Council Code of Conduct

The City Council is committed to ensure that the citizens of Capitola are entitled to have fair, open, ethical, efficient, and accountable local government and that City officials should continually strive to earn the public's confidence. Toward that end, the Council adopted higher standards of conduct for members of the City Council and members of City boards and commissions than are currently required under the laws of the state of California. 

Core Values:

• Responsibility
• Integrity
• Respect/Value Others
• Accountability

Toward this effort, members will adhere to the following:

• Transparency in Decision Making
• Fairness of Process
• Ethical Decision Making
• Efficiency and Accountability

Enforcement of the Code of Conduct Policy:

The City Council has authority, but not the legal obligation, to monitor each Member’s adherence to these Protocols and to take corrective action for violations.

This Code of Conduct is an expression of the standards of conduct for all elected and appointed Members. Where any Board or Commission Member, Councilmember, City employee, or resident of the City believes that a Member has violated this Code of Conduct, they may file a written complaint with the City Council at the following email address: citycouncil@ci.capitola.ca.us.

The Mayor, Vice Mayor, or City Clerk shall provide the complaint to the City Attorney. The Mayor or Vice Mayor will acknowledge receipt to the complainant within five business days of receipt.

Within 45 days of receipt of the complaint, at a City Council meeting, any Councilmember may request the complaint be agendized for discussion at a future Council meeting. If another Councilmember (for a total of two) agrees, discussion will be agendized at a future meeting. If, within 45 days of receipt of the complaint, the Council does not act to agendize it for discussion, the Mayor will announce that the complaint has been dismissed during Councilmember comments at the next Council meeting.