This law explains who holds positions in a general law city's government. It includes a city council with at least five members, a city clerk, a city treasurer, a chief of police, a fire chief, and any other necessary officers or employees as determined by law.

This law states that employees are entitled to look at their own personnel records, as more thoroughly detailed in another law, Section 1198.5 of the Labor Code.

To hold the position of councilmember, city clerk, or city treasurer, a person must be a registered voter in the city both when they are nominated and when they take office. If they move out of the city or stop being a voter there, their position becomes vacant.

Cities can create rules to limit how many terms city council members or mayors can serve. Such rules need to be approved by city voters during an election, and they won't apply retroactively. Existing term limits in place as of January 1, 1996, stay effective unless changed through proper procedures.

This law allows the City of Tustin's city council to set term limits for its members without needing further voter approval, as long as a similar proposal was earlier approved by voters in a regular election. Any term limits created under this rule will only apply to terms that start after the law is in effect.

This law says that general municipal elections in cities must be held on dates determined by a specific rule, except in certain cases. During these elections, the city's voters decide who will fill all elected city positions. Those elected will start their roles from the official date decided after the results are confirmed, staying in office for the length of their term until the next election brings in someone new.

This law states that if a city official is facing a recall election, they cannot use or commit to using city funds from the moment the election process starts until the results are finalized. If they are successfully recalled, this restriction lasts until the new official is declared and takes over.

This law allows the city council to appoint the chief of police. They can also choose to appoint other officials like a city attorney, a street superintendent, a civil engineer, and any other workers they think are needed.

This law states that the city council is responsible for deciding how much city-appointed officers and employees get paid. These officers and employees can keep their jobs as long as the city council is satisfied with their performance.

Before starting their job, each city officer must take an oath of office and file it with the city clerk. However, a newly elected councilmember must give their oath to the county elections official first, who will then pass it to the city clerk when they officially start their position.

This law allows a city council to ask voters in a municipal or special election if certain elected officials, excluding council members, should instead be appointed by the council. However, this question can only be put to voters once every 11 months.

This law section explains how ballots should be formatted for an election that decides if certain city offices, like city clerk and city treasurer, should be appointed rather than elected. The ballots must clearly present the question in one of three ways, depending on which office's method of appointment is being voted on. Voters will have options to mark 'yes' or 'no' to express their decision.

If most people vote in favor of the proposition, the city council will select new officers when the current ones' terms end or if there's an empty office. These officers can keep their jobs as long as the city council wants and don't have to live or vote in the city. The city council can also decide, through a law, to give the city manager the power to choose these officers.

This law explains that when a new city is being created, the petition to form it can include plans for appointing, rather than electing, certain officers (except for council members). If the petition covers this, there’s no need for a separate election for those positions. Once the city is incorporated, the city council will make these appointments.

This law explains what happens when there's an empty seat (a vacancy) on a city council. If the vacancy is for a non-elected role, the city council appoints someone to serve the rest of the term. If it's for an elected position, the council has 60 days to either appoint someone or hold a special election.

For special elections, the council can set them for the next regular election date that's at least 114 days away. If an appointment is chosen during the first half of a term, and it’s over 130 days before the next election, the appointee serves until the election. If it's less than 130 days, they serve the remainder of the term. The council can also pass local rules requiring special elections in certain cases.

If appointing a new member would mean most of the council were never elected, a special election must be held instead. When a city council member resigns, they can vote on their replacement if their resignation depends on the appointment, but they can't vote for relatives or those that might lead to conflicts. After voting, they face restrictions for two years, like not advocating on issues or applying for city contracts or employment. These rules don’t apply if the council member is leaving due to criminal issues or a recall election.

If a city councilmember doesn’t attend any regular meetings for 60 days straight without permission, they lose their position, and it must be filled like any other council vacancy.

If the council meets less often, like once a month or less, the absence period before losing their position extends to 70 days.

City council members can get their costs covered for necessary expenses they rack up while doing their jobs, but this has to follow certain rules outlined in Sections 53232.2 and 53232.3.

If someone takes over a city council position because the previous member left, they will receive the same pay as the person who was in the job before them.

This law allows city councils in California to set salaries for their members based on the city's population, with specific caps for different population sizes. City councillors in cities with bigger populations can earn higher salaries, with the top cap being $3,200 per month for cities over 250,000 people. Salaries can be increased by an ordinance, but can't automatically have future increases. Increases are limited to 5% per year from the last adjustment or equal to inflation since 2024, but not more than 10% per year.

Voters can also decide on council salaries during elections. Salaries can be set below the cap through the same process. Apart from the set salary, additional compensation for serving on committees or boards is limited unless specified by another law. Benefits like retirement or health don't count towards the salary cap. Council members can choose to waive any part of their compensation.

When looking to increase pay, a city council must publicly discuss it in two meetings; the ordinance can't be adopted at the first meeting, and the second takes place at least seven days later.

This law states that a mayor, who is elected according to specific sections of the government code, can receive extra pay beyond what they earn as a council member. This additional payment must be approved either through a city council ordinance or by a majority vote from the public in a city election.

This law states that a city council member's pay cannot change during their current term. However, it is allowed to adjust the pay for all council members when one or more of them start a new term, which might make them eligible for a salary increase. This ensures fairness across council members with staggered terms.

The city clerk and city treasurer are paid a salary or compensation that is determined by a local ordinance or resolution.

Before starting their jobs, the city clerk and city treasurer in a city must each secure a bond. This bond is a financial guarantee to the city that must comply with laws about bonds for public officers. The city attorney suggests the bond amount, which the city council will finalize and can adjust later on through a formal decision.

This law allows a city council to ask for bonds from any officer or employee of the city. A bond here is like an insurance policy to protect the city against potential losses caused by an employee's actions.

This law states that the city council must approve all official bonds. Once approved, the bond for the city clerk is filed with the mayor, while other bonds are filed with the city clerk.

This law says that, unless there are specific exceptions, all the rules and regulations that apply to the official bonds of officers also apply to the bonds required by this chapter.

If you work for the city and handle any city money, you need to put that money into the city treasury right away, following the specific rules set by the city. You also have to report your deposits and balance your accounts with the city clerk or finance director, either on the first Monday of each month or more often if the city has different rules.

This law allows a city council to establish a special trust fund, managed by the treasurer's department, to hold money collected by the police department and other authorized officials. These officials need to inform the city treasurer each time they make a deposit into the fund.

The city treasurer can only take money out of a specific fund if they have an order from the relevant department head. They can do this for a few specific reasons: to refund bail or other deposits, to provide advances approved by the city council, to fix mistakes in how payments to the city were recorded, and to settle city accounts at the end of each month based on collected funds.

This law defines a city auditor as an elected or appointed official or a full-time employee who is paid, excluding independent contractors. All documents related to the auditor's work are considered public records. However, certain documents can't be released to the public. These include personal papers of those assisting the auditor if they request confidentiality, materials related to audits that aren't finished, and documents from completed audits that weren't used in the final report.