolution.
B. 
Special Meetings. Special meetings of the City Council shall be held in the City Council Chambers at any time deemed necessary upon the call of the Mayor or, in his or her absence or unwillingness to make such call, upon the call of a majority of the members of the City Council, except that no special meeting shall be held on Federal, State or City holidays. Notice of any such meeting shall be given in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act, Government Code Section 54950 et seq., as amended.
(Prior code § 30.01)
A. 
Each member of the City Council shall receive a salary in the amount of $1,111.62 per month.
B. 
The City’s Mayor shall receive a salary in the amount of $1,429.28 per month.
C. 
Each member of the City Council, including the Mayor, who is a member of a City Council-assigned committee, shall receive a stipend from the City of $75 per committee meeting in which they are in attendance. This stipend shall only apply when an outside committee does not provide a stipend to the City Councilmember or Mayor. This stipend, when applicable, is in addition to the salaries specified in subsections A and B.
D. 
All sums to be paid as salaries to the Mayor and to members of the City Council shall be a debt of the City and shall be paid monthly.
(Prior code § 30.02; Ord. 658 4-17-18; Ord. 706 1-4-20)
The City Council shall have the right to contract with the County or other public agency, pursuant to the laws of the State and of the County, for the performance and execution by designated County or other public officials of the rights, powers and duties of officers, officials and employees of the City. Whenever by law or any ordinance of the City, whether set forth in full or by adoption by reference, any power or authority is granted to an officer, official or employee, the power or authority is conferred upon the appropriate officer, official or employee of the City, or the appropriate officer, official or employee of the County or other public agency with whom a contract has been entered into.
(Prior code § 30.03)
If a vacancy occurs on the City Council, including the office of Mayor, the City Council shall fill the vacancy by either appointment of a new Councilmember or calling a special election. Any Council action must comply with California Government Code Section 36512, as may be amended.
(Prior code § 30.04; Ord. 704 12-3-19)
Commencing in November 2020, a directly-elected Mayor shall have a four-year term. The directly-elected Mayor shall have a term limit of two terms.
(Ord. 677 11-6-18)
Pursuant to California Government Code Section 36503 and Sections 1000 and 1301 of the California Elections Code, the general municipal election of the City of Desert Hot Springs, commencing with the 2017 election, shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years to coincide with statewide general elections; and, further, that such election shall be consolidated with all other elections held throughout the territory on that day.
(Prior code § 30.15; Ord. 601 3-7-17)
Terms of officeholders shall be extended as necessary, but no more than 12 months.
(Prior code § 30.16)
The election date change shall be phased according to the following schedule:
A. 
November 1994 Election.
1. 
Two City Council seats for full terms of five years ending November 1999.
2. 
One Mayoral seat for a full term of two years ending November 1996.
B. 
November 1996 Election.
1. 
Two City Council seats for full terms of five years ending November 2001.
2. 
One Mayoral seat for a full term of three years ending November 1999.
C. 
November 1999 Election.
1. 
Two City Council seats for full terms of four years ending November 2003.
2. 
One Mayoral seat for a full term of two years ending November 2001.
(Prior code § 30.17)
A. 
Establishment. There is established a filing fee of $25 to defray, in part, the cost to the City of processing nomination papers for Councilmanic elections within the City.
1. 
The filing fee shall be payable in respect to each such nomination filed and shall be paid upon the filing of the nomination papers thereof.
2. 
Except as provided above, nomination papers for Councilmanic elections shall not be accepted unless accompanied by the filing fee.
3. 
Filing fees collected pursuant to this section shall be paid into the general fund of the City.
B. 
Petition in Lieu of Fees. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a candidate for member of the City Council may submit, in lieu of all or part of the required filing fee, a petition containing four qualified signatures for each dollar of the filing fee not paid.
1. 
A qualified signature is the signature of a person who, at the time of providing such signature, was a registered voter within the City.
2. 
Any petition submitted pursuant to this section in lieu of all or part of the required filing fee shall be submitted to the City Clerk with nomination papers related thereto, together with the amount of the filing fee, if any, remaining to be paid.
C. 
No Extension of Filing Deadline. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to extend or otherwise modify the period of time for filing nomination papers for Councilmanic elections.
D. 
Operation. The filing fee set and established by this section shall be operative for Councilmanic nominations for the general municipal election held on November 9, 2001, and for each special and general municipal election held thereafter for election to membership on the City Council.
(Prior code § 30.18)
Pursuant to Government Code Section 34886 and the schedule established in Section 2.04.020 of this chapter, commencing with the November 2022, General Municipal Election, four members of the City of Desert Hot Springs City Council shall be elected by districts 1, 2, 3 and 4, with one Mayor at large. The City’s by-district electoral system shall be conducted in accordance with California law.
(Ord. 754 4-19-22)
A. 
Pursuant to Section 2.04.100 of this chapter, members of the City of Desert Hot Springs City Council from Council Districts 1 and 3 shall be elected on a by-district basis as that term is defined in Government Code Section 34871(a), beginning with the General Municipal Election in November 2022 and every four years thereafter, as such Council Districts may be amended from time to time pursuant to applicable law.
B. 
Pursuant to Section 2.04.100 of this chapter, members of the City of Desert Hot Springs City Council from Council Districts 2 and 4 shall be elected on a by-district basis as that term is defined in Government Code Section 34871(a), beginning with the General Municipal Election in November 2024 and every four years thereafter, as such Council Districts may be amended from time to time pursuant to applicable law. One Mayor shall be voted at-large, beginning November 2024.
C. 
Only the registered voters residing in the Council District may vote for candidates running for City Council in that district.
D. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, each of the Councilmembers in office at the time this chapter takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of the full term to which he or she was elected and until his or her successor is qualified. Vacancies in Councilmember offices elected at-large at the time this chapter takes effect may be filled by the City Council from the City at-large pursuant to applicable law until the expiration of that at-large term. At the end of the term of each Councilmember, that member’s successor shall be elected on a by-district basis in the Council Districts established herein and as subsequently reapportioned as provided by law. A vacancy in a Councilmember office elected by-district shall be filled by a person qualified to hold the office in that vacant Council District pursuant to applicable law.
(Ord. 754 4-19-22)
The City Clerk shall maintain a map of the City showing the current boundaries and numbers of each Council District as they are established and may be amended from time to time by ordinance of the City Council. The map of the initial Council Districts is attached to the ordinance codified in this section as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference.
(Ord. 754 4-19-22)
a. 
City Councilmember(s) must reside in the jurisdictional boundaries of their respective district for no fewer than 30 days prior to filing nomination papers, and for the duration of their term.
b. 
Mayoral candidate(s) must reside in the jurisdictional boundaries of the City no fewer than 30 days prior to filing nomination papers, and for the duration of their term.
c. 
Proof of residency in document form must be shown to the City Clerk upon filing nomination papers.
(Ord. 760 6-21-22; Ord. 763 7-5-22)