Santa Ana City Council: Members, Powers, and Meetings

The Santa Ana City Council is a seven-member elected body — a Mayor chosen citywide and six Councilmembers, one from each of the city’s six wards — that writes local ordinances, approves the annual budget, sets tax and policy direction, and hires the three staff officers who run city government day to day. It meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month, and residents can speak at every open session.

Who Sits on the Council

Each of the six Councilmembers represents one geographic ward and must live in that ward. Candidates need to be registered California voters and residents of the ward for at least 30 days before filing nomination papers.¹ Because voter registration already requires U.S. citizenship and an age of 18, the charter doesn’t repeat those rules. The Mayor runs citywide but must meet the same 30-day residency test at the city level.²

Elections happen every two years and are timed with statewide general elections. Three ward seats are on the ballot in one cycle and the other three in the next, so roughly half the council is up at any given election. The Mayor’s seat is on the ballot every two years.²

Voters set lifetime term limits in 2022. A Councilmember can serve three four-year terms, capped at 12 years. The Mayor can serve four two-year terms, capped at eight. Sitting out a cycle does not reset the count. Someone who has hit the cap in one office can still run for the other, so a termed-out Councilmember can seek the mayoralty and vice versa. Partial terms served to fill a vacancy don’t count against the cap, but a full term counts even if the officeholder resigns partway through.¹

Mid-term vacancies are filled through a special election, not by appointment. Someone who has already reached the lifetime limit for a seat cannot fill a vacancy in that same office.¹

The Mayor presides over meetings and is the city’s most visible official, but the vote is one of seven, the same as any Councilmember. There’s no veto and no unilateral power to hire or fire city staff.

What the Council Can Do

Santa Ana is a charter city, which gives its council broader authority over municipal affairs than a general-law city has. That authority runs in three main directions.

Passing Local Law

The council adopts ordinances that carry the force of law inside city limits. Under California law, a violation is a misdemeanor unless the city has specifically classified it as an infraction.³ The council also passes resolutions, which state formal positions or set internal policy but carry no criminal penalty.

Approving the Budget and Setting Taxes

Every dollar the city spends is approved by the council. The fiscal year 2025–26 budget runs about $778 million and covers public safety, infrastructure, community services, and general operations.

Local tax measures also go through the council before reaching voters. In 2018, voters passed Measure X, a 1.5 percent local sales tax. That rate holds until 2029, drops to 1.0 percent, and sunsets entirely in 2039. Groceries, gasoline, medication, and housing are exempt from it.⁴

Appointing the Three Officers Who Report to It

The council directly appoints and supervises the City Manager, the City Attorney, and the City Clerk.⁵ Everyone else on the city payroll works under the City Manager. That split keeps policy decisions with the elected council and day-to-day operations with professional staff. If the council isn’t satisfied with how its direction is being carried out, it can replace any of the three.

When and Where the Council Meets

Regular meetings are held the first and third Tuesday of each month in the Council Chamber at 22 Civic Center Plaza. Each meeting is split in two: a closed session that starts between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., and an open public session that starts at 5:45 p.m. Meetings are also streamed online.⁶

Open sessions are governed by the Ralph M. Brown Act, California’s open-meeting law. The agenda has to be posted at least 72 hours before a regular meeting and must briefly describe every item the council plans to take up, including closed-session matters. You can sign up on the city’s website to get agendas emailed to you automatically.⁷ With narrow exceptions for genuine emergencies, the council cannot discuss or vote on anything that wasn’t on the posted agenda.⁸

Closed sessions are limited to specific subjects, most often pending or anticipated litigation, labor negotiations, real estate deals, and personnel matters like hiring or firing.⁹¹⁰ Anything the council actually decides in closed session, such as approving a settlement or authorizing a lawsuit, has to be announced with the vote of each member at the next open session.¹¹

How to Speak at a Meeting

Public comment is open to anyone. To speak, submit a “Request to Speak” card before comment opens: by the start of closed session for closed-session items, and by 5:45 p.m. for everything else. Cards turned in after comment begins won’t be accepted unless the chair allows it.¹²

Each speaker gets three minutes, though the chair can shorten that when the sign-up list is long. You can address a specific agenda item or raise a general topic under the council’s jurisdiction. If your topic isn’t on the agenda, the council can listen but can’t act at that meeting; it can, however, direct staff to place the item on a future agenda.⁸

If you can’t attend in person, you can submit written comments through the city’s online portal or use the teleconferencing options run by the City Clerk’s office. Public comments, spoken or written, become part of the official minutes.

Pay and Conflict of Interest Rules

Council service in Santa Ana is a part-time job. Members receive $1,000 per month for attending meetings, plus a $500 monthly automobile allowance. Members who also serve on the Housing Authority get $50 per session, capped at four sessions a month.¹³ Full-time executive work sits with the City Manager.

Every Councilmember and the Mayor must file a Statement of Economic Interests, known as Form 700, with the California Fair Political Practices Commission. The form discloses investments, real property, income, and business positions so the public can see whether an official’s decisions might touch personal finances. Late or missing filings can be referred to FPPC enforcement, with penalties up to $5,000.¹⁴

When a member has a financial conflict on an item before the council, the municipal code requires them to announce it, leave the dais, and stay out of both the discussion and the vote. They aren’t counted toward the quorum for that item. They may address the council as a private citizen within FPPC limits. Recusal without a legitimate legal basis isn’t permitted; members are otherwise expected to vote on every agenda item.¹⁵

1
Orange County Registrar of Voters. City of Santa Ana Charter Amendment – Measure X
2
City of Santa Ana. City Council
3
Justia Law. California Government Code 36900-36904
4
City of Santa Ana. Measure X
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City of Santa Ana Employment Opportunities. City Clerk (EM)
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City of Santa Ana. When and Where Do City Council Meetings Take Place
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City of Santa Ana. Agendas and Minutes
8
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 54954.2
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California Legislative Information. California Government Code 54956.9
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California Legislative Information. California Government Code GOV 54957.6
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California Legislative Information. California Government Code 54957.1
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City of Santa Ana. How Do I Participate in City Council Meetings
13
City of Santa Ana. City Council Compensation
14
California Fair Political Practices Commission. Statements of Economic Interests – Form 700
15
Municode Library. City of Santa Ana Municipal Code 2-105