2026.03.26--ORDINANCE AMENDING TCC RE TEMPE VETERANS COMM TO MODIFY MEMBERSHIP STRUCTURE.DOCX
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1 Ordinance No. O2026.11 ORDINANCE NO. O2026.11 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPE, ARIZONA, AMENDING CHAPTER 2, TEMPE CITY CODE RELATING TO ADMINISTRATION, BY AMENDING ARTICLE V, RELATING TO BOARDS; COMMISSIONS, ETC., BY AMENDING DIVISION 20 RELATING TO THE TEMPE VETERANS COMMISSION, BY AMENDING SECTION 2-365 RELATING TO ESTABLISHED; COMPOSITION AND SECTION 2-367 RELATING TO POWERS AND DUTIES, TO AMEND THE PROCESS BY WHICH MEMBERS ARE SELECTED. WHEREAS, the Tempe City Council created the Tempe Veterans Commission (the “Commission”) to, among other things, advise the Mayor and City Council on issues impacting veterans, service members, and their families within the City; and WHEREAS, the Tempe City Code specifies designated membership seats tied to specific military and veterans-affiliated organizations and institutions to ensure representation of military members, veterans, and their families; and WHEREAS, from time to time the Commission has had difficulty recruiting members to serve on the Commission to fill specified categories of membership for various reasons, and the Commission believes it will be beneficial if the membership structure of the Commission is amended to allow the City Council to appoint members of the Commission outside of a designated category when no other potential member has been identified and selected to serve in that category; and WHEREAS, the Tempe Veterans Commission voted to recommend to the City Council to amend the membership structure for the Commission; and WHEREAS, the Tempe City Council agrees that it is important to have on the Human Relations Commission representation from members of the community who are under the age of eighteen on the commission; and WHEREAS, deleted text is noted in strikethrough and added text is noted in ALL CAPS. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPE, ARIZONA, as follows: Section 1. That Chapter 2, Article V, Division 20 of the Tempe City Code is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 2-365. - Established; composition. 2 Ordinance No. O2026.11 (a) There is hereby established the Tempe Veterans Commission to be composed of eleven (11) members, INCLUDING TWO (2) AT-LARGE VETERAN MEMBERS, ONE (1) OF WHOM RESIDES IN THE CITY, AND TWO (2) AT- LARGE MEMBERS, ONE (1) OF WHOM RESIDES IN THE CITY. FOR POSITIONS WHERE RESIDENCY IS NOT REQUIRED, PREFERENCE SHALL BE GIVEN TO APPLICANTS WHO ARE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OR WHO WORK OR PROVIDE SERVICES WITHIN THE CITY. IT IS INTENDED THAT COMMISSION MEMBERSHIP REFLECT TEMPE’S DIVERSE DEMOGRAPHICS AND INCLUDE A RANGE OF LIVED EXPERIENCE, PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUNDS, AND PERSPECTIVES RELEVANT TO VETERANS, SERVICE MEMBERS, AND THEIR FAMILIES. MEMBERS SHALL BE SELECTED BASED ON EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, OR DEMONSTRATED INVOLVEMENT IN AREAS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, The commission will include a member from each of the following existing United States Military and Veteran Service Areas: (1) Tempe Veterans Service Organization; (2) Veteran Supportive Business or Government Agency; (3) Pat Tillman Veterans Center at Arizona State University or designee; (4) Maricopa Community College District or designee; (5) Veteran supportive service organization; (6) Veteran health and wellness organization; (7) Veteran housing advocacy and assistance;. (8) Two (2) At-Large Veteran Members, one (1) of whom resides in the City of Tempe; (9) Two (2) At-Large Members, one (1) of whom resides in the City of Tempe. (B) IF, AFTER DILIGENT EFFORTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO SOLICIT CANDIDATES, NO INDIVIDUAL WITHIN A SPECIFIED CATEGORY AS LISTED IN SUBSECTION (A) AGREES TO SERVE OR IS AVAILABLE FOR APPOINTMENT, THE MAYOR, WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL, MAY APPOINT AN INDIVIDUAL FROM OUTSIDE THE SPECIFIED CATEGORY, PROVIDED THAT THE INDIVIDUAL POSSESSES RELEVANT EXPERTISE OR QUALIFICATIONS THAT WOULD CONTRIBUTE MEANINGFULLY TO THE WORK OF THE COMMISSION. THE CITY COUNCIL SHALL CONTINUE TO ACTIVELY SEEK QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS FROM THE CATEGORIES OUTLINED IN SUBSECTION (A) 3 Ordinance No. O2026.11 TO FILL ANY FUTURE VACANCIES IN THOSE CATEGORIES. UPON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE NEXT AVAILABLE VACANCY, THE COMMISSION SHALL MAKE DILIGENT EFFORTS TO APPOINT A MEMBER FROM THE APPROPRIATE CATEGORY. IF NO QUALIFIED CANDIDATE FROM THAT CATEGORY IS FOUND, THE COMMISSION MAY AGAIN APPOINT A MEMBER FROM OUTSIDE THE CATEGORY. (b)(C) In addition to the terms of office as specified in Section 2-182 of this article, terms shall be staggered so that the term of no more than four (4) members shall conclude in any given year. Members shall serve three-year terms for no more than two (2) complete consecutive terms. (c)(D) The Human Services Director COMMUNITY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR or designee shall serve the veterans commission staff liaison and in an advisory capacity. . . . . Sec. 2-367. - Powers and duties. The Tempe Veterans Commission shall have the following powers and duties: (1) To advise the Mayor and City Council and assist City departments on veteran programs, policies, and practices designed to improve the quality of life for veterans in Tempe; (2) To educate the community on the status of veterans' rights, needs, and contributions to our community; (3) To recommend ways to strengthen existing services for veterans while pursuing the creation of new program and service opportunities; (4) To develop and promote benchmarks as outlined by the Arizona Coalition for Military Families and the United States Department of Labor Hire Vets Medallion Program to assist the City of Tempe and its business community earn recognition as "Arizona Veteran Supportive Employers"; (5) To assist in creating and supporting a community connection point to inform, guide, and direct military veterans seeking personal and professional enhancement services that may include education, mentoring, workforce support, and health and wellness; and (6) To advise on supportive affordable housing projects for veteran families.; AND 4 Ordinance No. O2026.11 (7) TO SUGGEST TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL QUALIFIED AND INTERESTED PERSONS ELIGIBLE FOR APPOINTMENT FOR COMMISSION VACANCIES. Section 2. If any section, subsection, sentence clause, phrase, or portion of this ordinance or any part of the code adopted herein is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof. Section 3. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of the Code adopted herein are hereby repealed. Section 4. The City Clerk is hereby authorized to correct clerical and grammatical errors, if any, related to this ordinance, and to make formatting changes appropriate for purposes of clarity, form, or consistency with the Tempe City Code. Section 5. The various city officers and employees are hereby authorized and directed to perform all acts necessary to give effect to this ordinance. Section 6. Pursuant to City Charter, Section 2.12, ordinances are effective thirty (30) days after adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPE, ARIZONA, this ________ day of ________________, 2026. _____________________________ Corey D. Woods, Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Kara A. DeArrastia, City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: _______________________________ Eric C. Anderson, City Attorney