On Tuesday, Feb. 14 the Signal Hill City Council voted to appoint a new city clerk, now that the current one is moving out of the city.
City Clerk Carmen Brooks is moving to Atlanta to be closer to family, and her last day in office will be March 1. She has served as city clerk over the last four years, and her term wouldn’t have ended until Dec. 2026.
Since neither the Signal Hill City Charter nor the Municipal Code stipulates what the city should do if the office of the city clerk is vacant, Signal Hill has to rely on the guidelines laid out in the California Government Code.
According to the California Government Code, when an elected public office is left vacant, local city councils can choose to hold a special election or appoint someone to serve until the next regularly scheduled municipal election.
According to Deputy City Clerk Kimberly Boles, appointing a new city clerk would cost the city $20,000, whereas holding a special election would cost $40,000.
Signal Hill City Council members unanimously voted to appoint a replacement to the office of city clerk.
According to the city’s website, the city clerk is responsible for administering democratic processes (such as elections), organizing ceremonial and official events, managing public inquiries and relationships, as well as providing access to city records and legislative actions to ensure public transparency.
Boles shared a rough estimate of the timeline for appointing a new city clerk:
- On March 1, the city will begin accepting job applications for the position of city clerk
- On March 3 and March 10, the city will publicly publish that the city clerk position is vacant
- On March 31, the city will stop accepting job applications for the position
- On April 11, the city council will interview the applicants and select a new city clerk
The newly appointed city clerk will serve out the rest of Brooks’ term, until the next municipal election in Dec. 2026.
Signal Hill City Council is held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m. To watch a live stream of City Council meetings, visit https://cityofsignalhill.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. To watch recordings of previous city council meetings visit http://cityofsignalhill.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2.
