calling a Special City Council meeting when the presiding officer has a conflict of interest

[Guest Veronica]

Per Government Code 54956, the presiding officer of the legislative body may call a special meeting at any time. In our case, the Mayor has a conflict of interest and recuses himself from discussing certain items. Can the Vice Mayor call a Special City Council meeting if the Mayor's conflict of interest item will be discussed?

[Chris Harrison]

It is outside of this forum's scope to offer legal advice. I would recommend you contact a lawyer who is familiar with the law in question for an answer.

[Gary Novosielski]

And even if this weren't construed as a legal question, the matter of special meetings, who may call them, when, why, and what notice is required is information that (according to RONR) must be contained in the organization's bylaws. So that's where you'll have to look to find out who can call special meetings.

RONR has nothing much to say about conflicts of interest at all, and nothing that would help answer this question.