The Charter Review Committee on Oct. 23 reviewed a subcommittee report recommending a charter amendment to let City Council set the city manager’s authority to settle legal claims by ordinance rather than being statutorily limited to $50,000.

Member Rubino, presenting the subcommittee report, said the change would increase administrative flexibility by reducing the frequency of closed sessions for relatively modest settlements and would allow the city manager to resolve time‑sensitive matters more quickly while retaining council oversight for larger claims. Rubino cited examples of California charter cities that have adopted similar provisions, naming Pasadena, Santa Monica and Los Angeles as jurisdictions with comparable approaches.

Several committee members supported the idea but urged careful public explanation. Member Olofsson said, “We elect our city council to be setting policy and direction, and we hire a city manager to execute those policies and direction,” arguing the city charter should not unduly constrain administrative flexibility. Member Vickery suggested the committee could recommend that the council set the settlement limit equal to the city manager’s existing contract approval authority (which staff said is $250,000 under municipal code practice) and noted the council could adopt a contingent ordinance that takes effect only if voters approve a charter amendment.

Staff and members discussed process options. Staff advised that when cities send charter amendments to the ballot they often include a companion ordinance showing the operating threshold that would apply if voters approve the charter change; the ordinance can be written to become effective only if the ballot measure passes, giving voters a concrete number to consider.

Public commenters urged care in presentation and some said settlement and procurement are different topics and should not be conflated even if the numeric thresholds are aligned. One commenter noted a clear distinction between contract approvals and settlements as different types of commitments.

The committee gave unanimous straw‑poll support for a three‑part approach the chair summarized: (1) recommend amending the charter to let council adopt the settlement authority limit by ordinance; (2) recommend council prepare an ordinance in advance that would become effective only if the charter amendment passes; and (3) suggest council consider aligning the settlement limit with the city manager’s contract approval authority as one option. The committee asked the subcommittee to draft redline charter language and to gather comparative examples of how other cities implemented similar measures for the committee’s December review.