1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 15, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Zizette Mullins, MMC, City Clerk
BY: Melissa Dekermenji, CMC, Administrative Analyst I
SUBJECT: Appointment of Members to the Charter Review Committee
RECOMMENDATION
Each City Council Member shall select one individual to be appoint ed to the Charter Review Committee.
BACKGROUND
Most Board, Commission, and Committee (BCC) Members shall be appointed by a three- fifths (3/5) vote of all of the Council Members to serve without compensation from the City. However, in the case of the Charter Review Committee, each Council Member will select one individual appointment to the Committee. No person shall serve on more than one BCC at the same time, with the exception of the Charter Review Committee.
Vacancies on a BCC occurring during the term of office shall be filled within ninety (90) days from the date the vacancy occurs. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term. In addition, all applicants must be electors of, and actually reside in, the City of Burbank with the exception of three positions on the Burbank Cultural Arts and the Sustainable Burbank Commissions as established in Ordinance No. 16-3,874 adopted 2/9/2016. (Per BMC Section 2-1-404, 2-1-405, 2-1-406, 2-1-407)
Once a vacancy is established, the City Clerk advertises the vacancy for 30 days, accepts applications, and provides applications received to the City Council for consideration.
Charter Review Committee
In 2005, a Charter Review Committee (Committee) was selected and worked for nearly one year on revising and updating the City of Burbank Charter (Charter). On October 24, 2006, the recommendations from this Committee were presented to the City Council.
After some discussion of the Committee’s recommendations, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 3711 on November 14, 2006, which called for a Special Election to be held CITY CLERK’S
OFFICE
2 in conjunction with the April 10, 2007, General Municipal Election on the proposed revised Charter. Those changes approved by the voters were sent to the state for approval and filing according to law. One of t he 2007 amendments requires a review of the Charter every five years by the Charter Review Committee, and submission of a report to the City Council on whether or not a comprehensive Charter review is recommended.
The City of Burbank Charter Section 1400 Charter Amendment states:
“Not more than five (5) years following completion of the previous Charter review or the completion of the citizen committee review as provided in this paragraph, whichever is most recent, the Council shall appoint a citizen committee of five (5) members, one (1) appointed by each Council Member, to consider the Charter and advise the Council whether a comprehensive Charter review is necessary. The committee may recommend a full review, a limited, focused review, or no review. Upon such recommendation the Council may appoint a full Charter Review Committee, the number and appointments of which shall be determined by the Council, to determine what, if any, Chart er changes should be placed before the voters.”
Since 2007 there have been two Charter reviews. On August 30, 2011, the Burbank City Council appointed five (5) individuals to serve on the Committee and upon City Council consensus, they were to report back to the City Council in 60 days or sooner, or otherwise indicate they needed more time to deliberate. The Committee met for the next several months and provided its results in a letter to the City Council dated January 12, 2012 , which was presented to the City Council along with its recommendations on March 20, 2012.
As stated in the City of Burbank Charter, five (5) years later on August 9, 2016, the Charter Review Committee was selected by appointment from each City Council Member . The Committee met for the next several months and provided its results in a memo dated May 8, 2017, which was presented to the City Council along with its recommendations on June 13, 2017.
On December 14, 2021, the City Council directed the City Clerk to advertise for the five (5) positions on the Charter Review Committee. Based on Charter Section 1400, the Council is required to appoint a new Charter Review Committee no later than May 8 , 2022, which is five (5) years from completion of the last Committee’s review.
DISCUSSION
On January 3, 2022, the City Clerk's Office began advertising and accepting applications for five (5) positions on the Charter Review Committee.
In order to obtain qualified candidates, a Notice of Vacancy was advertised through the following:
3 • The City website
• City Council meeting announcements
• All social media platforms overseen by the City Clerk’s Office • Press release sent to The LA Times, Burbank Leader, and MyBurbank.com • Notices posted on the City Hall Bulletin Board
• Community Groups and Organizations
The deadline to submit applications to the City Clerk’s Office for the Charter Review Committee was Wednesday, February 2, 202 2, at 5:00 p.m. Please note that the City Council may elect to make their appointment of an applicant who is currently serving on another Board, Commission, or Committee as this is a one-time, temporary appointment until the review is complete. The applications are listed in order received. The City Clerk’s Office received nin e (9) applications and all applicants have met the City of Burbank COVID-19 Vaccination Policy requirement:
Applicant Name Currently serves on Board,
Commission, or Committee, if any.
Jason Bennett n/a
Christopher Rizzotti Planning Board
Gavin Cho n/a
Kevin Muldoon n/a
Tamala Takahashi Infrastructure Oversight Board
Andre Dionysian n/a
Alejandro Escobar n/a
Alice Howell n/a
Gloria Salas n/a
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
CONCLUSION
The City and the community both realize substantial benefits from civic involvement.
Appointments to the boards, commissions, and committees help to encourage public participation in the governmental process and ensure Burbank residents have a voice.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment 1 – Applications and Resumes