GALT, CA (MPG) - Voters here will decide Nov. 3 whether the city treasurer and city clerk roles remain elected or appointed positions. 

By voting “yes” on Measure L, voters will be telling the City Council to appoint the clerk and treasurer based on professional qualifications.

“The city has evolved,” said City Treasurer Shaun Farrell, who has been in office since 1991. 

Handling money for the city is now more complicated, he said. The city has more idle cash, he added. 

City coffers had $17 million designated but unspent cash in 1991, Farrell said. Now it has $175 million, he said. 

Farrell wants voters to say “yes” on Measure L, according to an argument submitted in favor of the ballot item. 

Others who signed the argument include Kat Seabolt, director of the Galt Chamber of Commerce; small business owner Heriberto Mosqueda; CPA Todd DeVoogd and small-business owner Kirk Smith. 

No formal opposition has been submitted to the city, Assistant City Manager Amie Mendes said, but opposition has circulated on social media.
 

If voters fail to approve Measure L, any registered voter 18 and older living in the city limits could become city treasurer or city clerk. Professional experience and training are unneeded for candidates elected to the roles, according to a fact sheet provided by the city. 

If voters pass the measure, appointments would be made in 2028 or sooner if a role becomes vacant, according to city records. 

The city clerk administers city elections, maintains agendas and minutes of the City Council, maintains the municipal code, preserves resolutions and ordinances, publishes legal notices and supports compliance with the Brown Act, Public Records Act and Political Reform Act. 

The technical side of the role “too has grown over the years,” Mendes said.

The council appointed City Clerk Tina Hubert in 2019, when the former city clerk retired. And Hubert ran unopposed in 2020 and 2024. Hubert is a certified municipal clerk, a certification that took her 3½ years to get, she said. 

Lodi, Sacramento, Elk Grove and Folsom appoint their treasurers and clerks, according to Galt records. Isleton still holds an election for those roles.