You often hear, “This is YOUR town” and encourage you to get involved in making sure things are happening. There are many ways to do this. But, first and foremost, we think that you should get to know how your City government is organized, operates and makes decisions. And, fortunately, there are a lot of ways for you to do it. In this section we plan on educating you about things you might not otherwise see. As a 501(c)3 we can encourage voter participation but cannot engage in activities that favor or oppose candidates for political office. However, we can and will be actively involved in issues related to our mission of keeping Carmel beautiful, safe, and inviting. Our focus in this part of our website will be to tell you things that we’ve learned on our path to creating and operating Carmel Cares that can impact your ability to get things help you achieve your personal goals for this incredible place called Carmel-by-the-Sea. While we know where this is headed, we haven’t built the site to express it but will over the next couple months.
The Basics
The City Council is made up of four councilpersons and a mayor. Each have the same voting power, but the mayor’s job is to preside over council meetings. They are unpaid.
The City Manager runs the operations of the City and reports to the Council and serves at pleasure of the Council. All other City employees report to the City Manager.
There are six Commissions and Boards which are in charge of subjects that are deemed worthy by the City. They advise and assist the City Council in dealing with specific projects, policies and issue. They include:
Terms of office are 4 years, with the exception of the Harrison Memorial Library Board of Trustees who serve 3 year terms. Terms run through September 30. Vacancies occur on a rotating basis each year and the City recruits to fill these vacancies each August and September. The mayor and City Administrator interview candidates and appoint Commissioners.
To serve on a Board or Commission, you must reside either within the City limits or within its sphere of influence. There are further restrictions on how many need to reside in CBTS for some of the Commissions.
