STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: September 10, 2024
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Huma Ahmed, City Clerk
Subject: Recommendation from the Commission Standardization Ad Hoc Committee on Commission Residency and Spouses Serving on Commissions
Attachments: 1. City Council Commission Standardization Ad Hoc Committee Report, August 14, 2024 (without attachments)
INTRODUCTION
The City Council Commission Standardization Ad Hoc Committee (Vice Mayor Sharona R. Nazarian, PsyD and Councilmember Craig A. Corman) met on August 14, 2024. The committee reviewed the following policy items regarding commission applications:
Beverly Hills Residency and Spouses Serving on Commissions.
Staff is seeking City Council direction regarding the recommendations provided by the City Council committee. The City’s commission recruitment process is on hold until the City Council provides feedback on the items listed in this report.
DISCUSSION
On August 14, the Committee members met to discuss items related to the agenda, which included commissioner residency requirements and spouses serving on commissions. Staff provided a report highlighting that the three guiding documents for the City: the City Council Policy and Operations Manual, the Commissioners’ Handbook and the Beverly Hills Municipal Code (BHMC) are not consistent.
Commissioner Residency
As part of the discussion, staff shared that a two-year residency requirement on commission applications has been in place for close to 60 years.
However, it appears that the City’s guiding documents are not consistent. While the residency requirement has been a part of the application process since 1967 and then reaffirmed in 2001, it is not reflected in the BHMC. City Council direction regarding residency requirements is included within the City Council Policy and Operations Manual, but not in the Commissioners’ Handbook.
Meeting Date: September 10, 2024
It has been a long-established practice of the City to solicit commission applications from residents who have a minimum of two-year residency in Beverly Hills. In addition, also not included in any guiding document is whether residency should be consecutive or intermittent. The Committee members shared the following regarding Commissioner Residency:
- Two-year residency requirement should remain in place; - Two-year residency should be for consecutive years immediately preceding an application submittal, i.e. must be a Beverly Hills resident for the required time before applying.
Spouses Serving on Commissions
Additionally, the Committee members also reviewed Spouses Serving on Commissions.
This policy is reflected in the Commissioners’ Handbook but is not in any other document. Per the Commissioners’ Handbook, spouses are not allowed to serve on the same commission. Spouses are permitted to serve on different commissions, though it is strongly discouraged.
The Committee Members shared the following feedback:
- Spouses should not serve at the same time on any commission; - When a spouse completes their term on a commission, the other spouse must also wait one-year before applying to any commission;
- Spouses can apply to the same commission as their spouse or any other commission upon completing the one-year waiting period; - BHMC requirements for the Planning Commission shall remain as stated. No change was recommended at this time.
Scheduled commissioner terms usually conclude in June and December of each year.
The one-year wait period would begin from the date the spouse officially concludes their service.
Family Members on Commissions
In addition to spouse-based requirements, the Committee members also discussed family members serving on commissions at the same time.
Details on this item will need to be further vetted and brought back to the City Council for consideration and feedback. The definition of who is considered ‘family’ was discussed at length, i.e. spouses/legal partners, children, grandchildren, in-laws, household units, etc. A clear definition was not agreed upon at the meeting. However, the spirit of the discussion focused on avoiding conflicts of interest, or the appearance of a conflict of interest, which included having family members on the same commission.
Term Limits
The Committee members shared an interest to diversify the appointment pool by recommending that commissioners (similar to City elected’s) also have term limits for their service. Based on the following calculation (for a normal commission service): 2 years (initial) + 4 years = 6 years (per commission). A commissioner could potentially be appointed for a total of 3 terms which would be 18 years of service.
Meeting Date: September 10, 2024
FISCAL IMPACT
None
RECOMMENDATION
Should the City Council approve, it is requested that all three City policy documents be standardized for consistency: the City Council Policy and Operations Manual, Commissioners’ Handbook and the Beverly Hills Municipal Code.
