Term limit extensions for City Council and Board of Education and downsizing of city treasurer position are on Nov. 4 ballot
Three separate measures on the November 4 ballot will determine if term limits for the Redondo Beach City Council and the Redondo Beach Unified School District’s Board of Education will be extended from two to three terms. Voters will also decide if the City Treasurer position will be changed from a full-time to part-time position.
City Council term limit extension
Councilmember Matt Kilroy, who teaches science at Adams Middle School, pioneered the idea to extend council term limits earlier this year. Kilroy’s second term ends in 2015, and his proposal has garnered criticism because if the measure passes, it will apply to the current council. Kilroy, however, maintains that a term limit extension will benefit the city on a grander scale.
“It’s been talked about for quite some time to put [term limits] on this ballot,” Kilroy said. “We were already putting [a measure] on the ballot for the treasurer, which was already a big cost. I would have done it years ago but it would have cost $100,000 to do it years ago. If it’s right to do and something that benefits the city, why would you delay it?”
“Ultimately, I put it on the ballot because I think it’s best in the long term for the city of Redondo Beach,” Kilroy said. “It doesn’t have to do with a specific project or me. We lose too much experience by limiting councilmembers to eight years….It takes that long to become adept at all these issues. Every time you change councils there’s at least a slight change in priorities. Staff might have been working on something and it might not be important anymore.”
Mayor Steve Aspel was initially opposed to the term limit extension, but now favors the measure.
“I’d like to see them finish what they started with CenterCal and AES initiatives,” Aspel said of his two termed-out colleagues. “I like Matt [Kilroy] and Pat [Aust]…To be honest, it’s self serving for me because I like them on the council. They’re all pretty smart and they know what’s going on. They’re valuable people in the community and I’d like to see them extend their terms.”
Nevertheless, Aspel wants the voters to ultimately decide.
“If it doesn’t pass, I’m not out campaigning for this,” Aspel said. “I know that Districts 3 and 5 have some really good candidates that will pick it right up. It’s whatever the citizens want.”
Councilmember Pat Aust also supports an extension of term limits and argues its merits are ultimatley democratic.
“If people don’t like what you’re doing, you’ll get voted out,” Aust said. “Big business doesn’t vote. Northrop Grumman, one of the biggest businesses here, doesn’t tell their people how to vote.”
“I’ve been doing this 47 years,” said Aust, referring to his long career with the city, which culminated as fire chief and then council. “There’s a big learning curve. You don’t learn it in two years.”
Councilmember Bill Brand opposes the measure.
“I’m against the extension of term limits,” Brand said. “Eight years is enough. I think you need fresh ideas, fresh energy. I’ve seen a lot of complacency as that time winds them. I think you need to give other people the opportunity to serve on council.”
Elections are staggered, Brand says, ensuring that there are always at least two council members with at least two years experience on any council.
“The learning curve really isn’t that steep,” Brand said.
Board of Education term limit extension
Extending term limits from two to three terms for the Redondo Unified School District Board of Education positions is also on the November 4 ballot. The school district falls under the auspices of the Redondo Beach City Charter. By extrapolation, Board President Brad Serkin noted, extension of the school board’s term limits came under consideration as well.
“There was no compelling reason for any of us to push for another term right now,” Serkin said. “All of us on the board are currently in our first term.”
Still, Serkin thinks extending term limits is a good thing for the board. Each term, like the city council, is four years.
“Having been here two years, the foundational basis of having a third term is a good thing because it’s a huge learning curve when you first come on,” Serkin said. “The biggest support or harm to consistency to the superintendent is a consistently changing board. Having to reinvent the wheel and having board members for one or two years doesn’t allow for legacy and expertise on the part of the members. I’m supportive of a third term.”
City Treasurer full-time to part-time
Voters will also decide whether to change the City Treasurer position from full-time to part-time.
Current City Treasurer Steve Diels spearheaded the idea to cut the treasurer’s salary from over $100,000 to $25,000 earlier this year and is pushing to have the position even more scaled back. Diels spent eight years on the Redondo Beach City Council and vowed to update the treasurer position during his post-council campaign for treasurer.
“I realized the treasurer position had only been full-time as a result of charter amendment in 1983,” Diels said. “I looked at workload to see how hard it was. Once I got elected, I found out how hard it really wasn’t.”
The City Treasurer oversees the city’s revenue, adds oversight authority to city finances, and audits city departments.
Diels is currently serving as both City Treasurer and deputy city treasurer. The latter position is mandated by the City Charter and is a “more of an analyst job” than the City Treasurer, Diels says.
“I’m doing both now so I fully understand both job requirements,” Diels said.
With the reduction in salary and potential part-time status for the City Treasurer, the deputy city treasurer position can become a full-time position, Diels says.
Mayor Aspel believes the transition to part-time will attract a higher-level candidate for future city treasurer positions, while creating space for a full-time deputy city treasurer.
“Diels happens to be brilliant and is educated, but the next person could be somebody off the street but still knows how to win elections,” Aspel said. “It’s more of an oversight position. This way we can have a full time trained, qualified person managing the books. We overpay the treasurer now. This way we’ll have a non-elected professional in there doing the day to day opportunities.”