It is requested that the City Council provide direction on the following items:
• Two-year Beverly Hills residency requirement;
• Two-year residency should be for consecutive years immediately preceding an application submittal, i.e. must qualify under the listed requirements before applying for a vacancy;
• Spouses should not serve at the same time on any commission; • When a spouse completes their term on a commission, the other spouse must also wait one-year before applying to any commission;
• Spouses can apply to the same commission as their spouse or any other commission upon completing the one-year waiting period; • BHMC requirements for the Planning Commission shall remain as stated. No change was recommended at this time.
• Term Limits: Propose a total of three (3) terms in a lifetime, which is typically 18- years if completed in their entirety.
• All three guiding documents be standardized to reflect City Council direction on this matter: the City Council Policy and Operations Manual, Commissioners’ Handbook and the Beverly Hills Municipal Code.
Additionally, once City Council feedback has been received at this Study Session, staff intends to proceed with the interview process for all commissions which have been placed on hold due to these administrative issues.
And finally, with the concurrence of the City Council, a formal report and an updated Ordinance reflecting the afore-mentioned updates will be prepared for adoption at a future City Council Regular Meeting.
Huma Ahmed,
City Clerk
Approved By
Attachment 1
CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS
CITY CLERK’S OFFICE
MEMORANDUM
TO: Commission Standardization Ad Hoc Committee Liaisons FROM: Huma Ahmed, City Clerk
DATE: August 14, 2024
SUBJECT:
ATTACHMENTS:
Commission Applicant Residency Requirements and Spouses Serving on Commissions
1. BHMC 2-2-104 (B) – Commissioner Residency
2. City Commissioners’ Handbook (Page 29)
3. City Council Policy and Operations Manual (Page 33)
INTRODUCTION
In a recent review of the City Council Policy and Operations Manual, the City Commissioners’ Handbook and the Beverly Hills Municipal Code (BHMC), staff is seeking guidance regarding applicant residency requirements along with spousal participation on City Commissions.
The Beverly Hills Municipal Code is the legal guiding document for City rules and regulations.
Both the City Council Policy and Operations Manual and Commissioners’ Handbook are documents that reflect City Council direction on policy matters and are considered ‘established practices.’ There is a discrepancy between the BHMC and the two afore mentioned handbooks.
Staff is seeking clarification and further direction from the City Council Liaisons (Vice Mayor Sharona R. Nazarian, PsyD and Councilmember Craig A. Corman) regarding the applicability of these provisions.
DISCUSSION
Commission Applicant Residency
Commissioners are appointed by the City Council for an initial two-year term and may be reappointed for an additional four years at the discretion of the City Council (unless directed otherwise).
It has been an established practice of the City to solicit applications from residents with a minimum two-year residency in Beverly Hills. The City Council Handbook lists this requirement, but both the BHMC and the Commissioners’ Handbook do not. Research into the matter indicates that the two-year residency policy appears to have first been established in 1967 and then again reaffirmed in 2001 by the then City Council. However, BHMC (2-2-105) was not updated to reflect the adoption of this policy, but rather, it became an established practice of the City. 2 of 2
Additionally, neither the policy nor the established practice indicates if an applicant must be a resident for consecutive years immediately preceding their application submittal, or if intermittent residency is permitted to count towards the two-year requirement. Staff is seeking further guidance on this matter.
Spouses Serving on Commissions
Separately, the City Commissioners’ Handbook lists that spouses cannot serve concurrently or consecutively on the ‘same’ commission. The handbook states the City Council has discretion about placing spouses on different commissions, although it is discouraged. The BHMC has not been updated to reflect any direction related to spouses on commissions.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff respectfully requests the City Council Liaisons review and provide feedback on:
1. Shall the BHMC be updated to reflect the City’s established practice of a two-year residency requirement for commissioner applications?
2. If a two-year residency is recommended, shall it be for consecutive years immediately preceding an application submittal or intermittent years?
3. Is there an interest to further update the direction regarding spouses serving on different commissions at the same time?
4. Shall the BHMC be updated to reflect new direction or established direction already provided in Commissioners’ Handbook, pending City Council approval? Should there be direction to update the BHMC, then staff will present the City Council Liaisons’ recommendations to the City Council at a future meeting. The request will also include a formal update to the Beverly Hills Municipal Code so that all three documents (BHMC, City Council Policy and Operations Manual and the Commissioners’ Handbook) are standardized and consistent.